Who else thinks this is the beginning of the end?

Yes, I think it is too.  If they don't kick the advantage players out of the game I can't see it lasting the year out.  I have 5 pages of friends in apex, and all have quit except half the first column on the first page, which is about 95%.  They all gave me the same reason for leaving, after season 20 started they couldn't do damage and would die in 1 to 3 hits.  Whether this is a bug or cheating giving these players an advantage it needs to be stopped.

I quit a few months back and stayed away for a month, but I did miss the game.  It's just frustrating they won't fix this since very few matches are fair now. Since the problems didn't start until season 20 (or didn't get exponentially worse until then) it should be a simple solution to just roll the game back to season 19, maybe adding in the level ups like they did in season 20, but keeping the feel of the game the same.  The graphics are now much worse, it lags bad, they slowed the movement down, and the cheating increased for some reason.

I'm sticking around hoping we get the old apex back eventually.   Surely they will have to listen when they see so many are leaving.

@HappyHourSumwur  it seems like the trios reset MMR with the Ranked most likely? if it even has MMR

@AymCTLI'm seeing the same things and looking back it definitely feels like Apex went off a cliff with Season 20.  The matchmaking has always been bad but the netcode and hit detection issues (along with an increase in cheaters and smurfs) got way worse with Season 20.  I empathize with all your friends who have quit, I'm doing the same.

Matchmaking used to throw you a bone and put you in a lower lobby once every 20 matches or so but it no longer does. I get an endless stream of lobbies where me and my random teammates are hopelessly over matched.

I empty entire clips into enemies standing still over death boxes but can't knock them while they turn corners and immediately knock me. Enemies are able to miraculously survive and escape when I am ruthlessly hunted down by enemies that know exactly where I am at all times and can shoot me with perfect aim and anticipation

Switching to Mixtape to break up the Trios blood baths makes it apparent something is horribly off with hit detection and netcode in general. Kill cams show my enemies hitting shots when their crosshair is 'sort of close', my shots going places I swear I wasn't aiming, and enemies moving 2X my speed (Octanes excluded).

I played 80% less matches last season than the season before and I'm probably done for this season after 15 matches. It used to be fun enough to keep me playing but it just isn't anymore and I'm kind of bummed about it, TBH.

Well it might be the end for me. 

Taken some time off and watched others play. My go-to streamer Mande started the new season solo ranked with KD of 68 after 5-6 games. And no, there is no dot in the number. 

Wifey who also played yesterday had about a 15-20 matches without a single kill... She is average 1.0 KD gold player for years. 

What I take from this is skill gap is just too big that I don't want to play because I know without trying that the game will not be fun for me.
Not playing Apex or any other online PvP is peaceful life. So rather I will be trying to beat my scores on aimtrainers and focus on PvE games. 

Apex is the ultimate git guud game with no chill modes. 
Ive said it multiple times. This game is not meant for average joes.
Even in likes of PUGB, CS, Fortnite you can play PvE but not in Apex. 

Lets see.
For now I will take the spectator seat in Apex as the ALGS was awesome (NA west coast game times made it impossible to watch live but all in all the actual games were super entertaining).

Gotta agree. I'm by no means the best player but since season 20 this game is getting impossible to play, let alone enjoy. Almost every enemy seems to have the no recoil, ultimate aim and a sixth sense. Even over long distance I get lasered down before I can even react. Just played first few games of this season and it seems even worse, couldn;t even knock down one opponent before our team was wiped (I do have to wonder how I never get teamed with players as awesome as my opponents...).

Do have to disagree with it being the ultimate git guud game though...although there are a lot of skilled players, it seems much more of a git controller, git strike packs and git hacks kind of game now.

Shame, I used to really love this game, win or lose. Now it's gettign to be no fun whatsoever ☹️

I get what you mean re the novelty wearing off, but that's not what is making the game 'unfun' right now, at least for me. There was a definite change in the number of players that literally laser me down and can shoot dead on with no aim or recoil issues, seemingly from any distance since season 20. It's not the win or lose that makes a game fun, it's the being able to play it and participate and that is what is missing now.