Ranked Solo/Duo Queue is a hectic place for most people. It takes a lot of effort and patience to win consistently, considering how tough and exhausting the games can sometimes be. It's full of toxic players, Afkers and all that good stuff.
So how did I actually reach Diamond you ask?
Well, it wasn't easy whatsoever. I finished Platinum 3 last season, and Platinum 2 in the pre-season.
Season 7 began, and I played my placement matches, I won 7 games, lost 3 and was placed Gold 2. So, after that I set my mentality like this:
My first goal was to reach Diamond.
I decided to focus on one Main Role, and practice a Secondary Role to be prepared for games in which I don't get my Main Role.
I chose the Support Role as my Main Role, given that I practiced it for half of Season 6. And ADC as my Secondary Role, given that I used to main it back in Season 5.
I started practicing both Roles for a couple of days in Normal Games. Even though it's not the same level of game-play, I thought I'd get myself familiar with the current Meta and have my In-Game Mechanics "updated".
I chose 3 Champions to focus on in a given role.
I chose not to Duo with anyone, whatsoever. Because doing so would enable the Match-Making System to place me against tougher opponents.
I maintained a calm and focused state of mind in most of the games I played.
I watched an hour or two of Pro Players' Streams almost every day.
I read patch notes every time, in order to be kept familiar with what's good and what's not in the current Meta. And also kept an eye on statistical Winrates.
I watched my replays, realized my mistakes, and always attempted to improve them.
I was consistent, and did not deviate from my plan.
Thresh was and still is my most played Champion, I just enjoy playing "Play-Making" Supports as I feel I have an impact on the game.
It feels amazing to reach a small goal like this. One that you have previously planned and stuck to it. My next goal would be reaching Master Tier. Now I realize that's much tougher, but I'm going to be following the same path I took for reaching Diamond. It may be a bit to late for this season, but I'm going to try nonetheless. There's always next season!
I'll also be posting an updated series for my progress to reaching Master. Hope you'll follow that!
Thank you for reading! And good luck on the battle fields!