I think its a fantastic cometition:D We have 300,000 reasons to love it.
The group games can be a bit ropey at times but without this competition we would never have had the phrase "we molested football". Its worth it for that alone.
The knockout stages are great. Last year, Linfield and Cork was a thriller, Pats and Drogs was a good game and the final saw the the best football I have ever seen the Drogs play. We destroyed Linfield in the first half, they took the lead, we missed a penalty, got a late equaliser and the penalty shootout was incredible. 3-1 down to win 4-3. All in all a terrific final.
It does need a few better Northern teams though.