And you know what? There does not have to be a balance of piecing and quilting on every quilt. Sometimes the quilting is the star and the piecing is very minimal. Sometimes the reverse. I agree that sometimes a very heavily pieced quilt calls out for minimal quilting, but that can't be a blanket statement. Sometimes throwing the balance off is what makes the quilt dynamic and interesting.
Generally speaking, in design (and quilting competitions) dynamic, bold, and innovative trumps predictable, safe, and balanced. So that may be why you are noticing a lot of wins for the school of beaucoup quilting.