I still say give byes. I doesn't really matter who gets the bye or not (the best player will still theoretically win), and after the first tourney you can give the byes to the best seated returnees.

Changing the 4 or 5 matches of the qualification round to the 1 bye will be worth it.

I'm just trying to help you succeed where every other attempt has failed, and I think making the tournament as short as possible is key to this.

stripe