This was down to the single elimination (or knockout) part of the tournament. The 4 four semi-finalists had already been determined. In fact the names had already been written in the semi-final brackets. (this point seems totally arbitrary as it is not necessarily indicative of the commencement of the semifinal stage. Had the semifinal matches already begun, I would feel differently.)
It had already been determined where Shane had finished and what that prize was.
- it apparently was not
You can't bring someone back who's already been eliminated, and yes once the four semi-finalists had been determined the rest of the field was eliminated.
Only one of those four could become the Champion.
- I think your are assuming the conclusion...i.e. you are "begging the question"
Other wise it's not a tournament it's a side show !!!
It's not "one person advances" from each bracket as many on your side of the discussion like to say, it's the winner of each bracket advances.
- There are numerous factors that could decide the winner, win-loss record, head to head record, rack differential, and apparently the ABILITY to continue.
Also this isn't really a tiered tournament ,
I'll add this post by: Niceguy
"Typical round robin knock out stage implies a stage in which you play for a qualifying spot of a separate paying tournament bracket. In this case, the knock out stage was part of the same tournament, evident by the place and prize money received by the round robin finishers.
-please describe how the FIFA world cup (which is clearly a 2 stage tournament) fits Niceguy's definition of a 2 stage tourney.