For the record I generally agree with the points made in the article and for the record Machi definitely isn't better than Fusion Uni but I think a lot of what I'm saying in is reference to how the system should be not what it is.
I think you're right in that currently there just are regions which are regarded as higher skilled than others. That's probably always going to be true, even when you look at international club football La Liga and Premier league are going to be much more competitive than regional leagues in Asia. The same is likely going to be true for Korea vs anywhere else for the foreseeable future.
The greater issue that I see for T2 players is that despite having reached what should be considered the highest non-owl level of competition you can play in (Contenders/T2) your path to the owl looks more like Contenders AU -> Contenders Pac -> Contenders NA -> OWL, instead of what it should be: Contenders -> OWL.
This where much like you I think the need for cross region play is important so that we can see how the Sydney Drop Bears fare vs Eagle Gaming or something. When I said more value needs to be added to Contenders that value comes in many forms. Blizzard themselves can inject more money/promotion. Beyond that viewership and value for sponsors is paramount for individual teams, a lot of which can increase with international events. That being said base viewership could also improve anyway exclusive of any other factors. People in general simply need to start paying more attention across the board for contenders globally.
Another thing that may or may not be commonly known is that despite 3rd party orgs being restricted in what they can run for tournaments, owl franchises aren't (at least not in the same way). Which is why you can have tournaments like Next organised by Netease (Shanghai Dragons). More owl franchises can and should be looking to do the same.
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