Player of the Year 2016

Now that was a low blow regarding HotA. Are there actually any compelling reasons to take SoD seriously when HotA exists? Is there somewhere I can read about this?

Yes, perhaps there is one reason: 3 times more players participate in SoD tournaments. That is, it can be said with confidence that those who sign up for HotA tournaments are (mostly) people who sign up for any tournament regardless of the same.