There were a few global captains that went direct airline PIC, and that was possible because they meet the minimums, which was a PIC MTOW of >45t or something. That said, I heard from tre's that although a couple were very good indeed, overall the quality was somewhat "variable" and some really struggled (PIC&FO fastrack), so I don't think it will be repeated. It was a pity because most of them came from one particular operator which is not known for consistent standards amongst it's crews.