Hi Everyone, thanks for the feedback thus far.
This topic is always one under scrutiny but I want to stir the pot a little with Replays perspective on some of the points made.
One overriding factor which might be changed eventually, but cannot be avoided is the fact we start tournaments every 15 minutes. We like to keep registration open for as long as possible so that anyone logging in on the off chance of a game always has a tournament they can start straight away. I know waiting 5 minutes is not really a hardship for most of us, but it is a question of having games available as much as possible.
Consistency is important because people like to know what to expect, but variety is vital too. Not all 20,000 entry tournaments should have the same period of late registration, else it becomes too stale. I like the idea of using blind levels as a metric for how long late registration could last, though. The blind levels tend to dictate the pace of the tournament too. This would also help the issue where the Late registration period is too close to the No Shows being removed.
Many people have said that 10 minutes is plenty of time for late registration, or even as low as 5. I should point out that cutting late registration reduces the number of players and therefore prize pools and ultimately Guarantees. If you join a 20,000 entry tournament with a Guarantee of 1,000,000, even if there are initially 20 players, you should not be surprised if the eventual number of players is 50 or 60.
As has been mentioned we do have 5 minutes for the freerolls and players do manage to attend on time for those, so cutting the period would not necessarily cut the prize pools too deeply. On the other hand, some players like to join as late as possible as a strategy. Should we deny them this option? There has been much debate about the pros and cons of Late registration and no-one has really proven either way if there is an innate advantage to coming late to the party or playing from the start. It is people’s individual mind-set…
Thanks again for the excellent discussion. keep it coming
Rob