A few design issues that can't really be changed now have irked me from the beginning, but I can overlook them and back before WFA I played 1's regularly enough, around top 30ish level with both original factions. I could give the top players a decent game occasionally, i'd be on the end of a thrashing from them more often, but I was improving steadily.
You play often enough, you'd get to know the 1's community because it was sadly small enough (and still is I imagine). Often in ladder, it was difficult to get consistent good level games outside of maybe weekends. Too many dud games where you gain feck all. But it was workable.
Since WFA, I have had performance issues (...my computer!

) and between that, and the bugs, I have not really played 1's competitively since. In a good competitive game, the margins are often small in Coh2 between a good engagement and a bad one, you can't be fighting your opponent and the game itself as well.
So now I dabble in 1's occasionally and play team games for the craic.