Ratings FAQ up!

[higumaotoshi]

Yeah, honestly I'm surprised we haven't seen a whole lot of Canadian players chime in here. Do you realize how SCREWED you're getting out of this ordeal? Let's get this post count to 200 by Monday Morning!

I know..
Am I the only Canadian that actually wants to get to worlds...?

...
If the winner of the NBA's Atlantic division gets 3rd seed and Home court advantage in the playoffs, I think the top ranked player in Canada should get an invite/trip.

Why should we get only 1-2 invites at a crapshoot nats because we don't have as much OP support or player base as the US or mexico



and yeah I'd take an invite without the trip

 

[ryanvergel]

Poor canucks.

I was talking to my roomie, and we pretty much realized how sparse the cities will be for Canadia. Do you guys even get "states"? Regionals are a joke there too, as are Nats.

Poor yous =(

 

[Lord Broly]

We Get Cities. In the Province of Alberta there will be a Total of 6.
Sure it may not be as much as some of the US states but it's still
good for our player population. Aside from that I do believe British
Columbia, Alberta and Ontario will have there own states, and there
will be a Canadian Nationals which is still being determined to where
it will be located. I hope it's in Alberta because BC+Alberta has a
Larger Player Base than Ontario. Now back on topic, I to am Mad
at why they did this. They Eliminated another chance that we have at
going to worlds. The only way we could go is Top 4 at Nationals I believe
or Go Win the Grinder. The Past Years we could just go into a Gym Challenge
and try and win. This Year it seems like a whole season of playing all comes
down whether to how you do at Nationals. Totally Unfair.

And to Think I actually started to Believe I had a chance since I got 2nd at
a City. Now What do I do?

 

[higumaotoshi]

Poor canucks.

I was talking to my roomie, and we pretty much realized how sparse the cities will be for Canadia. Do you guys even get "states"? Regionals are a joke there too, as are Nats.

Poor yous =(

I think US players are allowed up at our Regs and States =(

That means those two tourneys will all be avoiding the US matchups in top cut, which boils down to luck, which is lame =/

It's a good thing Nats is closed this year or else that would be about avoiding Americans again

I started playing this game competitively because I thought I had a very good chance to get into worlds because, after playing for only 3 months, I play better decks and can outplay most of the people who got in from Ontario last year.

Now, it looks like I only get one shot to get in, at a crapshoot tourney. If I get unlucky that day (like I have at 3 of our SINGLE ELIM TOPCUT cities so far), then everything I put into this game up to that point will go to waste.




and Broly, I believe Ontario has a larger player base than the West. We had turnouts of about 50-60 people for each cities here. How many did you guys have?

 

[Lord Broly]

I was talkin about BC and Alberta combined. Besides, Ontario has
had Nationals there 2 Years in a Row and they don't really need to have
it again.

 

[Scizor]

Well, I've got finals to study for and other things. GL Canada and everyone else. I can't WAIT to see what POP has to say about all this! Keep it real, peeps.

 

[Lawman]

If there is truly only 64 invites/age group (or slightly higher since grinder is back), lets look at the % of invites to US players vs the World? US Nats...top 2, if not 4. Last yr top 4 (I know, not ALL american), Continental rankings.....Masters...fair to say 5 or 6 of 8? So, in Masters, it appears that the USA will have about 10 or so, w/o counting grindering in....dunno the numbers avail. yet. About 1 in 6 competitors are USA. Next highest % will be Japan be....4 to 8? So, USA will be the highest % of anybody from the World. Others get 1-2 invites/age group only. Sour grapes, please line up bc it appears the USA still has the best of the %'s IMHO.

Keith

 

[[R]Visitor]

You all seem to be talking about playing Pokémon as something you're doing for profit. It's a GAME people. The game should have a fun element intrinsically; and if that doesn't appeal to you, but the prizes do, then I'd love this decision even more for giving you the incentive to leave this game.

Y'know what was really fun last year? Going to worlds and meeting thousands of people, trading and playing with them, and all around, being surrounded by masses of fellow pokemon fans.

Guess what I can't do this year. That. Up there. ^^. I can go and meet the whole 40 people there, and it'll cost me 800$+ to do it. Hooray. That isn't fun. That sucks.

 

[Rulemaster]

Y'know what was really fun last year? Going to worlds and meeting thousands of people, trading and playing with them, and all around, being surrounded by masses of fellow pokemon fans.

Guess what I can't do this year. That. Up there. ^^. I can go and meet the whole 40 people there, and it'll cost me 800$+ to do it. Hooray. That isn't fun. That sucks.

amen.

 

[Flaming_Spinach]

remember that Yamato didn't qualify last year. Being good, even world class, isn't enough outside the USA.

It's not enough IN the USA either.

I remember a story about a kid who -unable to win any of the 3 Gym Challenges he could attend- spent $800 on a flight and lodging to play in Canada Nationals. He won an invite without trip (since he was non-canadian), paid his own way to Worlds, and ended up WINNING WORLDS. Next year, he followed up with something no one has ever done before.

In case you didn't get it yet, that kids name is Jeremy Maron.

Being the best in the world (or even close) does not guarantee anything. And with even less people going to Worlds, less of those World-class players will make it.


Now think of this...

You could easily say that Chuck, Moss, Fulop and Seena are the 4 best players in the USA without invites yet (but that's not the point I'm arguing). With 8 Invites given on Rankings to N.A., and a speculative 4 at Nationals, I can't immagine any more than 1 of them wins an invite this year.

Some of the best in the World will not be going to Worlds solely because it's TOO SMALL this year.

Sour grapes, please line up bc it appears the USA still has the best of the %'s IMHO.

Uh. Yeah.

I truly do not understand the int'l response. You guys get ONE invite per country, and a small number of Ratings invites.

The USA gets AT LEAST 10 (if you count those who won invites at Worlds last year). And if we get 8 at Nationals this year (a rumor I've heard), we could have as many as NINETEEN players in Worlds.

Are you guys REALLY happy with this?

 

[Scizor]

Yeah, I'm baffled by the response from non-Americans. You can't hold our 3 Top 4 players against our invites though, that's to our credit. Spinach is right though, there will be great players not playing in Worlds, moreso than ever before. I just can't imagine a Worlds without those players you listed, sounds very lame.

 

[Type O negative]

Y'know what was really fun last year? Going to worlds and meeting thousands of people, trading and playing with them, and all around, being surrounded by masses of fellow pokemon fans.

Guess what I can't do this year. That. Up there. ^^. I can go and meet the whole 40 people there, and it'll cost me 800$+ to do it. Hooray. That isn't fun. That sucks.

So the only time you guys can have some real fun with this TCG is when you are at the World Championships?

 

[bullados]

So the only time you guys can have some real fun with this TCG is when you are at the World Championships?

To continue with this thought...

That's quite sad, actually. The most fun event that I went to all of last year was a Cities in Rockford. Small location, but lots of people. Actually, about 70-ish (Camille, you can correct me on that number), but just a great time all around. Good atmosphere, great people, and fun times.

You don't need thousands of people at a Pokemon event to have a good time. All you need is a few close friends and a bit of table space for some good times (sometimes, table space is not required). If you are only in this game to get to Worlds, then you're likely better off playing YGO, VS, The Spoils, or MTG, because those have much bigger prizes and much larger tournaments. I'm in this game for the game. If there are a lot of people at a particular event, that's kool. If there aren't, that's kool too. I'm fine just playing, winning, losing, or whatever comes my way. Heck, I just went 2-2 at a local tourney with a fairly average deck, and had a blast doing so! If you cannot say that you can have fun going 2-2, then you're in the wrong game, IMHO.

 

[Absolution]

You could argue that Bullados, but isn't sharing and event as special as Worlds with your local friends as well as all your friends across the nation AND from other countries something worth maintaining?

We only get maybe two chances a year to see our friends from outside of our immediate area. Nats and Worlds, and now one is too exclusive for that to be a possibility any longer. (Also notably, not EVERYONE can make it out to Ohio for an event you have to pay money to enter [technically speaking, Origins.])

And unfortunately, on top of it all, the only SUREFIRE invites will be at Nats, where said friends will be competing against each other in arguably the most competitive, cutthroat crapshoot of a tournament this game has ever seen. I will not be surprised if this creates a LOT of bad blood between players, and unjustly so at that.

Just something to mull over.

-Absolution

Sidenote: I would NOT mind paying money for events like cities, states and regionals if it meant bigger prize support! I've been saying this since '04; if I have to pay money for gas and food to play at a tournament, what's another five bucks or so?

 

[Moss Factor]

Bullados: I think every competitive player has fun playing the game. To be honest, competitive players easily play many more games than noncompetitive players simply because they enjoy it so much. And because competitive players like playing the game so much, when they are told that they have a very small chance of being at the biggest event of the year, they're upset.

YOU may have just as much fun at a local tournament as at Worlds, but you're in the extreme minority. Worlds is a blast! Everyone knows it, and trying to convince me or anyone else that it isn't the biggest and best event of the year is a joke! It's like saying that the NBA finals are just as exciting and interesting as a regular season game; get real!

Worlds is what everyone wants to make it to. Maybe they don't all work hard to get there, but they sure want a shot! Nobody is saying the only time they have fun is at Worlds, but what many people are saying is that the time they have the MOST fun is at Worlds! Giving someone little-to-no hope at getting to play at the most fun event of the year is upsetting to the majority of players.

 

[the_sniper]

Bullados: I think every competitive player has fun playing the game. To be honest, competitive players easily play many more games than noncompetitive players simply because they enjoy it so much. And because competitive players like playing the game so much, when they are told that they have a very small chance of being at the biggest event of the year, they're upset.

YOU may have just as much fun at a local tournament as at Worlds, but you're in the extreme minority. Worlds is a blast! Everyone knows it, and trying to convince me or anyone else that it isn't the biggest and best event of the year is a joke! It's like saying that the NBA finals are just as exciting and interesting as a regular season game; get real!

Worlds is what everyone wants to make it to. Maybe they don't all work hard to get there, but they sure want a shot! Nobody is saying the only time they have fun is at Worlds, but what many people are saying is that the time they have the MOST fun is at Worlds! Giving someone little-to-no hope at getting to play at the most fun event of the year is upsetting to the majority of players.

Truth!!!


~john

 

[JandPDS]

.

I have a solution for that, in case Worlds really goes to Europe, the N-Americans can have their STATES with 1 trip+invite and only local citizen allowed to play. And you also can have 3 invites per group without TRIP.


Rainbow, I wish we had the opportunity to earn an invite without a trip added to it. But for some reason PUI has decided that in North America the only way players to get to participate in Worlds is to earn an invite and a trip together. (Unless you grind in at the LCQ)
I wish they would offer invites without trips here but they do not. I would be very pleased if our States and or Regionals had an Invite and Trip at stake for first place and invties only to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places.

 

[Shadow Zangoose]

Bullados: I think every competitive player has fun playing the game. To be honest, competitive players easily play many more games than noncompetitive players simply because they enjoy it so much. And because competitive players like playing the game so much, when they are told that they have a very small chance of being at the biggest event of the year, they're upset.

YOU may have just as much fun at a local tournament as at Worlds, but you're in the extreme minority. Worlds is a blast! Everyone knows it, and trying to convince me or anyone else that it isn't the biggest and best event of the year is a joke! It's like saying that the NBA finals are just as exciting and interesting as a regular season game; get real!

Worlds is what everyone wants to make it to. Maybe they don't all work hard to get there, but they sure want a shot! Nobody is saying the only time they have fun is at Worlds, but what many people are saying is that the time they have the MOST fun is at Worlds! Giving someone little-to-no hope at getting to play at the most fun event of the year is upsetting to the majority of players.

Amen brother. Keep on preaching!

 

[ryanvergel]

If there is truly only 64 invites/age group (or slightly higher since grinder is back), lets look at the % of invites to US players vs the World? US Nats...top 2, if not 4. Last yr top 4 (I know, not ALL american), Continental rankings.....Masters...fair to say 5 or 6 of 8? So, in Masters, it appears that the USA will have about 10 or so, w/o counting grindering in....dunno the numbers avail. yet. About 1 in 6 competitors are USA. Next highest % will be Japan be....4 to 8? So, USA will be the highest % of anybody from the World. Others get 1-2 invites/age group only. Sour grapes, please line up bc it appears the USA still has the best of the %'s IMHO.

Keith

Wow, we get 1/6 invites but also have over 1/2 of the players in the world.

That means two things:

We have it hardest to get it.
We deserve more.

 

[Rainbowgym]

.

I have a solution for that, in case Worlds really goes to Europe, the N-Americans can have their STATES with 1 trip+invite and only local citizen allowed to play. And you also can have 3 invites per group without TRIP.


Rainbow, I wish we had the opportunity to earn an invite without a trip added to it. But for some reason PUI has decided that in North America the only way players to get to participate in Worlds is to earn an invite and a trip together. (Unless you grind in at the LCQ)
I wish they would offer invites without trips here but they do not. I would be very pleased if our States and or Regionals had an Invite and Trip at stake for first place and invties only to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places.

There were invites without trips in 2004, ranking based invites.
Several reasons made POP change this (at least for N-A) to let each invite come with a trip.
One of the main problems, as far I can see it, is the International LD system which made them re-distribute paid invites.
If all LD's would have given at least each 1st place Nationals winner a trip I think this cut down would not have happened.

But that's only my 2 cents.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

I truly do not understand the int'l response. You guys get ONE invite per country, and a small number of Ratings invites.

The USA gets AT LEAST 10 (if you count those who won invites at Worlds last year). And if we get 8 at Nationals this year (a rumor I've heard), we could have as many as NINETEEN players in Worlds.

Are you guys REALLY happy with this?

You don't understand we are getting more chances than ever before.
Any Master, Senior and Junior will get a chance (what do I say, ONE no it's 5 or 7) on a paid invite this year. This was not standard last years. You seem to forget there were many Nationals with only 1trip for the whole tournament.
Not the luxury of 1 for each agegroup.
For the most players the past 3 years, going to Worlds simply was out of reach, now it's in reach.

How many people from Europe/Asia in the past were able to travel to Worlds without a paid trip, only a few because it's to expensive.
I see people complaining that a ticket to Hawaii is $800, man I wish I could buy a ticket for that price, I need to pay 4 of them and from here it's $1600 or more EACH.