[Nuttyman54]

If I had to guess, I would say the reasoning behind this change is a direct response to the issues on Einstein 2012. They are hoping that running full practice matches with FMS will allow teams and CSAs to identify and debug control system problems by providing conditions identical to the real field. Potentially transferring delays from the competition fields to the practice fields.

It's not a good reason, and the logic seems flawed to me, but I think it's the most reasonable explanation for why they chose this new format.