But it's not really a proper equivalent. Nowadays with the way automated tours'  signups happen, it's very likely in first round that you run into someone who is running Fly Charizard or you get a bye. You can also easily manage to get into the later stages of a tournament if you're lucky enough to have your bracket arranged in a manner where you constantly face lower tier players. In the previous system, having players register on forums to sign up for tours meant they'd be a lot more skillful