You mentioned you watch replays. I've been stuck at under one-thousand ELO for some time now and would like to get better. Could I send you a replay for your critique? Feel free to rip it to shreds.

For your consideration
-Felix Mortem

If you don't already, might I suggest watching some pro streams? TwitchTV has some very informative streamers such as Wingsofdeathx.

*******http://i47.tinypic.com/34djsde.jpg********

it's easy, just like this.

I actually don't, thank you for the help, I'll check him out specifically and poke around there.

TO OP- How, then, do pros/high elo streamers do it CONSISTENLY on their smurfs.SoSleepy has done it at least a dozen times, I believe. Did he get lucky DOZENS of times? Not only that, but he didn't start at 1200. He had people give him accounts with an ELO much, much lower and STILL broken out of this "cancerous ELO range"

Clearly these pros/streamers are just lucky 100% of them 100% of the time

there is a difference between a Professional player and a casual/semi competitive gamer.

The sad truth is that most everybody who is *trapped* at a certain ELO belongs at that ELO. And I am a person who hovers at 1300-1400. Without having a lot of time you can't really master all the champions required to have the repertoire necessary to "break out" to higher than 1400. People grab Malphite and Amumu and all these other champions they think wreck expecting an easy win but more than half of the people who get these picks don't know how to use them because they don't have enough wins with them.

I say this not in critique because I am one of you. I am at that 1400 range and its where I belong. Do I think I could BE better. Sure. And I bet you could BE better too. However, in LOL just being a good gamer isn't enough. You have to be a practiced gamer to the point that it becomes almost a reflex. Some people have natural inherent talent beyond others but really it just comes down to practice. Unfortunately with 109 champions and counting practicing each one becomes a full time job rather than a hobby game.

How do you get to 1400+ ELO? Same way you get to Carnegie Hall.
Practice, Practice, Practice.

THe differance being they have the skill, practice and talent to consistently claw their way out of this "impossible to escape ELO?" Pro players also invest more time, I'm aware but that simply compounds the fact that it is practice, not luck.

I also believe I mentioned High ELO streamers as well. Many of them are NOT proffessional players and they also CONSISTENTLY get to a high ELO, season after season.

It is not luck, it is skill. Skill comes from knowledge and practice. You can't log in to LoL and, without taking any serious time to get either, expect that you belong at an ELO with people who DID take the time to acquire that knowledge and practice.