Here are many 2025 tournaments listed by Harmonic Field Strength, a measure of how tough it is to go deep.
Blue bars are the ones on Spartan's list.
The discontinuous gap between China Open and International Open is interesting.
Some tournaments are hurt by scheduling while others (like Peri Open and Battle of the Bull) are helped by scheduling. I'm not sure how we should think of these events that have strong competitive fields but are not anointed with purses or points or historical significance.
If pool was like, lets say, distance running, the answer would be clear because runners to different degrees "train through" unimportant races as opposed to tapering their training for important events. Or they might wear shoes that are heavier and more protective. Aside from occasional equipment/mechanics change, pool's not really like that.
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