Nope, I disagree, Chuck. I watch my son @Wharflord (who won Beginner once, regularly places top 10) playing these events, and he is moving with a speed and focus that I can’t begin to match. With a much weaker bench than mine (he’s basically cheap-to-play, I’m not), he regularly places much higher than I do.
This is not just about luck or resources, it’s about skill and focus. As with @Xero786, sleep is a luxury for him on event weekends. He’s got his spreadsheet plotting his scores against previous runs and a theoretical fit curve (he was incredibly annoyed about the change in scoring, which threw off all his benchmarks), looking for where he can gain a few points by re-running a level.
So when I see a consistent set of people at the top of the scoreboard, I salute them. I’ve seen firsthand how much focus and dedication it takes to hold those top slots.