Hello BD, Just a little reply to the subject of the qualification spots.
Firstly I find it very hard to judge a region which didn't manage to field two of its stronger teams this year. Last year Fusion finished 4th, this year Mud Culture(aka Far Flung) made it to the semi final earlier in the year down in Leeds. Secondly, of the teams that did make it,STD, made up of different players to the previous 2 mentioned, slipped up at vital stages of matches, losing and finshing well below their expected spot after being knocked out in their cross-over by the team which finished 3rd. Aberdeen narrowly lost to 2 of the top eight by only a point, showing the experience they had gained on the first day, to take the spoon. Allocating qualifying spots on how teams from that region have done previuosly that year would be OK if all the teams entered enough tornaments. Judgeing a team you know nothing about could cause problems. Although I agree it would encourage open teams to play together more. At the end of the day I think it'll be very hard to reduce any regions number of spots before the tourney when in Scotlands case 2 couldn't make it, one underperformed, and the other gained a lot of experience(which they could be denied to use if less spots are allocated next year?). I think a better idea would be to allocate the spots left by teams who qualified but couldn't make it, to the stronger regions, based on the previous years results at finals. Hope your still awake, Sam (STD)
