Well, I doubt he expect a 40k to be king, but rather just have a chance at the final event.

I mean compare this grouping with what is shown here:
http://forum.naruto.oasgames.com/en/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=18465&extra=page%3D2

That group doesn't even have enough people to fill the 128, when, according to what OP said, there is at least 1k participants in his group.

Personally, I think each grouping should have between 300 and 600 ACTIVE qualifying participants. That should give a interesting but not excessively difficult race for 128 for everyone.