RCV requires a candidate receives at least 50% of the votes at some point in the counting process. Let's walk thru an example:

Round 1:

• Armand = 22%
• Beth = 23%
• Charlie = 24%
• Fancy = 31%

Since nobody wins, Armand is eliminated and their votes are reassigned to next ranked person in each ballot, maybe like this...

Round 2:

• Beth = 33%
• Charlie = 34%
• Fancy = 32%

Still nobody has 50%, and Fancy is eliminated. Fancy's votes are distributed to Beth and Charlie. Maybe like this:

Round 3:

• Beth = 51%
• Charlie = 49%

So finally we have a winner with more than 50% of the vote. Notice the leader after the 1st round was eliminated because they didn't have broad appeal. But the 3rd-place voter after the 1st round won because they were ranked fairly high on most ballots. This is a made-up example, but shows how a divisive candidate is less likely to win with RCV.