Losing on Purpose to Gain Advantage

[TheFish]

Originally Posted by Duke461

It most certainly is not appropriate. It would be like telling a Quarterback to purposely lose a game so they could get a better draft pick.

That's not the same. This is one year, one competition, one tournament. The goal is to do the best possible.
If you want to use a football example I would say it is: losing the last game of the season, because you know that your first-round matchup in the playoffs would be much easier if you won.

Originally Posted by Duke461

And besides, couldnt A just decline the offer from C, and then pick B next? And if C picked B, i would imagine thats still a good alliance.

A would not decline, because if they did, then B would pick C, screwing A over.
Instead, A would accept C's selection and B would lose the division.

Originally Posted by Alex.q

If team B is the 2nd best team in the division, why would they be ranked 30? I know the ranking system isn't perfect, but I would imagine that it is at least close. Unless Team B has been purposefully losing all their qualifying rounds in order to be picked by the top seed alliance, I can't imagine how this would happen.

The actual seed is irrelevant. Let's say Team B is ranked 10th?

What I want to know is: is it appropriate to lose on purpose, if it will ensure a victory in the end.