I think that Arek and EasyP want to keep things default as much as possible to avoid a lot of confusion on the part of participants. I mean, up until last night, some people didn't even know they could access the test menu.
Slower speed encourages more strategy over twitch movements. The more practiced players on high-speed will just play and do everything fairly automatically, but when you crank the speed down you have to think a little bit more, and that levels the playing field some between the experts and the noobs. APEX and EVO really aren't trying to level the playing field at all - they want the best of the best, and the learning curve for high-speed is a lot higher than it is on low.
But we have other issues. We're not pros. We're not even in the same room. Lag will end up dictating a lot of things, and this is really what bugs me - YOU can't control how well you connect to your opponent. I mean, I have ping of 5 on fragbox. FIVE lousy milliseconds.
I wouldn't mind playing on slowest speed (you guys heard my shit about slow low-damage 3/5s in Alpha3), but the default settings really end up being the best. Besides, EasyP and Arek want to have their own Vacaville cock-fest playing the Alpha 3 final, and they can't really do that if they have to ask Scandia for the keys to the cabinet.