Tbh I think matchmaking contributed more to the improvement. I’ve heard from a few L2 players that they didn’t like it or gain anything, and that it is more helpful for them to be able to play with the L1 players and learn from them. Not sure what the majority think though
Sure maybe they want to play against L1 players, but if it's a draft league most L2 quality players (no offense) will not be given that opportunity. Captains are only going to play starters (aka their best players, not subs/L2 players) and we have seen that time and time again. This league served as a chance for all players to play more and compete compared to previous draft leagues. I highly doubt they would be happier to be just sitting on the bench as usual and rotate in and out of scrims every so often, just to play against L1 players.
I only signed up for this league because I knew this was the only way I would ever get to experience playing time in a draft league, even if it was league 2 I enjoyed it and thought there was weight to the matches. Also, I think matchmaking is a far worse form of practice than playing in league 2 matches were, but I have not played a single game of matchmaking in over year so IDK. To me it really only warmed up mechanics, but I felt I learned way more from actually playing in a semi-serious team format. Thanks for giving me a chance to actually play the game Risk!