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Non Giants in a Giants invitational? (!)
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Non Giants in a Giants invitational? (!) (Coolrey)
Date: Monday, 27 May 2013, at 12:37 a.m.
It was a great event with a really fun format, and extremely well-run. I can understand why, with several excellent players coming all the way from Japan and Turkey, and the need to round out the field, that Rory felt it would be a better event with more players, particularly since those players (and David Rockwell who just missed the top 64 list and wanted to compete) really wanted to play.
I ONLY entered myself because I was so proud of being voted amongst the top 64 in the world and wanted the opportunity to compete as a Giant, against other Giants. Who knows if I will continue to be on that list in the future, and for how long, as I am getting older and the competition gets tougher every day, and there may not be events like this at a tournament I can attend in the future. So I entered because it truly was a Giants event. When I found out that it was diluted, I immediately notified Rory that I preferred to save my money...I am a realist, and I know my odds of cashing against the likes of Mochy, Neil, Jake, MCG, Petko etc. etc. are poor.
When I heard the reasons for opening it up, and considered who was being allowed to be included and why, and the fact that I truly did think it was wonderful that Sabri and Mochy's pals and David wanted to support the tournament, and the fact that they probably all were qualified to compete at this level, and the fact that there were not enough true Giants to fill the field, and Rory's pleas for me not to drop out and support him and the event, I agreed (and asked that if there were enough without me I would withdraw).
Yes, I am SURE the event could have been run fairly well with 14 or 16 or even 13...and yes, there could have been some byes and sit-outs that might make the scoring more awkward, but it could have been left as a pure Giant's competition. Yes, Ray has a point...it was diluted. A Giant is a giant not just because of his technical skills, but because the players believe, for several reasons, that he should be honored with this great distinction.
Rory made a call, and in his place many of us might have done the same for the standpoint of the income, the fairness of the event, and out of courtesy to the players traveling great distances who wanted to play in that event as long as they were coming to Chicago. Yes, it is correct to say that this event was not truly a pure "Giant" competition...it could have been called Giant Plus or something that more correctly identified what it was. Personally, I believe my record against the true Giants was better than to the non-Giants, and I would have advanced to the final 8 had it not been for one of the non-giants knocking me out in the final qualifying round (at DMP). So maybe the additional entrants actually cost me, personally.
But we all know that it was not purely a Giants event, and the event will still probably be won by a Giant, so all we are debating is the semantics of what the event was called. Yes, it's easy to criticize, but being a tournament director who is trying to please everyone and make a profit for all the effort, and trying to come up with the best competition possible is not easy, and we need to cut these people some slack and be positive and cooperative.
Yes, when we see something done wrong, or something we disagree with, we do have the right to speak up and voice our opinion....like Ray, I am not afraid to speak my mind and call B.S. when I see it (like not awarding penalty points when someone is late or not sticking to the rules of the event unless there is a really good reason not to etc.). But in this case, the problem is only one of semantics. Change the name of the event slightly, give everyone who wants to cough up $1000 to play in the event, and let the Giants who did sign up originally decide if they agree to having the event opened up or if they wish to drop out gracefully and without pressure when the event is changed from the original intention, and I would see no problem with what was done. Maybe this should have been called a "Super-Masters" event or something else.
My conclusion: Ray has a point, but we should all see Rory's side too and let's not bar-b-que the guy even though he is Rory. He did many other things right that many tournament directors would do well to copy.
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