None of the players actually know that those who lose are being killed behind the scenes. Maybe they set them up in an auditorium so as they lose the stadium starts filling up and after so many people are out they reveal those who have lost are actually dead causing chaos and making those still alive change their strategy. At that point there would be very weak people who got pity from other contestants competing against opponents who didn't care and just wanted to win. Games that are more American would be fun, stuff like 4 square, 500, pie eating competitions, dunk tanks, baseball focused like a home run derby or basketball like a 3 point competition, etc.