Achieved my goal! and made it to the Champion Division in Players League

Good Luck to those in my Division who advance to be a Legend.

My original plan was to be a Champion and then get back to learning and studying the game I love.  So, thanks Chess.com for the League ride.  It was an incredible grind and has literally exhausted me.  I met a lot of great players along the way.  Just wanted to post this for posterity.   Take care and let's hope 2022 is a great year for all.

Congratulations. How many hours a day were you putting in?

Short answer:

Towards the end, literally every available minute (I'm retired).

Long answer:

I played the 2 Arena formats (to get the bonus points) in which I'm not very good, Bullet and Blitz, and wow did my rating take a pounding.  I knew I would have to play a lot and quickly because of the excellent stats Chess.com has at Diamond level.  My win percentage in those is basically 50-50 so you can see my dilemma.   That's why my original goal was to get to Champion.  My game is not currently at the level of many of the players in the Champion Divisions.

I think had there been points deducted for losing, my strategy would have been different.

Did you get a Diamond membership?? I heard that the first 200 to make it to Champions League gets a free Diamond membership...

I literally can't imagine that... maybe because I feel that if I play another game my brains will explode

Prizes won't likely be distributed until after this week, to give time to check participants.

@wizardKM @Nytemere @Martin_Stahl

For context:

I've been a Diamond member since 2013 and personally was not playing for prizes.  I was just trying to be 1st in all my Divisions as a personal goal.  In the Elite Division I was grinding it out to beat another player but came in second to him/her.  Since the top 3 make it to Champion I really didn't have to play as many minutes on the last few days.  Not because I'm older but yes it was mentally and physically demanding especially if you're playing Bullet for hours in the Arena.

From what I've seen, players in the first and second inception weeks are very good players in the Champion Divisions (hence get a boatload of points).  So, I'm taking a break (vacation) and will rejoin the league and will hopefully be put in a new Champions Division that perhaps I can get to #1 easier.

Take Care and Good Luck and if you ever thought about getting a Premium membership, I highly recommend it.