So no one thought that they just need to find 3 weaker applicants and keep their own badge to pass?
If Gon decided to take the plates of the two guys he witnessed hunting/being hunt, he would only need one more point to get his 6 qualification points.
But it's only possible if you consider most applicants are weak, when they after all were able to clear third phase. It might not
mean much though, as Gon's group did stall more with tricks than complexity or strong oponents.

Another possibilty is to have a pact beetween 6 applicants to steal 3 plates each and clear that phase.
But that means that none of those 6 should get a 3 points plate, so there's a lot of confidence in others involved.

Then, it's also possible having one guy stealing most plates. You need 6 points to pass, you can have more.