I would like to make a suggestion.
The Apat team captain, when announced, is going to be someone well respected and a decent player within the community.
That captain I am sure will have a very tough time in picking a team but is going to pick people that he/she knows personally to be a very good player and people who have had recent good results and rightly so as we want Apat to have the best team possible.
I would like to see a team made up of Apat randoms...ie players who have played Apat in the past either live or online, who are not part of any other forums and who basically have no chance of experiencing the team event. In the last online league where my team came 4th there are 4/6 of my team who fall into this category and I am sure there are LOADS more.
So I would like to propose a "Simon Cowell" team. Open a thread where players who are not members of any other forums can put there name down, then a team can be drawn at random...at least then some of them will get to play?
In my own experience of playing poker in team events be it as a forum team or international, a huge factor for me was to be amongst players that you would care just as much for them winning as you do for yourself, in fact more sometimes!
I know for a fact when it came to the crunch at WCOAP a couple of seasons ago personally i was more worried about letting my team mates down than i was myself..
Tbh... Hand on heart if i was in a team of "randoms" i would prehaps not worry so much, hence my game might play different in crucial spots..
But i do understand to a certain extent where you are coming from Suz, when i had the honour and prestige to captain a team i have always believed it a good thing to introduce at least 1 or 2 new players who have yet to play for APAT.. As i believe everyone should get a shot at experiencing the fun, banter and sweat that team poker provides
So i dunno about putting all names in a hat and drawing out 8 random people, dont know if this would end up being a way for a successful team? ( may be wrong )..
Think a team with a captain who has prior experience is neccessary, then prehaps he has to include at least 2 or 3 newbies/virgins to the squad?
Just my thoughts..
Looking forward to this immensley see you all in Manchester .