This is the 772nd most frequent Japanese word.
予選
Preliminary round; qualifier.
In this context, "予選" refers to the preliminary rounds in a competition.
彼は予選をトップで通過しました。
He passed the preliminaries at the top.
Here, "予選" indicates the stage in a tournament where teams compete to qualify for later stages.
予選では多くの強いチームが競いました。
Many strong teams competed in the preliminaries.
"予選" here is used to describe the qualifying results that decide advancement to the main part of a competition.