If you want my honest opinion you're just better off hosting your small tournaments and growing your group from there. There's not much to do with rank.

Sure. You can add rewards per season. You can increase the amount of rewards by hitting a certain rank. You can even go the bogus route and add the old feast rewards to be up for grabs. The thing is that none of these options will fix the rank problem in the long run.

Here's the thing. If the rewards are easy to get then people are going to take the easy route to get them. "Competing" is not easy. Your only exclusive rewards are the border plates. Once you hit Crystal you are now essentially competing for more trophy crystals and bragging rights from here on in. Some are already starting to see the result of this. Others still need to learn.

Like I said in a previous thread rank isn't a failed mode. It's working as intended. Folks asked for little to no exclusives, and it was nearly delivered perfectly.