Originally posted on 02/06/2018:
Yes bigger totals having some advantage is a reasonable idea. Nothing too extreme though as I can't forget good ole snipr2006 (scarf boy), and his horsemen (which is why I've never been in favor of awarding prizes just based on qualifying stage only). Some advantage is reasonable but should not give people motivation to do something of that sort.
Another idea which I personally would prefer is making the size of the final tournament smaller, say 50 people instead of 100. After all if 150-200 people are dedicated/semi-dedicated to qualifying for the final, more than 50% making it certainly contributes to making it perhaps too easy to qualify and thereby destroying the motivation to play once you've locked up a spot. And of course having a 1 in 50 chance of winning the final tourney instead of 1 in 100 is kind of nice after you've spent a couple months playing to lock up your spot