Also @thallen (to lazy to quote)
I pretty much think the same as you when it comes to seeding, this should of been done years ago to avoid having to spar 20000 noobs to qualify.
I believe seeding should work like this:
The 6 guilds who placed the previous GST are immediately seeded for the tournament so for example;
Mixed:
1st seed - Alumni
2nd seed - Apostles
3rd seed - Demon
That's all they need to implement, besides a hat, belt, news post and battle arena statue/main lobby news update I believe this "seeding" could be used as another prize given to those who place in the previous tournament.
Also I'd love to see the implementation of the winners statues being handed out to all members of the winning team to place in their house.