This season (May) in the Slayer playlist I won 7 out of 10 in the qualifying matches with a 6-7 KDA and was placed in Diamond 4. My friend, who I was playing with, did worse than me and he was placed in Onyx. Last season I did worse in the qualifying matches, yet I placed in Diamond 5 for Slayer. It’s the same for Team Arena as well. People that make new accounts have extremely high win percentages and KDA, and yet they get placed in Gold or Platinum. I feel like those that finish with high Onyx or Champion in the previous season, seem to get an advantage in placement for the next season. I finish in somewhat mid-Onyx level in the previous seasons, but I get placed in Diamond in the new season. I thought this is based on performance and win percentages of qualifying matches, but I am pretty sure no matter how amazing or terrible someone does, they will always qualify at the same level based on how they finished in the previous season(s). Unless you are grinding a lot, the new Champions will almost always be the same people that we have seen during the last season.