9th seed decline

[Kevin Leonard]

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

I think some for events in Rebound Rumble, it would have been advantageous to be the ninth seed moved up to 8th alliance captain due to the messed up rankings the coop bridge brought. If the #1 seed was a team you could probably beat that got to their position via coop bridge, then it would be a smart choice to decline their invitation, select two solid teams in a row with the power of the 8th seed, and beat them in the quarters.

Really any competition, any year there's a less deserving #1 seed, this can apply. 2012 in particular do to the wonky co-op bridge, but the same could be said this year.
What if, in Curie, 1717 or 1310 was seeded 9th when they declined 1678? If they moved up (and that's a big 'if' in that division), they could have had two great picks that shouldn't have been left for the second round (like 1918- seriously how did a 5-disc auto and a 50 point climb get left to the second round of picks?!?!)
But I digress.
That would have been exceptionally risky.