It definitely sucks for those who wanted to compete at the highest level vs the Pro’s or similar skilled people.
What ruined HL for me was the low level of play and the level of immaturity through those ranks.
I’ll wear criticism if I make a bad play or chose the wrong talent. But too often the response to that was a bunch of personal insults followed by them AFK or feeding all game.
I play for fun, so I play in the fun league, and the competitive players can have their space.