firstly, i am not trying to pick sides, as i dont feel the need to, but i will say that tom and simon did act quite immaturely by posting their edit early, regardless of their intentions.
Jon, it is impossible to say that the leak of their video is going to hurt the stats and retain sponsors, because as far as i know, due to whatever reason, you have never been completely successful in releasing all of the joss edits on your site, therefore you have no solid set of previous statistics to base from. I personally believe that the leak to youtube and facebook will improve your statistics, as it is exposing your event to an even greater audience through various others that may stumble onto, and in turn share the JOSS videos with their peers.
Also, from what I understand about the judging format, it seems that the overall impression was really the deciding factor in the judging, and turned the final results into a "judges choice" rather than a best edit based on the other judging criteria. in my opinion, the overall impression should be used strictly as a tie breaker, or at least have less impact on the final scores. i would also like to emphasize that i am not trying to put down any of the other edits, especially since i havent seen any of them yet.
with that being said, the leaked edit is not as big of a deal as it seems, yes it was inappropriate for tom and simon to release it, but it will not detract from the end impression of the event. also, tom and simon, what did you honestly expect to get out of the event, through winning or not, the shots you got from joss in previous years, as amazing as they were, couldnt be used any more than another mid/end season edit, and the two of you should realize that, as simon, you have been to joss three times now, and tom twice, the two of you should know better, and realize that in the end it is the same as any other competition.
it is really truly unfortunate to see problems come from an event like this, and to see such backlash and drama from an amazing event is upsetting and disappointing.
i mean no hate to anyone, you all have reason to be upset, but it isnt nearly as big of a deal as it has been turned into.