"King of the Hill"

The contender for the next game is chosen immediately after the announcement of the current game, so there is time to contact the contender and get confirmation of their willingness to play. It's just that Hellight blurted out that he was next in line.

Yes, that's how it is. I've explained this mechanism several times.

The most interesting thing is that Scorpion was initially chosen, but she refused to play due to being busy. If she were in Hellight's place now, everything would be much clearer: Joestairs would win - almost a 100% victory; if he lost, it would be a 100% match in the relegation game against the monster. But look how it turned out. :)