As the co-champion in the Origins 1914 tournament I might have a little insight here maybe…
My partner at the time also won the GenCon 1914 tourney as well…so I know how he plays.
By now he has probably over 30 games of experience…6 games in tourney format.
I myself have played the game 10-12 times- 3 in the tourney format.
The tourney format at GenCon and Origins were slightly different than Larry tourney rules (here -->
(http://www.harrisgamedesign.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=18335)
…GenCon/Origins adopted them but changed 2 things:
1. They didn’t use the new setup
2. They allowed US to enter at turn 3 instead of 4.
This yielded in an average 18-20 IPCs given to the Allies in order for the other side to take the Axis. However, personally I like the tournament rules AS written by Larry WITH the setup changes and the US still entering on round 4. This makes the bid much lower too- balancing the game better IMHO.