APAT European Amateur Team Championship

[HaworthBantam]

Des, this looks like a brilliant event.  I"m sure virtually everyone would be proud to represent their country - and if not, support the ones who are selected.

Spot on    

[bigredders]

i think that the overall structure is fantastic, it could almost have a similar relevence to how the major pros view the wsop HORSE championship, obviously from an amateur perspective as most of us amateurs can only play hold-em so its a chance to show your skills at various facets of the game.
The only problem i see is that it could be a tournament that is only going to be played by long standing apat players, which i can understand as any appointed captain is going to choose players not through favouritism but basically because he/she would know those players games and how good they are, he/she will not know less established apat players therefore it would be a shot in the dark to choose them.
as a conclusion to this epic post i think this kind of tournament has a big future in the apat schedule, hopefully next year it could include "best newcomer" or highest amount of points gained in live play and also ranking leaders. apat should be applauded for introducing new events and not stagnating schedules!

[Chipaccrual]

i think that the overall structure is fantastic, it could almost have a similar relevence to how the major pros view the wsop HORSE championship, obviously from an amateur perspective as most of us amateurs can only play hold-em so its a chance to show your skills at various facets of the game.
The only problem i see is that it could be a tournament that is only going to be played by long standing apat players, which i can understand as any appointed captain is going to choose players not through favouritism but basically because he/she would know those players games and how good they are, he/she will not know less established apat players therefore it would be a shot in the dark to choose them.
as a conclusion to this epic post i think this kind of tournament has a big future in the apat schedule, hopefully next year it could include "best newcomer" or highest amount of points gained in live play and also ranking leaders. apat should be applauded for introducing new events and not stagnating schedules!

Nice Post

[morlspin]

Maybe try to add more emphasis to regional championships too? If you win your region, you get not only a seat to the worlds in london, but a national team seat too?

[Jon MW]

...
The only problem i see is that it could be a tournament that is only going to be played by long standing apat players, ...

To counterbalance your argument I would suggest that anybody who wins a national championship will have made some kind of impact even if that was the only event they have entered so newer APAT players should still be in the running.

But generally I think you"re right, however I"m sure this will be a recurring tournament so todays new members are next years established members (etc. etc.), so I don"t think it"s necessarily that big a problem.

[Mikeyboy9361]

The teams should be picked as per the final season ranking positions, this is the only fair way of doing so, otherwise captains will end up picking people they know, or their closest pals in the APAT community. To have come close to the top of the rankings indicates great support to the APAT events both live and on line, and as such these people deserve to play in the big "selectorial" events on merit. As I have expressed in earlier posts I am not wholly happy with the points system for this season, and I am fully aware that Des is on the case for next season, but if we have a league table to show who are our best players in season 2 then to me it is a no brainer to use it! Unfortunately that means I haven"t got a chance of selection, maybe next year?

[MAIR]

Well unfortunately for me, the UK Forum Championship was a non-ranking event and although I won it, I dont get ranking points for the leaderboard.

[tumblet]

Well unfortunately for me, the UK Forum Championship was a non-ranking event and although I won it, I dont get ranking points for the leaderboard.

im sure u will be high on the consideration list...

Team Wales FTW obv

[Jon MW]

Well unfortunately for me, the UK Forum Championship was a non-ranking event and although I won it, I dont get ranking points for the leaderboard.

I think this is a good example of where the team captains can use a bit of judgment. Some people might be known to be good, but not scored highly in the National Championships.

I think this organisation of choosing the teams is much better than just going by the rankings, it enables the captains to look at the bigger picture rather than just APAT. Being a captain in this tournament is much more than just a honorary title, the judgment of the captains could have a real bearing on the tournament result.

I think it"s unlikely that anybody will get picked just for being friends with a team captain - this kind of thinking seriously underestimates the will to win of just about anybody who takes part in APAT tournaments. I"m extremely confident that whatever the nitty gritty details of how the teams get chosen the underlying concept that all of the team captains will have in mind will be -who are the best people to make us the most likely to win.

[APAT]

The teams should be picked as per the final season ranking positions, this is the only fair way of doing so, otherwise captains will end up picking people they know, or their closest pals in the APAT community. To have come close to the top of the rankings indicates great support to the APAT events both live and on line, and as such these people deserve to play in the big "selectorial" events on merit. As I have expressed in earlier posts I am not wholly happy with the points system for this season, and I am fully aware that Des is on the case for next season, but if we have a league table to show who are our best players in season 2 then to me it is a no brainer to use it! Unfortunately that means I haven"t got a chance of selection, maybe next year?

Unfortunately it"s not that simple.  Many many players have shown incredible support to APAT and not scored many points at all, while some have done extremely well in a smaller number of events.  As with Mary, we may well crown our World Amateur Champion in a couple of weeks time and find that he cannot get within miles of a team spot.  Now, that may be right, however I think it is correct that the captain should have the final decision on team makeup.

[kinboshi]

[Mikeyboy9361]

I"m sorry Des I have to disagree on this one I think it is as simple as that. I presume Des that you will select the team captain, in that case pick players you feel deserve some recognition for their contribution and support to APAT ( and are hope fully good players), and maybe have a wild card pick like Darren suggested. But I do feel that the guys who have tried seriously to do well in the seasons ranking events should be rewarded with places in the team.

[bigredders]

the problem with judging it solely on the rankings is that certain players have more time to play ranking events than others, this is why i suggested most points in live play, after all it is a live tournament. for example i have only played in 3 ranking events this season, yet im in the top 50(or was last time i looked)

in any case these are all ideas for next year..as it is a work in progress

[Maxriddles]

Well unfortunately for me, the UK Forum Championship was a non-ranking event and although I won it, I dont get ranking points for the leaderboard.

I"d like to think that you will be in the Scotland team Mary, not just because of your achievements in Blackpool but your regular participation in other APAT events including the regionals and online, and of course the forum. A few good results too, not just Blackpool.

Onlive winner MickeyP is another regular participant at the regionals and online events who I feel warrants a place even if the rankings may say otherwise.

[HaworthBantam]

Exactly Jon. 

Why would someone pick a team of mates, if it meant they"d lose.  Imagine the embarrassment of losing to the Scots for example - can"t think of anything worse!

You don"t have to imagine for long Daniel. You"ll be able to realise the real thing come November.