your math does not add up. I got my enforcer LiggNer to R255 in less than 500 hours of playtime, without premium. Saying a R255 must have more than 1k hours is just a joke.
^this. To derank into bronze would mean you were close to fall into bronze from the start, especially if you do it because "gold is too hard for me", thus making bad players fight new players. What's the problem?? Isn't it better that new players get to play vs bad players instead of having no opponents at all?
I don't see a problem with the current threat system, just the matchmaking bound with it. Having 2 golds and a silver into 3 golds, with the 3 golds having the backup advantage is a problem, not the skillgap between golds in itself.