[EricH]

More matches is something we all wish for. Time is our enemy. Just be glad that the "Algorithm of Death" isn't in use this year.

Trust me, I know about the killer matchups. My old team always seems to draw one of the worst schedules at the Los Angeles Regional. (Translation--you're the only good team on your alliance, and you're facing 968 and 980 in the same match. Or 69 and 980. Without the 2007 algorithm. Even 330 can't do that too well normally. One-on-one, yes. Not 2 or 3 on one.) Or something would happen and it would be a one-on-three. Stuff like this happens. The only thing you can really do is play the best game you can. If you do well, some team that's been doing their scouting will notice, even if you don't make the top 8. If teams haven't been doing their scouting, help them.

Strength of schedule is already built into the ranking system--It's the RS column. (QS= Win-Loss-Tie, RS=strength of schedule, and if those can't solve a ranking dispute, the higher scorer wins.)

Simply put, good scouting trumps the ranking system any day. Bad scouting is using the ranking system to do your scouting.