★ Monotype Tournaments Open Mic [FORM or thread responses both welcome]

[ken]

>>FORM HERE<<
Disclaimer: not all of the below is captured in the form above, but it gives you a chance to respond not publicly.​

Good morning gym leaders. As we wrap up 2025 and the circuit is rapidly winding down and getting closer to playoffs in December, we've started making preparations for 2026, both for the circuit and team tournament schedules. As we go through this process, we want feedback from you regarding both the circuit and team tournaments. First up, the proposed schedule, with the explicit note the proposed dates are rough estimates based on this year's iterations and the introduction of MCL for the team tournament schedule change:

If you'd like to zoom in, you can also view the schedule sheet for yourself.

Lazy spoiler with tentative start dates

Tentative dates below would be week/round 1 of the tournament.

Team Tournaments

• 18 January - MOMPL3
• 19 April - MPL12
• 17 May - MFPL3
• 23 August - MCL1
• 22 November - MWP8

Circuit Tournaments

• 11 January - Spring Seasonal (Type A)
• 8 February - SV Cup (Type A)
• 17 May - MLT (Type B)
• 12 July - Summer Seasonal (Type A)
• 23 August - Swiss (Type B)
• 11 October - Last Chance (Type C)

Team Tournaments​

We've now gone through a few iterations of the same MPL and MWP formats, and there's been debate annually about the last SV slot vs. current gen Bo3 for MPL, as well as the inclusion of Mono OMs in MWP, generally with the same arguments entrenched on each side of the debate and little movement beyond that. Since forgoing a format discussion, we retrospectively want your input on whether you like the formats as they are, including your comments about retains, pricing, and anything else regarding the format of the tournament itself. Keep in mind there is a possibility MWP in 2026 may be changed depending if and/or when Gen 10 is released, with the format obviously being up for discussion, not to mention timing potentially shifting.

After two years of MFPL, what have you liked? What have you disliked? Should the tournament's format be an exact mirror of MPL or should we have bonus slots similar to UUFPL for example? Do you think the tournament is highlighting new talent? If you are a newer draftee, have you learned more about various generations you may not main from more experienced players?

It's been brought up a few times in the Discord, but there's interest in a tournament more focused on oldgens as well as a third draft tour (that isn't MOMPL). We're thinking about trialing Monotype Champions League (MCL) in 2026, ideally primarily focusing on oldgens (e.g. 2 slots per BW-SS, though there's room-if there's interest-for a 10-slot team if SV is also included), as we also want to drive more interest towards our oldgens in general. Do you see yourself signing up for MCL? What would you like to see in the tournament, if anything, and do you think we should focus on oldgens? We'll likely have a format discussion thread for the tournament prior to manager signups going up, but we are interested in hearing your thoughts about including it now nonetheless.

Monotype World Cup hasn't been hosted since the beginning of Gen 9. There's not a huge space for it in the proposed 2026 schedule, but it's not impossible to fit in should there be overwhelming interest. If you have any thoughts about it, including if we should put it off until 2027/Gen 10, please let us know.

Similarly, MOMPL is in an interesting place, especially given it was initially planned to be a one-off tournament. We moved MOMPL back a few months so that it's now going to be earlier in the year, ideally avoiding any late-year newgen issues, should Gen 10 release at a similar calendar to previous generations. Do you think we should continue hosting MOMPL annually? There is plenty of interest in our other metagames, and it does wax and wane for various metagames. We've also partnered with other tier mains to bridge gaps and expand some of these metagames, Mono Doubles for example. There will always be a format discussion thread for MOMPL when it's hosted simply due to having more MOMs than we can justifiably fit in a single tournament, but what do you think about keeping the tournament at 6 tiers? Is 8 unfeasible? Should we expand to 8 teams? There's been signup numbers indicating we could fill 8 rosters, but is there depth in those numbers to continue keeping the level of play where it's been?

Circuit Tournaments​

I'll be much more brief here: what are your thoughts on the circuit schedule this year? What have you thought about the addition of Swiss? Should we get rid of extensions (very much imo yes, we should) in Swiss, as they make new round generation a nightmare? Should Swiss remain Type B? Do you have any thoughts about the scoring across the tournaments? The number of tournaments? Too many or too few? Do you have any other feedback regarding any of the individual tournaments themselves?

That was a lot of text, but we really want to know what you think. You, obviously, do not need to respond to all questions, and can focus on things you really want to maybe change or suggest.

If you want to complain about hosts for any specific tour, do not use this thread. Contact one of the forum mods separately. Your post will be deleted if that is the purpose you choose to post for.

 

[adjustments]

here are some rapid fire thoughts from me since i don't mind publicly posting:

- current structure of MFPL is good, after having managed the first iteration of it and have seen a good chunk of my players (Ethereal Sword, Shucklegigas, jackuzzler) go on to bigger and better endeavors in monotype i don't think there's that much change needed if any at all to allow the up and comers to thrive.
- going to argue more about MCL in its format discussion whenever that time is but i rapid firely support the 8x8 2x oldgens structure as of now, open to hear out and support a better idea though. interested in managing either MPL or MCL in 2026 but definitely not both especially since they are back to back practically, and MPL alone burnt me out this year.
- MWC is mickey but by 2027 maybe all the boomers will be dead and it will have more of even spread of competition around the world, i haven't looked that far ahead myself personally
- no comments on MOMPL as its not something i play in besides maybe the whole move NDM to MPL thing but i'll let the stronger fighters handle that argument
- Swiss is cool, didn't play in it this year as i was still recovering from MPL burnout but have been following it closely, i totally agree absolutely no extensions
- current circuit structure is fine right now imo no need to add or remove anything
- last quick thought, what happened to blind draft discussions? are they even still a thing in other areas of smogon? (i'm out of loop outside of mono comm) what would it take to change one of our tours from standard auction to blind auction? would be interested to see how that fits if possible.

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Main reason I'd be ok with MWC in 2026 is the fact it lines up with the FIFA World Cup, and it might be better to see if there's an increase in Player Interest in a couple months due to hype around the World Cup happening.

 

[Showl]

Before answering to the questions, I'd like first to thank you for surveying the community ahead of the release of the planning. Giving more chances to the community to express their opinion is always great.

On MPL, I think it could be interesting to replace one SV slot by Bo3 next year. It requires more prep, but it's also a good way to end the generation, as we can see some great Bo3 on the current gen in a teamtour setting. This could also be an opportunity to transition smoothly to gen10 for which the format might be gen10 x3 + gen5-9 x1 each for a total of 8 slots.

MFPL is a good tournament for newer Monotypers. Both editions put in light a number of new Monotypers that are now shining. The current format is also good as-is, in my opinion, as it gives chances to newer players to familiarize themselves a bit with oldgens while giving enough slots of current gen for new players to be drafted. One idea I'd like to discuss for the next edition is one I saw implemented recently in different PL's and Farm Leagues, namely tryouts tours. Hosting a few tryouts tours on the Mono room ahead of the draft would give more opportunities for newer players to showcase their skills in the tier they wish to be drafted for.

As already discussed, MCL would be a nice addition in the teamtour circuit, as it offers more room to oldgens to keep developing. 2x each oldgen seems the best format for this first edition, giving the same importance to each oldgen. I don't think expanding the format to 10 slots to include 2x SV would be advisable, though, as our other big tours are still 8 slots. We could then also host a few tryouts tours ahead of the draft to give every player a chance to show their knowledge in oldgens.

I would welcome a new edition of the Monotype World Cup too, but it does indeed not look easy to fit in the calendar. The concept of pairing with your fellow countrymen is refreshing and offers a very different experience from traditional teamtours.

Not much to say on the Individual Circuit Tour calendar. This year was the first time we had 6 tours in the circuit with the recent addition of the Mono Swiss. I think this new tour was positively received by the community, so keeping the Circuit as-is is fine, in my opinion. On the extensions in Mono Swiss, it did not bother me. Most players played on time their matches, except one player that keeps asking me extensions :p However, we will come back next edition with a more robust tour size. I agree that this edition had too many inactive players in the early rounds for the tour to be fully enjoyable. This is something I'm working on to fix for next year.

 

[Ethereal Sword]

Already filled out the form, just a few brief comments here.

For MCL, I would favor 2x SV, excluding current gen is an easy way to get its interest level and viewership to tank.

As for smaller events that I'd like to see, I have two main ideas.
(1) Type draft - I think there's a lot of untapped potential here that could really bring out new ways of using each type. Format is flexible, a simple example would be Bo3 snake draft.
(2) Teambuilding events - Secret Santa was great and I'd love to see more events that emphasize creative teambuilding.

 

[Jahkem]

Everyone else above has already posted everything I agree with. My event idea is fitting in the all gen opens right before MWP similar to the all gen cups before MPL. I think it’s nice to give some people a chance to play the gens to either:

A.) familiarize themselves with the different metas across the generations for MWP.

B.) demonstrate knowledge and skill in most, if not all, of the generations.

C.) have more opportunities to play the old gens in a tour setting, or for people who weren’t picked in the upcoming MCL.

The old gens opens I’ve been hosting in the RoA forum has been running smoothly and a lot of people have expressed positive experiences and feedback. Some people are even sending in replays from those opens for tryouts for this MWP. I don’t think the opens would have to be part of the circuit but if hosted on our forums, it would be a great addition.

 

[twinkay]

is there an actual reason mono wcop isn't hosted every year? or, at least, more than one time per gen? i feel like i never have a clear answer for this

i don't think mcl with 2 slots per oldgen sounds very exciting. i like oldgens, but the reality is that no one builds oldgens besides a few people. the lack of an active ladder makes it inconvenient to test new ideas and learn the tier for newer players, and monotype has such limited options that the good stuff has mostly been figured out already. i would guess that the tour would be a less-fun, lower-energy version of MPL. (and we have that already - see MFPL)

we should definitely have a third tour, but i don't see why it shouldn't be wcop. wcop has a fresh and distinct dynamic from MPL while having roughly the same players. i do think that the five week pools format is terrible (remember when west's pool was like venezuela, brazil, canada LMFAO?) but i don't see how that can't be fixed with some creativity. maybe do actual pools!

the ideal schedule is probably:
1) MPL - current format is fine
2) WCOP - all CG or even 4 sv / 2 ss / 2 sm
3) MWP - current format is fine

 

[hex]

- last quick thought, what happened to blind draft discussions?

Posted about this in the ND circuit thread as well, but the TLDR is that (imo) the BD auction format is glorified gambling and doesn't reward planning at all

As someone who DM'd Ken about creating MCL in August, I wanted to support the MCL format but after thinking more, I'm on the fence.

For starters, I think Monotype needs a consistent competitive third team tour of the year. I don't want to get into a back and forth about the whole "we have MOMPL/MFPL stuff". MOMPL obviously doesn't get the same traction / competitiveness as our main tours do, and MFPL is a farm league which like every tier besides PU has so it's not really much of a flex I suppose. I try to participate in both tours and I think they are fun, but I think we need to prioritize having 3 big tours before spreading the community too thin between so many tours. I thought MCL would be a breath of fresh air as the format is again interesting and promotes old-gen activity. If MCL is mostly old-gens, my thought process is that more people are incentivized to learn old gens, and then in turn MPL/MWP old gen pools would be more populated as a result. Wishful thinking probably, but that's the goal at least. But thennnnnnnnnnnn.....

I talked it over with Twinkay I realized a few things. One is that MCL is 2 slots per old-gen when I thought the purpose of MCL would be to have flex tiers, and I guess that's not the format proposed which I didn't realize. I get that Monotype doesn't have a bunch of old gens like other tiers but it makes the idea of MCL less enticing. Might as well just give it a different name tbh. The amount of recycling we'd see is probably insane considering that while I don't think any Monotype tiers are "solved" they have been around for a longgg time (ORAS came out 9 years ago, lol) and the more I realized that the community prob doesn't have the efficacy required for this kind of format I backed off of the opinion that it'd be a good tour. I don't think it's an awful idea but imo the fun thing about CL's is planning and drafting around flex slots and I don't think a CL is worth having without them and would be atp better to hold off on until Gen 10 which leads me to my next point:

MWC has been a relative success considering theres the constant "free MWC" "MWC when" meme being thrown around. Correct me if I'm wrong obviously (probably am) but the reason why MWC wasn't hosted annually was because the tour was unbalanced in terms of teams? Which is totally fair, but I mean that's kind of just WC. Every WC tour is like that. Yet despite this, WC tours are a buzz all around the site. NDWC and PUWC in particular are notable successes, and I'm sure other low tiers have great WC's (I haven't paid much attention to other ones). That being said, CA allocation to these WC's definitely helps, but people still love teaming up with their country-mates as often as they can I would imagine. Not to mention it brings people in from all around the site. More site-wide inclusion + all CG format would result in a pretty competitive tour. It's just really hard to get hype about MWC or care about it when the tour itself feels like a carrot being dangled in front of the community.

MCL could be a great format and would definitely be interesting, but I'd more firmly advocate for MWC at this point.

----

Other stuff:
- MFPL is fine
- Retains in Monotype tours are good, helps build and create franchises
- Keep self-buys the same n_n

 

[cpt.kraken]

After reading every posts, I want to put a lil stone in the general reflexion. Take it, leave it, it's not mine anymore.

- MCL could be a nice thing but will only drag old players if no current gen in. Competition can be very good but I'm fearing it will be a little circle of people and even if you can build and create stuffs, the ceiling is closer. I will sign up for sure in BW (never) but would watch it if it occurs. What Jahkem did with single tour cashprize per generation allowed really good games (congrats on this btw). So my only warning about this is how to attract new players to this (CA / cashprize / defined new number of people /... surprize me) so they will be able to learn more and be enthusiast about this kind of competition.

- MFPL allowed to show some talents. Obviously people like Twinkay, Hex, me, etc. who are generally drafted in official tours do not really care but it allowed me to discover BW is ... , some players (even in other teams) and good teammates. I think it is a nice thing to keep and support even if maybe limiting more MPL players to be "draftable" so more players can shine and renew the monotype scene.

- Self-buy for MWP are a bit too expensive since 1 selfbuy is 17.5k and 2 goes to 20k each so 40k total instead of 35k. Those 5k difference could be nice to bid. Yes 17.5k is expensive but I get why.

- I really want to play for MWorldCup. Obviously I belong to one of the best country in terms of talent for Monotype. We're not a lot of people but most of them are regulary picked for every tours. Also as to go with this number argument, PUWC has some countries like Brazil with 36 (!!) sign ups while some Italy has only 12 and Canada 13. But it's part of the game too.

- MOMPL is imo too niche and can be an unofficial tour on the side since MOMs are already unofficial and a side server thing. It can be very fun I 100% agree and from time to time like to play a game or two but I don't see a lot of people interested in TourNights for OMs generally in monoroom so I do not think it needs to be counted such as MPL / MWP / Circuit / MFPL / MWC ( / possible MCL if some conditions).

 

[Ethereal Sword]

Just wanted to bring up a potential issue with the team tour schedule. As we know, we generally do not have suspect tests during a team tour. This becomes a problem when there are team tours almost the entire year. If we strictly abide by not having suspects during any team tour, the current schedule only leaves a few weeks in March for any potential suspect tests, and with Gen 10 likely coming out in late 2026 and probably requiring its own suspect tests, leaving more "gaps" during the year is something that should be considered.

This is less of an issue if having suspects during MOMPL and MCL is permissible.

 

[TheWyvernKing]

Just wanted to bring up a potential issue with the team tour schedule. As we know, we generally do not have suspect tests during a team tour. This becomes a problem when there are team tours almost the entire year. If we strictly abide by not having suspects during any team tour, the current schedule only leaves a few weeks in March for any potential suspect tests, and with Gen 10 likely coming out in late 2026 and probably requiring its own suspect tests, leaving more "gaps" during the year is something that should be considered.

This is less of an issue if having suspects during MOMPL and MCL is permissible.

I mean ofc having suspects during MOMPL + MCL would be fine, not to mention MFPL. Even without changing anything all you showed is a calendar with available space for a suspect from Jan-April, and June-November. Maybe I'm confused but how are you getting only a few weeks in march and not like 8 months.

Not to mention, esp. for early gen 10 chaos, the argument we'd be asking is if suspects that finish before playoffs would be ok like we had with Zamazenta.

 

[Rio Vidal]

Just wanted to bring up a potential issue with the team tour schedule. As we know, we generally do not have suspect tests during a team tour. This becomes a problem when there are team tours almost the entire year. If we strictly abide by not having suspects during any team tour, the current schedule only leaves a few weeks in March for any potential suspect tests, and with Gen 10 likely coming out in late 2026 and probably requiring its own suspect tests, leaving more "gaps" during the year is something that should be considered.

This is less of an issue if having suspects during MOMPL and MCL is permissible.

just wanted to say, especially in the early gen between new releases and dlcs if tiering needs to happen in the middle of a tour it will. thats more or less reserved for when the metagame is more stable and we can wait for a bit before continuing to tier. nothing to worry about there at all.

 

[Vid]

I'll share some thoughts on the current tournament structure.

I am not a fan of MWC I think there are a few teams that are just too good. It does not foster what competition, like other team tournaments, does. While it is cool to play with your "countrymen," it is not great as a spectator or a participant when only a few teams realistically can win. I think the tournament schedule is hectic and does not warrant another team tournament on top of the individuals. If there is a redrawing of the maps or a significant expansion in weaker areas, MWC should be off the table, as most of the player base is concentrated in a few places.

MCL, I think, is interesting as a way to encourage more Old Gen Activity, but I think the main issue is whether we will get quality games, as I have seen the interest in old gen amongst the newer player base is low. I did enjoy many of Jahkem Old Gen's individual tournaments, as they gave many players, both new and old, a chance to play in a casual environment (although I did not take it seriously, it was still a good time). If we want an Old Gen tournament, I am all for it, as I think SV has adequate representation amongst other team tournaments, but I would not be opposed to adding it to MCL. In MCL, I would be more in favor of a Bo3 slot amongst multiple generations, where each week a generation or two is left out to encourage players who can play various generations at a high level to do so. It would also promote the best players to learn from the older generations and further develop older metagames.

MPL in its current state is fine. Aside from expanding slots in the future, I have no issues with it showcasing the current generation.

MWP to me seems like MPL with Threat and NatDex. Maybe after the current iteration of MWP is over, there should be some conversations about what MWP should be right now; it seems like a winter version of MPL, which I think people are ok with.

MOMPL, I think, is fine and reflects a shift toward cartridge-playable metagames. I would be in favor of adding DPP to MOMPL alongside another cartridge playable Mono OM, probably doubles as I have seen activity from LogIce Test Bots on the Mono OM discord server. I am 100% in favor of expanding slots and teams in MOMPL, as it should showcase metagames that are not officially supported.

MFPL, I am a big fan because it allowed me to play metagames without any pressure, as I could play SM, BW, or SV without worrying about letting the team down. I love MFPL because it has a good mix of old and new players and gives me a chance to interact with people I would never have met before.

Here are my thoughts. I would love to hear a productive conversation on the tournament schedule from people who are more involved and dedicated than I am.

 

[ken]

Besides MCL, not gonna comment on formats of each tour atp, since they'll have format discussions pop up this year (besides MPL probably).

wcop

MWorldCup

CA allocation to these WC

MWC

Primarily lack of broad interest is the reason it's not done more. If there was overwhelming vocal support, we'd for sure host it more often, and when it was last hosted we had discussed maybe doing it every other year, but given it was so rarely brought up by more than a relatively small group of people, that idea fell through the figurative cracks. Even in the form responses, it was mentioned positively in ~10% of responses. I don't think anybody is hard against doing it more often, and I agree actual pools similar to official wcop would be more appealing compared to the split groups pre-playoffs, especially since I think we're at a place we'd be able to field 16+ teams consistently.

If we do wcop this year, does anybody think Signups going up early-to-mid Feb and tour going through early MPL sounds feasible? Two week pool into top 8 playoffs? We can work out format later if it's going to happen. There would likely not, for the foreseeable future, be a CA allocated to wcop in Monotype, however, due in part to the inherent inequality at the start for likelihood of success. Perhaps incorporating it more often (and if we ever have more than 3 per year to allocate) may change this, but for now, it'd be a For Funsies (and bragging rights) tour.

Genuinely want much more input with this if we're going to do wcop.

proposed?!

MCL

mcl

MCL

MCL

I've gone back and forth with how I think MCL should be, but going through NUCL + PUCL's current thread, I'm coming more around to the flex tier idea, as well as some inclusion of SV to both bump up signups and add a unique flair that'll separate it from MPL/MWP. Like I mentioned previously, format discussion will obviously be closer to the actual date of the tour, but I think the flex slot idea is cool. General thoughts from form responses varies in draft type for MCL (auction, snake, and blind each received multiple votes :wow:), and the flex idea was also mentioned there as well.

If anybody wants to see how flex tiers are done and is unfamiliar, I encourage you to check out NUCL/PUCL's commencement/format discussion threads, respectively.

we generally do not have suspect tests during a team tour

Late-gen this is true, and it's funny timing that I'm responding to this after having stepped down, but generally speaking if a suspect needs to happen, it will happen, even if during a tour.

Self-buy for MWP are a bit too expensive since 1 selfbuy is 17.5k and 2 goes to 20k each so 40k total instead of 35k. Those 5k difference could be nice to bid. Yes 17.5k is expensive but I get why.

Keep self-buys the same n_n

I want to bring up swapping to a formula similar to MPL for other draft tours when the next MWP format discussion thread is posted, which I assume will happen this year since we did not for the current iteration. Obviously I know everybody has their own opinions on how prices should be determined/etc., but I think swapping how this is done between (up to 3 non-OM) tours would be silly, personally.

Retains in Monotype tours are good, helps build and create franchises

I think we've hit a point where we plan to keep them for the foreseeable future, though responses to the form were about evenly mixed both for and against them.

As for smaller events that I'd like to see, I have two main ideas.
(1) Type draft - I think there's a lot of untapped potential here that could really bring out new ways of using each type. Format is flexible, a simple example would be Bo3 snake draft.
(2) Teambuilding events - Secret Santa was great and I'd love to see more events that emphasize creative teambuilding.

We're generally up for smaller side events to be hosted almost any time throughout the year, so long as we don't have them overlapping too much.

@ MOMPL stuff: it's in the schedule because it's a draft tour. We recognize much of the community doesn't consider it the same level as MPL/MWP, but that doesn't mean we're going to remove something that's popular, and we can afford overlap with non-OM stuff should the need (wcop) arise.

@ form responses:

• MFPL is generally well-liked and well-received, so we'll keep it moving forward, not that there was much doubt. There was a mention or two about only allowing players from MPL to manage, which we're not interested in pursuing, since it effectively removes much of the ability for new draftees to interact with those playing in MPL.
• Someone mentioned doing a gym leader larp tour, where you're randomly assigned a type and larp your way through the event (feel free to draft it up and submit the idea to the forum mods)
• It was mentioned to put how many wins = guaranteed playoffs for Swiss
• Main complaints about Swiss were related to common Swiss problems -- early round acts and carrying through tags because you can't just replace them with byes for dropouts
• Suggested making Swiss type A

Related to the above, we're finalizing the circuit (swiss/sv cup types a/b swap) and will get it posted ASAP, and Winter seasonal signups go up Sunday!

 

[hex]

I'm coming more around to the flex tier idea, as well as some inclusion of SV to both bump up signups and add a unique flair that'll separate it from MPL/MWP.

Yeah, if MCL is going to have flex tiers, I would support it over WCoP tenfold. The proposed CL idea isn't super engaging. Not me trying to throw shade it just seemed lacking in flavor a bit, which is what made me lean into WC more. Making WC no custom is fine too, I think people should play to have fun and compete in their hobby not because they want a custom avatar.

If we do wcop this year, does anybody think Signups going up early-to-mid Feb and tour going through early MPL sounds feasible?

I personally think its fine if MWC ends while MPL signups are going. Smogon/Pokemon is a hobby and if the back-to-back tours are too much for some people they can simply sit out. I never understood burnout complaints bc well no one is really forcing you to play. If you can't play because of IRL being too busy or something then c'est la vie. If burnout/"too many tours" wasn't the reason this was brought up then I don't see why it matters much tbh. More chances to play Monotype tournaments = freaking pawsome!

mixed both for and against them.

This is kinda surprising tbh. I think retains are important for tournament identities, like Tarre was an up-and-coming user and people associated him with the Krows. He built his nest there with Isza so to speak. Punny right. Lol!! Anyway, it builds hype to see if the Krows mainstay will get another win and etc. etc. Like I couldn't imagine doing MPL again and not being a Dreamchaser. Or even every year when people see the Braves/Meloes come back to try to win MPL again. Obvi I know you get what I'm pointing at so this is more for people who think they're bad. I think as long as we keep manager selfbuys realistic to the pool of managers (keep them priced high bc manager pool is usually full of good players) then retains are always gonna be chill.