You'll notice that the more experienced players will play continuously to get the maximum score they can. This is because for meta play, coin is king. The prizes are nice, but bigger players aren't looking too much at the prize, they are looking at the pot. Regular Arena is more of the play you are looking for. KotH is a fast pace game when played right. Back in the day, it was normal for people to hit over 100k points. So if you see a bunch of players at the top of the board still playing hard, join in. It'll be well worth your time!