Nobody wants to fly across the world (without sponsorship) to be placed up against someone who should never have been seeded in their spot to begin with, because he doesn't want to face his team mates in pools.
If I'm dropping 3-5k on a trip to Vegas, I shouldn't be forced to have my spot stolen in my pool or have my match set against Sonicfox because "I'm not a top player and he is, and he decided not to fight his friend so here's the shaft. Thanks for paying, thanks for playing.". If the killers are going to make it to top 8, then they can grind through whatever match-up they have to grind through to get there. If them having to fight a certain individual means they aren't going to make it, then good. They didn't deserve that spot because they clearly weren't in the top 8 of players attending. If YOMI | A and YOMI | B can't make top 8 because they have to fight eachother, then they don't belong in top 8. Plain and simple.
You want to give the viewers a good show? Give them players who have earned their spot, not players who have chosen them. This is EVO dammit, the biggest tournament of the world. Everyone comes here to win. If they aren't prepared to fight to the last pixel and speck of meter, then they won't progress. The same goes for every single individual. Seeding is fine, it's taken care of, but that's as far as it should go imo. A good player doesn't need to swap, he will cut down everyone, and I do mean everyone, if he wants that money. If his friend doesn't make it, then that's a crying shame, but if YOMI | A isn't willing to cut down YOMI | B, or feels that because they play a lot at locals they shouldn't fight, then Yomi | A isn't concerned with winning, he is simply concerned with not losing.
When you have a top 16 or top 32 full of people who are simply concerned with not losing, then the matches become stale. Have we really become so tame, so sated, that we no longer hunger for victory? Do we no longer feel like it's worth it to fight someone strong? I remember at one point, Atlanta was the hungriest place. They came into the tournament grizzled and starving for placement, and it showed in their matches. That tournament was the most hype one to watch when Atlanta was on stage or on stream because they played like people who actually came there to do more than just exist in bracket spots until they moved up. Every single player played like they deserved to be there, every single one played like the top 8 was a prey to hunt. Even the worst of them, even the best of them, they all fought with that same fire. They all fought to win, and solely to win, and I don't doubt if another ATL player got in their way they would go for the throats to get through.
Atlanta was the best in that tournament because they were more concerned with earning top 8 than they were swapping to have an easy time in pools. Now THAT was a tournament worth watching. No one knew who top 8 would be, the pools were full of upsets and hype, it was just the pinnacle of potential for the community in terms of providing an experience for both viewers and players.
Now look at us. Crawling over others just to get to the shallow ends of the pool. For having the most brutal and bloody game, we sure don't have the community to match :/ Or at least, not anymore.
My point still stands.
Anyways, my rant is over. Just don't ship me into an earlier bracket and get me DQ'd and I could care less.
, and if I get bodied then I will support the yomi boyz and etc.
