I"m firmly in the camp of don"t fix what ain"t broke.
Not sure how you can look at this event in anything other than isolation, as it is unique within the APAT calendar.
25 teams from across the land descend upon a poor unsuspecting venue for poker madness and mayhem.
The rail is always bigger at this event, the support is always louder. Doesn"t matter whether it"s been held in Blackpool, Manchester, Bolton or Luton, it"s something that everyone looks forward to, and stands out in the UK poker scene.
No one does this as well, or with as much anticipation from the players as APAT does.
Genting Stoke will be an amazing venue for this, as the team there really "get" what APAT is about.
If you wanted to improve the event :-
Put on a cracking Friday night event, for those that are making a weekend of it with their team.
Put on a Saturday night game, so early exits know in advance they will have a game to play, so will guarantee they plan to stay for the weekend.
Put on a Sunday afternoon game to give the rail some poker options.
Find a way to put the in-running leaderboard up on a big screen, so everyone gets the same info.
Perhaps include some live satellites for the upcoming WCOAP. Never been done before, I"m sure players would love it. Maybe a mixed game satellite that wins you a WCOAP Passport (1xME + 2xSE). Running across the weekend.
In essence, make it a wall to wall festival of poker and really showcase what APAT is all about.
Oh, and I"d love to see this payout 100% to the individuals, with team prizes being added value seats from a headline sponsor. Probably not possible, but we can all dream.
