I originally wasn't going to add anything here, but because there's so many different opinions I just thought I'd write a quick something up.
I've joined many, many Hunger Games dueling classes since Revelius. In that time I've joined on my main as a level 80, or on one of my alts, spanning from level 10 to 50. I will say, the experience I have had on my level 80 account is very different to the one as a level 50.
As a level 80 I'm able to run around, duel a couple of people at my level or near it, and possibly place quite high in the class. I'm able to try out different combos and see who can be victorious in the class, all whilst trying to improve my dueling skills. To me, this is what a dueling class should be about. As a level 80 it is fun, and it's often a chance to get extra AC as I can last to the top 20-or-so.
As a level 50, I am able to run around, as I did for my first few classes, before being hit by a stray (or purposeful) cascamorus by a graduate. I have pretty good gear as a level 50, but even then I only have 3k health. This is because the health and damage increase for players is exponential by the level. Meaning that stray cascamorus from the level 80? Takes me straight to the death box. No chance to fight back, or try to propulso the opponent away. To me, that's not dueling. Dueling requires combos and skills, as well as knowledge of what spells to use when. I'm not claiming to be the best at that, but I think all lower levels at least deserve the chance to learn when to use spells, how to use spells, in their dueling classes. In a hunger games class, this doesn't happen.
Lower leveled people are much less likely to gain the extra AC that they so desperately want, because quite frankly it's impossible unless a player has spent their 15 minutes in hunger games shifting behind a tree. When I really wanted ac to level up my alts that's what I did, and let me tell you it wasn't near as fun (and really hurt my pinky!) I would rather that all players were given an equal, or at least more equal, chance in their classes to gain ac/xp, and continue with their gameplay.
As others have brought up, why go to a hunger games class at all? Why not just leave when it's announced if I don't like it? The answer, at least to me, is that all the lower leveled people have already taken the effort to be online for the class, then they've sat through the queue and the rules, and then they've been online for 10-15 minutes, and Hunger Games is announced. Why leave, when they can stay for 3 more minutes, get one-shot, and leave with 10 AC? That is why the people who despise Hunger Games still attend the class- because of the AC that is crucial to leveling.
Even though the style is relatively easy AC if you're okay with dying instantly, I would think that classes aim to be: fun and somewhat challenging. Attending a class, standing in a spot (or shifting if you're actually trying to stay alive a bit longer), and then being hit and leaving immediately, does not meet either of those criteria for lower levels.
I would much prefer, and agree with this suggestion, that the Hunger Games gamemode would be removed from the dueling roster. The good alternative is a Year FFA, which is commonly used in dueling classes. Basically the only difference between the Year FFA and the Hunger Games gamemode is the map, and the one-shotting lower levels. As so many other people have said- there are a heap of dueling modes, correct! So does it really hurt to remove one?
Edit: I'll also add I am not in the Academics team, and a massive props to every single one of them. They all work amazingly hard to produce amazing classes for all the players. I do not comment as a member of that team, and I can't begin to imagine the amazing work they all do to create so many different dueling styles for us to all enjoy, so thank you for putting the effort in to create these classes for us.
(Also edited because I made typos/wanted to clear some stuff up)