I believe the greater objective of the WPBA was to increase the likelihood that new faces would make it to the TV rounds, and this is something that they actually have accomplished since the inception of this format.
FYI, this format has long been the format of the WPA Women's World Championships, but, just like you, I don't like this format and know many other fans that don't like it. I don't know of any fan that has been lost due to the format change.