[stjonl]

The number one seed picking the number two seed was very common several years ago. Having that first pick is a reward all teams should strive for, and should not be limited in any way.

Before this year, the games we played for the last few years have trended for an alliance made up of robots with some different capabilities and strategies to be a strong alliance. This year being an all offense game, it’s a tall order to beat the two best teams when they are together on the same alliance. Limiting who the number one seed (or any seed) can pick, in any way, will cause problems.

With the current point system the way it is (and it's pretty good to start with), there is very little reason why (like one point) the number two seed would not accept the invite from the number one seed.

If there is going to be a change, you need to offer the other top seed alliance captain’s a reason to decline a higher seeded team invite. The only idea I currently have is to give the alliance captain’s, something like 2 or 3 points, each time their alliance advances in the playoff/elimination round. This idea is going to add a few more points to the maximum points available, but in my opinion, advancing alliance captains will have earned them and it just might mix up the alliance selection picks a little. Declining a higher alliance captain is not a bad thing; it only means the declining team wants to form their own alliance. This idea should make more teams willing to give it a try to be an alliance captain, because of the additional points possible.