It's the marathons. Getting to go to nearly double the maximum allowed number of cities PLUS the ones when you return home is ridiculous for those on the west coast/can't travel.
And to think they increased the regs points so all people have more fair shot at a worlds invite... :nonono:
I don't think that the point values are the issue per say, it's the marathons.
If marathons are going to become a fixture from now on, point values probably should decrease.
So in order for the Cal players to do well (have a better chance) they are expected to fly across the country THREE times in one year for their worlds invites? However for a great Florida player in collage it is almost given for him to have an invite due to the marathon being on his door step? Remember that the K of cities is 16 now...With or without marathons, it doesn't matter as much. Whoever has the money to travel to places to play as many tournaments as possible has the better chance, marathons or not.
Yes. And last year it was not a problem . This year however the point value doubled. Some people are already hitting 1800. The old "sit out nats" mark of about 1875 is gone in favor of a much more difficult to obtain mark of 1930 (roughly based on someone else's quickly done math). Cities are now MUCH more important.There's more than a fair shot. I've known people that got invites from getting top 2 at States, top 4 at Regionals, and top 32 at Worlds.
With or without marathons, it doesn't matter as much. Whoever has the money to travel to places to play as many tournaments as possible has the better chance, marathons or not.
Quite a few of the top tier players in the NJ/NY/PA region either played in a few rounds or sat out regionals entirely because their invites were basically guaranteed.
What's wrong with that? If you're really better than them, then get your rank higher by playing in more tournies. The competition will be easier when they aren't around right? If you couldn't beat them in cities, why do you think regionals would suddenly change that? If someone worked hard, and earned an invite I don't understand why it's bad for them to refuse to bet all their hard work on one tournament.
I don't think that the point values are the issue per say, it's the marathons.
If marathons are going to become a fixture from now on, point values probably should decrease.
Some don't get to go to a lot of Cities before the marathons, so the marathons pose as a way to be able to hit up a lot of cities at once to make up for the lack of hitting cities. Plus, when I was at the GA marathon this year, people from CALIFORNIA were THERE. Not to mention people from Oklahoma/Texas.
There's more than a fair shot. I've known people that got invites from getting top 2 at States, top 4 at Regionals, and top 32 at Worlds.
If people have the power to go to Cities, they will. Stopping marathons though, imo, would be ridiculous. What reason is there to stop them? Those that can't hit any other Cities have a chance to plan for a string of them as a result.
I don't think there's too many points. People hitting that high of points are usually playing against skilled players, have dedication, and are clearly great players. Every time I see a player with 1850 rating after cities, I know that he has not just done extremely well at many different tournaments, but all of those tournaments had to be of at least decent size.
Regionals has a trip to Nats.
Nats has a trip to Worlds.
Cities has points for invites (Not trips).
If you're going to that many cities you're definitely putting in the time, and dedication, not to mention showing that you are a consistently good player. IMO they deserve to go to worlds more than someone who doesn't play all season, and then shows up at Nats and makes T4.
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I support the hardworking player who puts in the time, over the extremely talented player who shows no dedication, but can still show up and wipe the competition.
IMO lowering K-value could work, or alternatively raising BR k-values to 8, which would decrease the importance of Cities.