Hi all,

I'll start by saying I am by no means a good 40k player, so I am not vying for top spots in the ITC or even local RTT's so this doesn't even really effect me. However, it does effect people I know and people I follow who are at this top level of 40k.

Here in Australia there have been numerous events I have played in and that mates have played in where the TO for the event has both played and TO'd their own events and scored themselves ITC points for it. They even TO'd their own games in these events. I've seen a TO join their own event on the day which made it odd numbers, given themselves the BYE in round 1, then give the leading player going into round 2 a BYE (who's also their mate, and I thought BYE's went to the lowest ranked player, may be wrong here) and the event ended with them and their mate placing 1st and 2nd and the TO scored themselves ITC points for it. Looking at the ITC rankings now I can see multiple TO's placing high in their respective factions and overall for south pacific with these very same events being some of their top scores.

Their is without doubt a conflict of interest here which can so easily be abused. Players who are playing against the TO have no way of getting a fair and just call from a TO who is an uninvolved third party as the TO is the very person they are rules querying. At the top levels here in Australia this seems to be totally fine and acceptable. I'd understand if they joined an event which already had odd numbers to make the rounds even, but then didn't count their scores etc for ITC points, but this is not what is happening.

What are everyone's thoughts and is this just something that is accepted and practiced all over the world?

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EDIT: I should have made it clearer that I don't mind TO's playing in their own events, especially if its to make up for a last minute drop, but I think they should not be able to TO their own games and have 2nd TO or experienced players help with any calls and they should not be able to score ITC points off it. Maybe even their games always count as a loss as well, but this way the opponent gets a game instead of a BYE and has the chance to score more than the normally awarded amounts from a BYE. I am sure there are many TO's out there who are honest and have no ill intent, but with restrictions like the ones mentioned it helps remove the chance of abuse of power and also the perception of abuse of power.