Some unexpected ladder shifts may happen over the next few days

[CombatEX]

This isn't like Starcraft's system. In SC2 you can get demoted after a loss, yes. But where SC2 differs is for players who make new accounts. From reading this thread I've seen many people with near flawless records who got demoted to low leagues. In SC2 if you have a 90%+ w/l, it doesn't matter if your account is new and you've only played 15-20 games. If you place in Diamond, you'll stay in Diamond and eventually get promoted to Masters if you keep up your high w/l record. In the mean time they'll continue placing you against diamonds, and likely start putting you against some masters if you have such a high w/l ratio. If your w/l dips much below 50% then you'll start playing platinum players, maybe golds if you've been losing a lot to platinum players. Eventually you'll get demoted.

What doesn't happen is a player who goes 19-2 after placing in Diamond getting demoted to Gold. The thing is, yes, if you're good you'll eventually work your way back up, but in the mean time you and your opponents are having a boring time as you steam roll the next 50 games.

SC2 tries to give players a 50% w/l. I think if you place in Masters and maintain above a 50% w/l as you continue getting matched against Masters, then you should be allowed to stay in Masters.

The philosophy that players should be demoted to avoid boring games is plain wrong.

By demoting players to a lower league who have 75%+ w/l playing at a higher league just because they only have ~15-20 games makes no sense. I understand that you also are trying to get rid of the 3-2 placement match Super-Titans, but demoting everyone else too doesn't help. Why? So let's say you don't make these radical demotions. What will happen? The players who placed too highly will have boring games because they'll get crushed until they're eventually demoted to their correct league. This is the problem you are trying to solve, only, it doesn't work. Now, what happens with the demotions you did decide to put in place? THE EXACT SAME THING. Players still have to play boring games where they crush their opponents, but just in the opposite direction. Instead of false high league players getting crushed down to their rightful leagues you have false low level players crushing their way up to their rightful leagues. The difference? The way you chose to do it is much less intuitive and downright frustrating.

In the case where you don't make these demotions, the players who placed too highly will lose and get demoted. It makes sense. Eventually they'll start winning ~50% and settle in their rightful league. In the case where you do make these demotions (aka what you're doing), the players who get demoted despite their high w/l will be confused. They've been winning most of their games, if anything they're still in too low a league, not too high of one. Yet then they win yet another game and find themselves demoted. It makes no sense.