Damn it Sizemore, you put together a compelling argument. I read the winning piece and it wasn't for me. Personal preference skews heavily away from that style of writing - but it was competently written and may have been (as you postulated) part of a much longer memoir. Either way, subjectively it was good enough to win if the judges enjoyed and were looking for that sort of writing.

But that's not the argument you're making - and the argument you're making is one of process. If Medium have stated the rules are X and then announced a winner who did not obey their rules then their criteria for picking that winner - even if it was a mindblowing piece of writing is questionable. And as we're not talking about a small amount of money here, a legal challenge could be mounted. It speaks of the writer's inexperience on the platform rather than any malicious attempt to steal a copyrighted map of Texas, but that is by-the-by. Rules are rules.

The quality of the piece is a subjective argument, the adherence to prescribed rules is a legal one. I'm prepared to accept that judges will pick things that align with their biases (I write for TV / theatre and it's currently rife with that sort of nonsense) - and there's very little you can do in a battle of subjective opinion.

But legally. Damn it Sizemore, you have a point. Penguins find no flaw with your argument.