this schedule and qualification format is absolutely bonkers for gc teams looking to compete at higher levels in coed. it goes against everything leo and riot have championed publicly about what gc is here for. on one hand, i bet a lot of the gc community is excited thanks to a more loaded schedule than 2023, knowing competitors will have lots and lots of opportunities to compete in qualifier + tournament settings in 2024. however, i strongly believe this further promotes a level of complacency for a large portion of the playerbase that is already abundant in gc. many of these teams need to break out of the comfort zone of competing in sakura cup/gc academy level tournaments. those events clearly have a place within the gc ecosystem, but this schedule (with *multiple* qualification tournaments feeding into each main event) feels like a glorified academy tournament that runs the entire year with little opportunity to compete in much else. it surely helps new players acclimating into the scene but imo it hampers what will surely be 5-10 teams of established vets looking to break into the next level. **again, i'm framing this from the perspective of everything we've heard from riot about gc's 'goal' over the last 2 years.** knights worked hard to accommodate the gc schedule into their challengers schedule and format, and probably didn't receive enough credit for it last season. knowing riot has been talking to gc players through various channels over the last year asking for feedback -- and now seeing this -- i just don't see where the opportunity will be for vertical mobility for a lot of these players who are at that level. last year's gc1 started in late march/april, and now there are 2 open qualifiers for 1 event scheduled directly on top of the only 2 NACL qualifiers for the year? also, not only has gc1 been pushed up by 2 months compared to 2023 (sitting directly on top of those NACL qualis) but gc3 and champs continue to fall in 3Q and 4Q when T1 and T2 coed teams are trialing for 2025). If those end of year events remain the same, what is the justification for moving the first event 2 months up? it's just frustrating because i know we'll be having the same conversations at the end of this year. willing to listen to other povs on this and admit i missed the mark or vision, but i feel strongly that this format caters almost exclusively to new players rather than helping those working hard and investing the last 2 or 3 years of their career trying to break out of gc. i also want to say i know you can't make everyone happy. i'm not saying that a large portion of the gc playerbase deserves to be compromised at the expense of others. i don't really have a solution as to how you can make everyone happy. i know raidiant will do a great job executing this year and am excited to see them get this opportunity. but i also think this schedule and format is completely tone deaf and antithetical to what riot preaches and expects for its players here.