Lower Tiers RBY Grand Slam III - Format Discussion

[Sabelette]

Hello all!

RBY Grand Slam III will be starting at the end of this month, and we're facing a dilemma with formats. Last year, the format was:
Ubers
UU
NU
PU
Stadium
Tradebacks

This year, we are most likely adding ZU to the format list for consistency with the Lower Tiers Circuit, but seven Opens is simply way too many to run. I wanted to open a discussion for the community on what formats to include or remove and what to do about them. Here are two options in my mind, but I'm open to hearing others.

1. Cut Stadium and Tradebacks, add ZU, 5 Opens
These tiers have historically had a very low playercount and interest, and it may be time to just accept they're very unpopular. This has the benefit of returning us to 5 Opens like in RBY Grand Slam I, which is way less burnout-inducing, and it means post-Arbok-ban ZU gets some development. If we take this option I'd invite passionate Stadium or Tradebacks players to host a yearly tournament of their own to give these tiers representation.

2. Keep ZU out, 6 Opens
The format from last year, has the benefit of familiarity and not removing more established (if dead) tiers. Downside is this makes the circuit a bit more lopsided and two of these tours have always had really poor numbers.

Options we will not be doing:
1. 7 Opens - absolutely not, 6 is already a ton.
2. Cut any of Ubers/UU/NU/PU - these are established tiers with good playerbases, they will not be cut for any reason.

Otherwise, feel free to discuss and share your thoughts. I'm hoping to have a clear idea of what we're doing by about the 27th or 28th.

 

[gastlies]

I would prefer option 2. Slam is basically the only tour all year where stadium/tradebacks are seen, while ZU already has LTC. Also if Slam was really just Ubers/UU/NU/PU/ZU it would basically be LTC all over again, with the only real difference being that the tours are more "clumped together". Keeping ZU out of slam gives slam its own identity compared to the overall LTC, and prevents stadium and tradebacks from being killed off completely.

 

[YBW]

Would there be any possibility of cutting stad and tbs and adding ZU, but also adding Rands? It’s likely going to be a slot in RBYPL again so practice is good for aspiring players, it is the most fun meta and most balanced of all these options except perhaps Ubers. It hasn’t had a tour here since last Summer, while the other formats have all had at least one since then. It would be better suited as an open ran earlier if approved because I anticipate it would receive a lot more signups than any of the others