hard disagree. all these teams have varying prep times despite qualing off the same "merit".

china teams literally have to play a game for vct cn then travel to riyadh with 2-3 days to get accustomed while every other team can bootcamp there.

to qual through uppers of groups you have to win two games in the same day with like less than an hour between matches if you go 3 maps.

no crowd, no in game reward for winning, horrible scheduling, horrible format, teams being rewarded for missing masters because they didnt have to show any of their new comps/teams that went deep in the tournament get shafted as well, no prep time for second match.

i would argue it is formatted worse than lock//in.

the only redeeming quality is that the prize pool is so large that it will help teams stay afloat financially.

i think the issue more so lies in you reducing proven coaches to wins and losses just to make a point, when majority of the coaches leaving feedback were constructive and genuinely were trying to lend a hand. it seemed more as if you were punching down at them than people punching down at you because they weren't good enough to critique you in your eyes.