It seems they removed it now, but originally the point spread listed r200-500 as worth 15 points. I agree that the NC items should be kept to a seperate system.
The 'fairer to newbies' argument is, idk, like yeah maybe it's a little unfair but that's just part of being a new player, you're not going to be able to participate in stuff to the same extent that older players can. I've been there myself lol, and I just waited for the next event. Which I suppose only works if they do these events more regularly than they have been over the past few years!
I really hope that if they're willing to remove the r500s from the general prize pool (assuming that they were meant to be included and that wasn't just a typo) that they lift the cap.