i used to subscribe to that premise but from game theory that's not really the case as teams started to form in IM for this exact reason in capturing the MDL spot which makes it competitive. You're also forgetting teams can apply to IM/main now so with teams thinking open is long and gruesome (8 playoff games to win) and main is competitive, they would pick IM (shorter playoffs but still no margin of error as you need to grab 1st). For example this season FGB's squad (MDL or bust), zander/lennox's squad (myRevenge), Convict/dolzy (grampzgoonsquad), and a couple teams all tried to make it work but failed. Not only that main has some leniency in that there are 4 spots up for grabs and teams like that margin.
Hell, i tried to do the IM->MDL play in season 25 and lost to the current f1racecar squad 14-16 16-14 14-16 and they're doing alright in MDL
