[CalTran]

It's a clever theory, but it's in a somewhat unwritten rule of FIRST. It is specifically countered, but not by a "rule," more of a guide line.

5.4 Elimination Matches

At the end of the Qualification Matches, the top eight seeded teams will become the Alliance Leads. The top seeded Alliances will be designated, in order, Alliance One, Alliance Two, etc., down to Alliance Eight. Using the Alliance selection process described below, each team will choose two other teams to join their Alliance.
5.4.1 Alliance Selection Process

Each team will choose a student team Representative who will proceed to the Arena at the designated time (typically before the lunch break on the final day of the Competition) to represent their team. The team Representative for each Alliance Lead is called the Alliance Captain.



The Alliance selection process will consist of two rounds during which each Alliance Captain will invite a team seeded below them in the standings to join their Alliance. The invited team must not already have declined an invitation.



Round 1: In descending order (Alliance One to Alliance Eight) each Alliance Captain will invite a single team. The invited team Representative will step forward and either accept or decline the invitation.



If the team accepts, it is moved into that Alliance.

If an invitation from a top eight Alliance to another Alliance Lead is accepted, all lower Alliance Leads are promoted one spot and the next highest seeded unselected team will move up to become Alliance Eight.



If the team declines, that team is not eligible to be picked again and the Alliance Captain extends another invitation to a different team.

If an invitation from a top eight Alliance to another Alliance Lead is declined, the declining team may still invite teams to join their Alliance, however, it cannot accept invitations from other Alliances.



The process continues until Alliance Eight makes a successful invitation.



Round 2: The same method is used for each Alliance Captain's second choice except the selection order is reversed, with Alliance Eight picking first and Alliance One picking last. This process will lead to eight Alliances of three teams.