I mean it's the nature of the contest that anyone could enter, that aspect of them choosing someone obviously not vested in the site was certainly a choice on their part (although tbf it was likely that the judges were oblivious to the rules too). It was anyone's to win, whether I agree with the choice doesn't matter but I do think people lining up to congratulate a writer who doesn't engage on Medium is pointless. I was expecting the contest to get lots of people reading more entries but I have read a few honorable mentions that I hadn't read before the contest and they don't seem to be benefitting, which is a shame as many more of them are regular Medium writers.