2 hit Knock-outs aren't necessarily the way to get into the top 10 or win a dt. It mostly depends on what cards you are using and if you are using the rules as to your advantage. For instance:

1) For every life above 12 you earn +2 battle points which is limited to +4 bp per match (or at 14 life).

2) You earn another + 2 battle points for every pill left after the battle, assuming you win, with the limit being +4 bp per match (2pillz)

3) You get a penalty of -2 for every staff elo banned cards...but those cards are extremely powerful so using 1 of them in your deck may not necessarily be a bad thing is you know what you are doing.

4) For every battle you win you get a bonus of 2 pillz (So if you go for the 2 hit KO, you'd only get around a 4 bp bonus resulting in around 12-20 bp if you win (Which can be a good or bad thing if you think your opponent is going to stall).

5) I can't stress this enough USING HIGH LEVEL CARDS IS A BAD THING, you get more battle points if you beat high star cards with lower star cards, vice versa also, you get less battle points if you go around beating 2,3, and 4 star cards with 5 star cards.

Basically those are all the things you need to remember to score high in a match. My recommendation is to try making a good 26-28 star deck which will not be easy at low levels, but is possible. Honestly though, just try to have fun and eventually you'll be raking in enough clintz to to afford all the good cards you want and even win a dt someday!

It depends on what your deck is like. Trying to go 4 rounds with a heavy Uppers build is bad. Trying to go four rounds with Tiny Cuts is . . . necessary. The trick, either way, is to play extremely quickly. Focus on getting your speed up. Even if it means making a few bad moves in the short term, you can reconstruct the battles after the fact and learn for next time.

And learn to lose quickly and gracefully. Overthinking bad games = lost time = lost points. Simply not worth it to spend 20-30 seconds thinking about moves that could get you out of a pickle when, in the same time, you could throw the game and get into a new one.

There is another way other then 2hko.... however 2hko is the easiest, most efficient and consistent way to win a DT. 17 of my 18 DT wins come from playing quick games in general (2hko or not).

You can also win a dt by playing the long game.

Playing the long game however means that your going for quality over quantity. That means your looking to only lose 1 game in the hour. As others have said, usually time is a huge factor. Ideally your looking at around 25-32 games in the DT hour when your playing 2hko/Quick Games. By playing a lot of matches in the hour, you have a better chance of negating any losses by playing a sheer amount of games.

2hko usually mean your scoring anywhere from 13 pts to 20 points per game.
Quick Games do a bit better, your looking at 22-25 points per game.
(I count these 2 as being nearly the same as your still going for 25+ games per hour)

In long game, your looking at 25-32 points per game. If you play this way you won't get as many DT wins, top 5's, or Top 10 (which to most serious dt players is not worth it). However the one time I won this way I found that I wasn't as "panic"-y as I usually would be when playing 2hko (your very dependent on your opponent on playing fast).

Long game means yoru playing problly 10 cards in your deck, all low stars, usually around 26*. And your playing in Type 2 to take advantage of your low* to high* matchups.

Anyways, know your playing style, strengths, & weaknesses. Test and keep playing. Good luck.

Taking time to try to maximize your wins and the number of points you get per game is generally not as reliable. You may spend five minutes on a game that you end up losing and getting maybe 7-10 points. Going for quick games will net you faster points and usually more. However, if you are stuck against a slow opponent, you could still spend a lot of time on one game and still lose. Both playing styles can win you the tournament or leave you at 151st place.

For fast players, use the time during your opponent's turn to think of possibilities and play your turn as quickly as possible. Sometimes the best thing to do is just toss in a random number of pillz. As long as you don't go about it stupidly, your chances of winning aren't really lower since you don't know how many pillz your opponent will use anyway.
Two hit KO's are fast and effective; sometimes bluffing the second round and KOing the third will do the trick. Playing aggressively and screwing with your opponent's mind can cause them to mess up, but you don't want them taking too long to make a decision.

Also, don't underestimate the power of weak cards. Especially something like Strynge against an attack manipulation clan. Toss in a few extra pillz for some unexpected damage and then go for the two hit KO.