Intentionally Losing Matches

[EricH]

See the 1vs3 thread for what else I have to say.

Remember, the #2 alliance wants you, BUT they can get you if you are in the top 8! The only way they can't get you is if #1 picks you, or they pick someone else as their first pick.

For Blake: The situation as originally described is that it's your last match and you want to throw it to get out of the top 8 (or rather not enter it). The question as given is whether or not this is GP. You are on a completely different topic.

With the described situation, 1) it doesn't matter unless you can't pick within the top 8 (which is not currently the case), and 2) throwing the match does nothing except make enemies. You don't advance in rank, true. However, because it is your last match (and therefore, presumably, most of the teams are either done or mostly done), you can't fall very far. Probably not even out of the top 15, ALL of whom can move up. So you might not be around.

The situation described is a case where it won't help you, period. It will probably hurt you.

One more point: numbers are NOT definitive. There were once two teams that a particular picking team rated approximately equally. When representatives from the team went around to one of the teams, they got nothing. Nobody talked to them. They went to the other pit and got the opposite response. That alliance went out and beat the other team in two matches.

The point? You are dealing with PEOPLE, not computers. People have long memories...feelings...attitudes...that sort of thing. By presenting the attitude that you don't care about your partners and how they feel (even if you talk to them, they may feel hurt), you probably will incite some feelings of annoyance. Those people who have those feelings will remember what happened, and may hold a grudge for some time. This hurts your team in the future.

Numbers are all well and good, but they only tell part of the story.