I won't comment the choices that were made: as in sports in a contest, contestants just have to comply with decisions. I mainly use the contest as a personal trial, forcing myself to follow guidelines in a certain delay, so I'm happy my own piece was selected among the winners as a bonus.

Although, I like the part of @aak23 's text highlighted by @Ryoudo, as it gives a neat checklist to apply at each round of selection process, adding a bit of technical objectivity in a highly subjective domain:

"the first 3 positions should always be the highest quality pieces, position 4 equally good, but maybe not as original. 5 & 6 good quality, but maybe lacking originality, or in some other aspects. The last one should be the place for people that are trying hard, but the art is not as good as the rest" "Was this artist listed before? (How often? Maybe it's time to give a chance to someone else"