Part of the point of the season - and to some extent, the whole show - is that it matters because caring for the rankings leads heroes to not help (or at least, hinders their attempts to help). The tournament gives a light tie-in for this: Izuku gets first in the first segment, and because of that is nearly knocked out n the second bit; his short-sighted attempt to top the rankings early cost him in his goals. In the middle, Shinso can't join the hero course because his powers don't lend themselves to looking right, no matter how obviously helpful they would be for nearly every villain we've seen. On the heavier side, Endeavor cares so much for the rankings that he abuses his family and engages in eugenics.