I was not aware of this contest but is the volume the based on the total wagered amount?
If so, then this contest must be one of the coolest contest I ever heard about! Wagering ~46k to win $1.5k, this is insane! I hope this contest will not be manipulated by some whales who will join at the last minute.
That's a common thing to happen in wagering contest, so do not force ourselves to wager more than what we can because whales can beat us easily even in the last minutes with few big bets. However, I cant say it is as manipulation because it can be said as strategy, which is by waiting for the last days to predict or to know the ability of the other competitors in the contest.