My current match is versus a 4.7m GP player. I'm just below 4.3m. I have a lot of bloated GP from the early TB days.
My opponent has 25 G12s more than me (76 to my 51) and more than double the amount of 6 dot mods.
He has clearly spent a lot more money than me, as he has a couple fewer zetas as me despite having a more power fleet and ranking consistently higher = He has been way shorter in the game than me.
I still win. GP and G12s doesn't mean nearly as much at people are trying to make it out to.
Strategy and knowing your counters are way more important. Of course some very specific toons are super important, but once you get venture outside the top 6-7 teams more G12s doesn't really matter much.