Most players improve quickly at first, plateau, and then play thousands of hours without getting better. That pattern is well understood and not specific to games.
Why playing more stops working
Because you practise what you already do. Repeating your existing approach reinforces it, including the mistakes.
Improvement requires working on the specific things you are bad at, which is uncomfortable and therefore avoided.
What deliberate practice looks like
Identify one weakness. Not everything – one. Work on it specifically, in isolation where the game allows, and accept that your performance will get worse before it improves.
Review your own play. Recording and watching your losses is the single most effective habit and almost nobody does it. Mistakes are obvious in review and invisible in the moment.
The fundamentals bias
Players study advanced techniques and lose to basic errors. Positioning, resource management, and decision-making under pressure decide more games than mechanical skill at every level below professional.
What to copy from better players
Not their flashy moments. Their default behaviour – where they stand, what they do when nothing is happening, how they respond to losing. That is where the difference actually is.
The physical part
Sleep affects reaction time and decision-making measurably. Playing tired is practising badly.
Long sessions produce worse play towards the end, and that worse play is what you are reinforcing.
The honest note
Improvement is slow and uneven, and plateaus are normal. Enjoying the game is a better reason to play than a rank, and the players who improve most are usually the ones not primarily chasing one.