Everything is about what you think. Dominique Merlet is considered one of the best teachers in the world, but I'm not really fond of either his, or his students, playing. I love Bashkirov, but I know many who doesn't like him at all. There are also some unknown teachers who, to some students, are way better than some of the known ones.
Another thing you should think about is "What if you don't get the teacher you wish for?". If you don't completely blow the judges away, while applying to a big school, there is a quite a risk that you don't get the teacher you wanted as your prio one. Sometimes, your prio 1 and prio 2 are more or less the same, but sometimes it's Do or die with one teacher.
The best advice I can give you is to listen to couple of teachers, and their students, and then go and take a lesson. Maybe they play well, but the way they teach doesn't suit you.
You chances to get the teacher you want also increases a lot if you show that you really want to study for him/her.