What I usually do in KC Cup as F2P player:
- Stay in DLv 17 until the 2nd stage begins. Only start climbing for DLv Max when all tryhard players are already in 2nd stage
- F2P player like me need Dream Ticket more than regular ticket. But Konami will never give it as reward for KC Cup or WCS. Why? Because Top 100 players in those events don't need Dream Ticket, they already have 3 copies of every single card from the box. Meanwhile regular ticket rarely contains meta cards. This is the reason I will always use 🔥 deck in 2nd stage just to grab the daily gems.
I would feel pity if I find any F2P player willing to be sleepless for 3 days just to compete in 2nd stage KC Cup. No life or no money, you should only choose one, not both.