Thoughts on the Boston Open

Obviously, twitter and Nugget Bridge is abuzz with the news of this Boston Open. For those of you who don't know, the Boston Open is a tournament during Day 2 of worlds that gives out some pretty solid prizes as well as CP equivalent to that received at Regionals. I've seen mixed reactions, however, most seemed to be negative. I honestly feel that reactions to this should be mostly positive. 

The first and biggest complaint I've seen about the Boston Open is that it's not fair to anyone who makes Day 2 of worlds. This complaint bothers me the most and I have a lot of issues with it. I honestly feel like it's a very selfish complaint. If you are in Day 2 of worlds, then you are one step closer to achieving your ultimate goal: Being the world champion. At this point of the tournament, I imagine the amount of people left is roughly the size of a PC (Not really sure on the numbers, but I can't imagine many more than 20-30 X-2s make Day 2). This means you literally have to be top 8 out of 20-30 people to make it to top cut. Obviously this is difficult since these are the top players in the world, but if you've made it this far, then you are also a top player and there's no reason that you couldn't make it to the top 8. Evan Latt said it best: If you aren't playing to win, then you shouldn't be in Day 2 of worlds. If you care that much, then you should just drop out of the tournament and do the Boston Open. One "solution" I've seen is to give people who make day 2 CP that counts for next season. Again, you're already competing in a tournament that gives you a $10,000 grand prize and a paid invite for next worlds. Do you not want the Boston Open to "screw you over"? Then make top 4 and get an auto invite for next season. 

Another complaint that I've seen is that people who make day 2 of worlds are now behind in CP for the next season. This is true.....if the Boston Open didn't count towards your regional best finish limit. I went to 3 Regionals last year. I had friends who went to 4, 5, or even more Regionals. Did it suck that they had extra chances to get better finishes? Of course! But that's just life. I missed going to a fourth regional due to my college graduation and then my girlfriend's birthday. And it set me back a little because I wasn't able to replace my 68th place finish at Virginia. But that's just life. I could've skipped my graduation and gone to Mass regionals (which is 45 minutes from my house). But I didn't, because I prioritized my college graduation over a regional. And this is no different. You have to prioritize. What's more important to you: Competing for the World championship? Or getting a head start for next season? 

The complaints that I've seen are unwarranted. Yes, you may be a little behind for next season but if you're good enough to make day 2, then you're good enough to win worlds and good enough to bounce back next season and make it again. All of the complaining is just trivializing what worlds really means, because you're basically saying that a regional is equally or more important than the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! I think that the tournament is good because it'll bring attendance to worlds, which makes worlds so much more exciting. Without any tournament, you get hardly any people showing up, and you have the hype level of a regional. Personally, I would prefer an LCQ because I like the idea of making worlds this year. However, I think that this tournament is a very solid replacement and should be more welcomed by the community. Please feel free to comment below. I'd love for a discussion to come from this. Thanks for reading!