In act 1, I ended up as Plat 1. I felt proud, but felt like there was way more to achieve.

In act 2, my development stalled. I struggled, but still finished at Plat 1 act rank, with a brief visit to Plat 2. I was, all in all, happy... but not satisfied.

Act 3 messed me up. I struggled hard. I went down to Gold, and never even visited Plat. I thought I would never get out of Gold. I lost heart.

Throughout these three acts, I laughed, I cried, I clutched, I whiffed. I made some new friends, and a lot of new enemies. I tried to be a good teammate, but sometimes, to my shame, I bet I was toxic. But that's all behind me now.

I took a long break. I felt like I wasn't going anywhere. And on that break, I finally figured it out. It's super simple.

It's all about consistency.

So when Episode 2 started, I was ready. I eliminated all semblance of "good gameplay" from my playing. I lost my gamesense. I purposefully lowered my IQ by engaging in debates on Reddit. I started whiffing consistently, paying attention to place my crosshair ever so to the side of my enemy's head; not just once or twice, but every time. I learned Russian, but only used the curse words.

And finally - with all that hard work - I got the rank I deserve.

I'm so happy.