Just saying, a lot of people drove 10+ hours to attend Regionals/Nationals too! (Examples: The Arnolds and JRank are two that come to mind)
And although I know it is very difficult to qualify from a European country, it is just as hard in the United States. We have to go through the same single elimination tournament you guys have to go through just to even attend Nationals and get a chance to play for our World invites!
Also, this DEFINITELY does not apply to the European Masters, but from what I can really see, the Juniors (and even Seniors) divisions aren't that strong in Europe. Watching the final battles from some of those Regionals really made me cringe a bit. (No offense to those who did well in Europe, especially those part of Team Seniors - Plusle and 7014) They even admitted how little competition they had at their Regionals. The Juniors... I can't even take seriously. (Come on! For godness sake, he used Mienshao/Excadrill/Durant/Galvantula/Eelektross/Haxorus to win.) Once again, this does not apply to Masters!!
It's just upsetting that some excellent Juniors (such as Grace Arnold) who really deserve to win a trip can't win one due to a hard bracket and a poor invite system this year. (She had to play my brother in T8). If you ask me, a lot of our American Juniors (and probably Seniors too) would be able to do very well at European Regionals.
And although I know it is very difficult to qualify from a European country, it is just as hard in the United States. We have to go through the same single elimination tournament you guys have to go through just to even attend Nationals and get a chance to play for our World invites!
Also, this DEFINITELY does not apply to the European Masters, but from what I can really see, the Juniors (and even Seniors) divisions aren't that strong in Europe. Watching the final battles from some of those Regionals really made me cringe a bit. (No offense to those who did well in Europe, especially those part of Team Seniors - Plusle and 7014) They even admitted how little competition they had at their Regionals. The Juniors... I can't even take seriously. (Come on! For godness sake, he used Mienshao/Excadrill/Durant/Galvantula/Eelektross/Haxorus to win.) Once again, this does not apply to Masters!!
It's just upsetting that some excellent Juniors (such as Grace Arnold) who really deserve to win a trip can't win one due to a hard bracket and a poor invite system this year. (She had to play my brother in T8). If you ask me, a lot of our American Juniors (and probably Seniors too) would be able to do very well at European Regionals.