Just wanted to add in that I also managed to get both my tickets upgraded to VIP using the "one ticket in each browser" method. I've actually helped develop similar software to what EventBrite uses, and I remembered the 15 minute grace period where you lock a ticket into a pending mode from when we got the originals.

Sorry for everyone who was unable to get them who wanted them. I hope they find a solution to allow refunds for the split groups.