blackfox wrote:
Not much imagination or time taken to execute the chops . . . . really disappointing.
You have to understand that this is to be expected. Round 1 evolved last year to become a play-in round. In past years, the tournament was limited to 2**n entries (32, 64, 128, etc). Entrants 129 - 255 were shut out of the tournament if one more person didn't sign up for the H2H. Now everyone who signs up gets to participate thanks to the updated parameters of Round 1.
Another problem with the old system, is that the lowest PSC scores would get seeded against the highest PSC scores in the very first round. That's not exactly a fair matchup, and very discouraging to people with a low PSC score to participate. The new round 1 gives these members a fighting chance to compete in at least one round of the annual H2H. The more advanced PS-skilled and creative-thinking crowd, for the most part, get to sit out round 1.
Round 1 isn't going to blow anybody away with 30 new Favorite images. It's a participation round. Would you go to Pee-Wee football game and yell from the crowd, "What the hell is this? You kids suck at this! Your Quarterback can't even throw the ball 5 yards. The newspaper clearly said Steelers vs. Patriots at 10AM right here at Roosevelt Elementary Park. You guys are a bunch of tiny fake NFL players. I want my $3 back!"?
