In my opinion this will be the most competitive Kong Off ever.
I'm not sure it's so cut and dry.
Pro:
The average PB of the players is higher (but no one's PB will ever decrease, so this isn't really a valid argument).
I think a better argument is that there are more players overall this year, so you're selecting the top 12 of a larger group. While some people have 'retired' I think more have entered. I've never counted, but that's my impression.
Con:
At the 1st 2 KO's no one invited turned down the invite and the best MAME players were included (meaning the best players were indeed all there). This is not true this year.