CieZ, i always like your posts, but this is a part where we have to heavily disagree i guess. Let me elaborate.
Well, how do they call those again... qualifiers? Lower divisions?
So why do they have the same price money? Right, they usually don't, except in COH2
Just to give a few NA players an easier time winning the same amount of money due plain lack of competition?
Sounds like a lot of marketing money down the drain to me, even followed by a bunch of rather boring games.
If someone plays hours and hours to go through a tourney, then directly signs up for another one, and even wins it, then he deserves it, not? Isn't it actually easier to get up in the morning, than playing till the dawn of next day?
Let's be real here, nothing is gonna change for the broader audience, that's a really bad excuse. The same people will make it to the final spots, excluding the EU guys now, with just way less competition, which results in worse games overall.
And that doesn't even include the issue of "outside timezones", they basically - excuse my language - piss on. Again: yay asian / eastern market being forced to play at ~4am - great idea, and really fair, right?
I want to see "minor leagues" and divisions as well, but creating arbitrary rules based on citizenship is absolutely... retarded stupid not thought through.
Salt aside, i hope you get my point.
The one thing that people are missing to understand is that, with the old format:
ALL North American players would have to get up at 4:30-6:30 AM JUST TO SIGN UP AND COMPETE. If they get knocked out, then what?.. go back to bed?
VS.
ONLY EU players who keep winning in the NA cup HAVE to stay up till late (arguably "have", since most gamers are known to game till late night anyway). So, pretty much, you play the EU cup, then play NA cup and ONLY if you are good you have to face the problem of staying up till late
So... NO! it's not like waking up early or staying up late is a wash-wash, so please don't use this argument