I'm honestly going to discount practice hours because it doesn't matter how much you practice if you can't test what you're training in real games. It's why scrim stocks rarely reflect on real game results. Goes for any sport really, you can train forever but most of your experience and learning will happen when you're put into that situation for real. How often are we screaming at our screens over fundamentals and minor mistakes that players should know to avoid? It's because they're crumbling under pressure that they don't face enough.

Most of the teams in Tier 1 will have only played 8 12 official matches this season and then they're in off-season until Feb. Some of these players might not even be in the league next year.

Putting aside the boring long break, this leaves almost no opportunity for the bad teams to actually improve before the season ends. It's why it always feels like there's a few dominant teams every season and then a bunch of mid. The players simply don't get enough games/time to properly improve anything. You either come in a top team or you go nowhere.