[PVCpirate]

It appears the main reason for the strategy was to avoid playing Chinese teams, both to avoid playing each other and reducing the chances of a Chinese gold, or just because they are so good. I suspect the strategy came down from someone higher than the players, like a coach or director. I mostly blame whoever made the decisions to employ these strategies (players, coaches, or others), with some placed on the organizers for the tournament format. Offseason competitions is where I see the parallel to FRC, where the rule is often in place that you cannot pick inside the top 8, and I think this is a point against using that rule at those competitions.