Yeah, but a poetry slam has a greater degree of social interaction, and a Halo tournament actually has the possibility of walking away with a cash prize.
All in all, I think the system is just pandering to the kids here who want nothing more than to show off for its own sake. You say it will put you in your place and show you what you need to improve? There are two things that do that already: watching live magic from others, and self-awareness.
On the upshot, maybe it will chew up more time for some of the people around here, resulting in fewer pointless celebrity gossip threads or topic asking total strangers on how to spend your money.