As the 2021 circuit nears its end, it's time to start thinking about next years. As always, feedback from the community is much appreciated in the decision process, so we'd like to open discussion here. Here are some starting points of discussion to kick things off:
(2021 circuit thread for reference)
(2021 circuit thread for reference)
- Removing a tour - With the addition of OSDT (and DWCoP happening in a more official capacity), this year's circuit felt especially crowded. Removing a tournament is a clear solution for more breathing room, the only question would be which tour, likely either Majors or one of the Seasonals. Which also leads into...
- Doubles Majors - 2021 had the first ever Doubles Majors, an entirely new type of tour. How did you think it was? Should it be kept around? Replaced with something else like Swiss? Or perhaps removed entirely, sticking with more traditional tour structures. The exact format of Majors is also open for discussion, for example, one problem with this year's was the awkwardly sized 80 player bracket leading to a large number of signups who did not get to play.
- Official Smogon Doubles Tour - This year we had the exciting first rendition of OSDT, and it has been confirmed again for next year. As an official tournament it's not solely our jurisdiction to make changes, but any discussion about the tour is encouraged nonetheless.
- Points Structure - With two new tours this year (OSDT and Majors), there's room for points adjustments to be made (other tours are, of course, also open to change). One possible change brought up on Discord is a move to a more top-heavy points structure, which would place more emphasis on high-placing results.
- Best Finish Limiter - Currently there's a BFL of 2 on the 3 Seasonals tours. There's room for change in either direction, either having a BFL across all tours instead (which would also reward high-placing results, but disincentivise joining every tour), or simply removing it. Note that if we did remove a Seasonal, the current BFL would cease to exist regardless.