What I meant by that is that I would not make the same length of effort. I would not go out of my way to not play it, but neither would I make the regular efforts and sometimes sacrifices to real life that are made to play reg. season or real playoffs, If the objective is to roll out 3 GDLs per year there should be little time in between real finals and draft. I don't really understand how you can simultaneously complain that your playoff trip is futile and you have no chance of winning and at the same time get all upset when we agree with you. I'm sure you bore no ill will but if we want to act rhetorically why should you get to be above all other A players and play for all the marbles without making the trek? Do you deserve it more than they do?
It's diluted because you basically take the obstacle of the first round out of the plan and you make regular season even more meaningless. Before you'd get the reward of a top seed by getting somebody that could not really defeat you in the 1st round (well in more recent GDL's at least). Now it literally won't matter because top 4 seeds won't miss the playoffs, maybe 1 will. It has happened 1 time a top 4 has fallen out of it without outright leaving in the last 7 seasons. It won't make it harder for the top guys (because they have the same amount of ''real'' rounds to play) it will only make it easier for the 3-4 seeds who now don't risk anything in the now inexistent 1st round.
Anyhow I'm sure I'll get told to go f**k myself and make my own things by tomorrow