[EricH]

It doesn't fix it, but it improves it to the point where it isn't an issue. Discussion on the L.A. webcast amounted to the fact that the top 6 or so teams at the event did in fact have the top 6 or so spots in the rankings. That's a good thing. One or two teams have slipped out, but that may be because they've been playing not-so-good teams.

For reference, 330 is the top seed at Los Angeles. Here is their schedule for today, along with such approximate rankings as I can remember (noted only the first time a team appears):

3027, 589, 233 (5th) vs 867, 330, 1515 (10th)
330, 696, 190 (3rd) vs 3328, 691, 2085
3271, 233, 330 vs 3309, 1438, 1644
1452, 1160 (8th), 1759 vs 3120 (6th), 330, 1702
1388 (7th), 1836, 1717 (2nd) vs 330, 2272, 1160
2404, 2659, 1692 vs 3021, 330, 2339
606, 597, 190 vs 330, 1671, 1836

Result: 7 wins, 1st seed. Note that they've been playing both with and against good teams all day, and had a pretty tough schedule. (Facing 233, 190, 1717 and 1388 in the same match, with 190. Tomorrow, they don't face anyone ranked, but pair with 294 (#4).)

At one point, 330 was #1 and 190 was #2. 190 played a match and took #1. 330 played the next match and sent 190 back to #2.

Overall, I really like the ranking system, especially after TU#16. It's fair to say that it sifts the top robots out from the lower robots in the shortest amount of time--far faster than W-L-T does.