[Stephen Kowski]

....yes and it also works like that if you just happen to like a team....or have been partnered with them in prior matches/competitions

A good strategy team should be able to weed out the hype from what a team actually can do....also they should be able to find those teams that are flying under the radar (one of my favorite things)

on the whole I believe though that this is correct, that it influences things, but I do not think it is the definitive reason someone is picked

I've never heard in a strategy meeting, well someone from CD said they were good so I think what you saw today was an aberration and you should disregard it