Worlds '05 Biggest Waste of Time :: Top 8 for 15+ Grinders only made it to Big Event

[dld4a]

Hmmmmmmm...

'mom

Ahem!

My motivation in doing this is not born from a feeling of being "ripped off" in the Grinder, but from a desire to do what I can to see that the mistake is not repeated, for the good of the game. Did I go 4-1 in the Grinder? Yes. Was it disappointing? Yes, but that has zero effect on the logic behind my main point,

Edited for content:
I would have kept this to a PM, but seeing as my motivation was called into question in public I shall respond in kind.
How dare you call into question my motivation. That was completely uncalled for, unwarranted, and undeserved. I expect an open and complete apology, immediately.

 

[Prof Clay]

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I believe that it is the second most important because it is the largest tournament in the world (I believe, Maybe Japan's Nat's is bigger) But it is bigger than Worlds itself and there for could be considered more of a test of your skills (though I believe it's actually watered down enough to preclude this). Also the Grinder is the glue that holds the entire season together. It is what we have to look forward to all season long after we just miss getting invite after invite after invite. How positive are you going to be about the season with out the Grinder to look forward to all season long. It is nearly as important to the congruity of the entire season as Worlds itself. None of the other tournaments you listed can claim any thing even close to that level importance.

How can the grinder be as important as that? The Grinder is not a "necessary" tournament. World's will still take place easily without it. I understand your frustration at being so close so many times at qualifiers, but you cannot equate its importance with any of the other qualifiers.

If all the people who qualified for World's signed in on Friday, would there still be a need for the Grinder?
I do not believe so. The Grinder diminishes the meaning of winning a trip at a Gym, Regional or Nationals. The Grinder is there as a last hope, and I think all players should simply be grateful that it is even offered, no matter what form the tournament takes.

 

[Cyrus]

The Grinder's importance is vastly overrated. It's more like a very huge side event with a very nice prize at the finish line

However, despite its importance being overrated, its competition was not. BEFORE I found out that only T8 would get invites, I said that it would definitely be the 3rd hardest tournament of the season...guess I was right.

 

[Flaming_Spinach]

The grinder is in a league of its own. It's the only tournament where the number of prizes is directly related to the attendance of another tournament. It's also the only one where there are no specially made promos or consolation prizes. It doesn't make alot of sense to compare it to other tournaments in any way.

That being said, it would be cool if there was a grinder promo. Only 386 of these cards would have been given out this year, making it extremely rare. That would be cool. One more thing Avmozz would have to track down. (giggle)

 

[kobain_fan]

what i wanted to add from what patriarch said, i knew that it was gonna be very dificult for people getting into worlds, this year, alot of people got into pokemon, didnt they say that POP had to make more ID's because they ran out and pokemon is the biggest number of players that entered into the TCG?

 

[The Gorn]

I would like to see the Grinder be eliminated.

It is only a marketing tool for Nintendo to attract more locals to the event (and to get more of the younger players into the game - again, marketing).

 

[NoPoke]

I would like to see the Grinder be eliminated.

It is only a marketing tool for Nintendo to attract more locals to the event (and to get more of the younger players into the game - again, marketing).

KEEP THE GRINDER:- TOTALLY BIASED INTERNATIONAL VIEWPOINT FOLLOWS

The grinder also serves as an additional reason for international players to attend worlds. I can't imagine the outcry if worlds was moved to Europe and the grinder taken away at the same time. All those USA players who 'deserved' a place at worlds would be shouting long and loud/


dld4a:
Adding more rounds is fine in principle untill you come up against a time constraint. That time constraint was one of the objections I had to GrandmaJoners proposal that worlds should be matchplay for every round. However given the assumption that more time IS available there seemed like better ways to use the additional time, if any were available, by adding more swiss rounds. I showed that you need to add lots of swiss rounds , not just a couple. to reduce the effects of pairings luck. Like it or not luck is a factor in this game. Would it have been fun to play a few more rounds in the grinder? Yes . Would it have been fun to have everyone there untill midnight? NO! I'm sorry that you didn't like the time constraint but like it or not it is still there.

 

[M_Liesik]

I'd just like to state that I've read the entirety of this thread, and will be making my recommendations to Dave based on both personal observations and feedback posted here.

To weigh in on the subject; the point of Swiss is to determine a winner by running a number of rounds until only one player remains undefeated. POP was trying to determine eight winners, not one. Therefore, the Grinder was run, as advertised, as a modified form of Swiss.

I understand everyone's frustrations regarding the time at which POP announced who would have made it to Worlds. As Dave stated in post #96, we didn't know how many slots we'd had left until 8PM. Rest assured, had we taken the top 9 from the 15+, we would have still run 5 rounds, and taken 9th based on tiebreakers.

I don't see that this discussion is really getting anywhere; maybe its time to stop. What's done is done, and nothing can change that now. As mentioned above, I'll be making my suggestions to Dave about the Grinder next year.

 

[Windjet]

this is a reply to some of the replies to my last post

it is true that it might cost pui more money to hold it in a different country, but if you think about it the reason that 60-70% of the players using their invites were from america is 1> PUI=Pokemon USA Incorpurated so most of the qualifying tournies are in america and 2. it is easier to get here from america but if (and I am writeing this like M45 to get a reaction) we cut down on the chances in america it would cost less, or the reciprical is giveing more chances (paid invites) outside of america to get here but that too would cost more money.

 

[SD PokeMom]

Thanks Mike...and with that, *click*

'mom