Catering to a group that treats the pvp content like it does its pve content was a bad idea. They expect crystal tier, without putting in the effort. These are the same type of people that expect to be carried in an alliance raid.

If you aren't that great but you put in effort, you will see some success. If you put in no effort and aren't good, you won't see any success. It's better to play with people your own speed than with people with higher or lower capabilities. They should have never had the tier floor protections in the first place. This made people that thought they were 'crystal level' not make crystal in later seasons. Pretty sure Season 1 was over 50% Crystal. That is lopsided.

Even with casuals still be favored with the lack of counterplay, it looks like they are doing worse by getting lower tiers, even if and when they are actually improving.