This was my best season yet—and now you can't even dismiss it as mere excuses, because I have the proof. Before this, I had never managed to climb above a ranking of 1500—a ranking that corresponds to the Silver 2 tier. From that point, one needs a mere 100 points to unlock Silver 2; yet, I could never seem to get past that threshold. In fact—to be honest—I had only reached the 1500 mark once before; subsequently, I couldn't seem to climb above the 1000–1200 range. But this time, not only did I shatter my previous record of 1500, but I also succeeded in earning the additional 100 points required to unlock Silver 1. It was such a magical experience that words simply fail me. In the screenshot displayed below, you can see the "Opponent Seeking" screen for that final, decisive battle. I’d also like to draw your attention to the top-left corner, where the remaining time for the season is displayed: there were just 17 minutes left on the clock. I was sitting at a ranking of 1560, and—since I had already won two or three battles in a row—winning this particular battle would net me 40 points. In other words, winning this battle was absolutely critical. 🔥
You might think that since I had been winning battles consistently, it must have been an easy ride. Well, I remember that with just three hours remaining until the season ended, I was still stuck at a ranking of 1500. Then, getting caught in a chaotic cycle of wins and losses across nearly two dozen consecutive battles—win, lose, win, lose—I simply couldn't seem to climb past the 1520–1540 range. Finally, in the last 30 minutes, I performed well in a few consecutive battles and managed to unlock the Silver 1 tier. I think I might have even set a personal record yesterday for playing the most battles in a single day! Haha.
All in all, this was an excellent season, and I would especially like to draw the attention of new players to the screenshot above, as it clearly demonstrates how your in-game rewards improve as you participate in higher-ranked battles. I recall that in the Bronze tier, I never received more than 150–200 Glint and 0.5 SPS. While these rewards do depend on the level, rarity, and foil type of the cards you use, it is generally safe to assume that—since battles become increasingly difficult at higher ranks—you wouldn't even be able to reach those levels without a superior set of cards. However, if you do manage to reach those ranks, your in-game rewards will increase; you can then reinvest these rewards back into the game to upgrade your deck, stake your SPS tokens to earn the best APR, or simply sell them on the open market. The main takeaway is this: the higher the level of cards you use to compete in high-tier battles, the more your rewards will improve. Currently, upon reaching Silver I, I received a reward of 500 Glint and approximately 1.5 SPS; just imagine how substantial these rewards would be when playing in Silver I—and subsequently in the Gold tier!💰
In terms of season rankings, there were other players who performed better than I did. I recall that last season my rank was somewhere around 30, whereas this season it stands at 145—despite the fact that I played nearly twice as many battles. My win rate is also quite decent at 54.72%, and my maximum win streak currently stands at 5 battles—a figure that, hopefully, will improve further in this new season. However, just as I was writing this, I noticed in the screenshot above that the player ranked second has a maximum win streak of 36 battles. I am truly at a loss for words to adequately praise this; it is simply astounding. Congratulations 
In the Silver 1 loot, I won these cards, Merits, and a few other items. With just 17 minutes remaining before the season ended, the moment I unlocked Silver 1, I shut down my system and simply sat back to savour that feeling. This is a lesson I learned in trading: whenever a day, week, or month begins, you should have specific goals and limits in place so that when you reach that point, you know exactly where to stop and take a break. For me, unlocking the Silver 1 tier was a major accomplishment; so, as soon as I achieved it, I took a break to celebrate the joy of that success. :)
All of this was made possible because Dave recently delegated several excellent cards to me from the new Escalation set, so a word of thanks to him is definitely in order. Please forgive me for tagging you once again, 
Note:
English is not my first language. So sometimes I use 'Google Translate'. Please don't think that anything I have written in this blog has been copied from somewhere or is AI-generated.
Paragraph Dividers and all the photos are from #Splinterlands.
All the other content images and words are mine unless otherwise stated.
Have a Happy and Blessed day!
