Tournament OM Spotlight League - Announcement and Manager Signups

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in the hills

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Hello and welcome to the first edition of the OM Spotlight League! Following from the previous OM Snake Draft, this tour will feature some of our side metagames.

How Spotlight League works:
There are 6 teams. Each team will have have 6 players and at least 2 subs. The players are bought using the 80k credits that managers receive during the auction. Managers will be able to self-purchase for 16k. For the following 5 weeks teams will face off against each other, where winning a round earns 2 points and tying earns 1 point. After the 5th week, the two teams with the most points will advance to the finals where a champion will be crowned.



The tier lineup this year is as follows:
To be decided! The OM community will have a large hand in picking the formats this year!
The preemptive lineup of metagames (these are not at all set in stone, but are listed to give an idea of what some of the key options are) are as follows:
SS Godly Gift
SS Inheritance
SS Inverse
(Best of 5) SS 2v2 Doubles
SS Tier Shift
SS Sketchmons


As members of the OM community, you are urged to voice your opinion on the metagames you would like to see in this tournament, as well as anything relating to the structure of the tour. Below are the list of options that are not permitted for discussion.
  • Metagames that were featured in the most recent OMPL
  • Old gens OMs
  • OM Mashups
  • Pet Mods
  • Partners in Crime
Managers are expected to fulfill the following requirements:
  • Will be active for the entire tournament (~6 weeks).
  • Will fulfill all responsibilities of the position in a punctual manner, including but not limited to team submission, ensuring activity of players, and making substitutions.
  • Can be trusted to uphold sportsmanlike conduct.
If you think you can handle it, please sign up! Format your post like this:

Bio: Why are you qualified for the position? Why do you think you'll be a good manager? Do you have prior experience? Those are good things to put here.
Team name: Your preferred team name. Nothing inappropriate.
Commitment: A pledge that you will be active for the entire tournament and fulfill your managerial duties.

You may sign up individually or as a pair of co-managers. If you have limited experience playing or managing in a team tournament, it is recommended that you sign up with an experienced partner.

Signups will be open until we have 6 capable teams and the format list is finalized.
 
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Isaiah

Here today, gone tomorrow
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Battle Simulator Administratoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
UM/OM Leader
The OM community will have a large hand
1629434477099.png

I present Bonus Type. Ideally, it would replace Tier Shift (which is really similar to standard metas anyway imo and has gotten very minimal development despite being around for quite some time). In contrast, Bonus Type is actually an amazing meta both conceptually and in play: It starts with a fairly familiar base of regular abilities/moves/typings and adds only the extra type as a rule, which both gives plenty of room for creativity without overwhelming everyone with possibilities [or creating a lot of issues like Camomons had]. Considering that Bonus Type has also won an omotm within the last several months, it would be cool for it to get a spotlight in a competitive setting like this one and really pop off :]
 

in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Will the OMs that are ultimately used just go to a vote then (after everyone makes suggestions), or is there some larger system in place?

Regardless, I'm super hyped for this and I look forward to playing/watching!
Once managers are chosen I'll be going over all of the responses and making the final decision myself, most likely along with the OM Leaders.

Gonna highlight my personal opinion on the options listed in my preemptive list as well as some alternatives below is some bullet point pros and cons on each of the options I've considered

SS Godly Gift
Pros:
Cult classic, a lot of people who are both interested in this tour that love this tier. It was very close to being picked last year but barely missed out.
Cons: Not super developed metagame and somewhat volatile, would require active tiering if it's included I believe.

SS Inheritance
Pros:
Staple from OM Snake, insanely good concept and incredibly popular. Not much to say here lol.
Cons: None

SS Inverse
Pros:
I believe that Inverse will become a staple in this tour as well, Inverse has maintained insanely good activity through forum tours and resource updates that have kept the metagame fresh and brought in new players.
Cons: None

(Best of 5) SS 2v2 Doubles
Pros:
Easily the most developed and popular option on this list, 2v2 has a massive playerbase and will draw a lot of attention to this tour if it is included.
Cons: As a non-6v6 metagame, this slot would be difficult to draft in the sense that it's drastically different from the other listed metagames and most 2v2 players have little to no experience with other slots. Additionally, some argue that this metagame is a bit too popular for this tour. While I do not agree that its popularity is a bad thing, I can sympathize with wanting to focus more on only non-ladder metagames.

SS Tier Shift
Pros:
Similar to standards means it will likely attract a ton of non-OMs players. It has also been in every iteration of OM Snake and is a classic OM.
Cons: Questionably active TL and little to no metagame development ever. Frankly this metagame concept doesn't allow for much development which makes it pretty boring to both watch and play, in my opinion.

SS Sketchmons
Pros:
Was in most iterations of OM Snake and has returned to its old popularity since returning with its Gen 8 metagame. Really great moves-based OM
Cons: Competes with Alphabet Cup since they are very similar concepts.

SS Bonus Type
Pros:
Unique metagame concept that has received a lot of interest since being introduced a few months ago.
Cons: Being a newer metagame, it hasn't fully developed and may not have garnered enough interest in the past few months.

SS Trademarked
Pros:
Was in last year's OM Snake Draft and many enjoyed it.
Cons: Lack of TL at the moment pretty much takes this out of the running, it has also seen no activity since last year's Snake Draft.

SS Alphabet Cup
Pros:
Pretty popular moves-based meta, similar to Sketchmons.
Cons: Competes with Sketchmons and is arguably a more volatile metagame.

SS Pokebilities
Pros:
Classic OM that's always a popular OMotM. Also pretty similar to standards so I think it would attract a good amount of players if included.
Cons: A bit buggy on the main server which may cause issues, and has never really been given attention in tours so I question whether people would actually be interested outside of its ladder success.

SS The Loser's Game
Pros:
Incredibly well developed metagame with unique gameplay that differentiates itself from the other tiers
Cons: Boring(?) The metagame being super developed is somewhat of a double edged sword here, as the metagame is nearly solved. I don't think many would appreciate the gameplay in this tier, though I personally don't mind it

SS Pure Hackmons
Pros:
Has a pretty decent playerbase
Cons: i mean...

SS Shared Power
Pros:
Insanely popular ladder metagame that has surpassed even main tiers in its OMotM runs
Cons: Somewhat uncompetitive, and is seen as more of a "fun" metagame than one that should be considered for tournaments.

After looking at these options, I do have a different personal opinion on the lineup than the preemptive list. I think that while Tier Shift has been a part of tours for years now, it'd be foolish to ignore how far it has fallen out of popularity this generation. Not having an active tier leader is pretty much a deal breaker for any tier on this list for me bar PH, since this is a crucial time for these tiers. On top of that, Tier Shift's fall from popularity can probably be attributed to Generation 8 as a whole. I think this metagame struggles a lot to be interesting with the cards dealt to it in Gen 8. I think that it's time to move on from Tier Shift, despite the potential it has to attract non-OM players.

In place of Tier Shift I think there's two options that stand out from the others: Bonus Type and Pokebilities. While I may be biased on Bonus Type as its tier leader, I think that most would agree that it has gained a lot of traction lately and is a metagame that is somewhat similar to OU with a twist that adds a lot of flavor without compromising it too much competitively. On the other hand, Pokebilities is unique in that it's the only metagame on my personal list that is an ability-based metagame. It also is in a similar spot to Bonus Type in that I think it's similar enough to standards to attract more players without being boring.

Another topic of discussion I expect will be Sketchmons vs ABC, since they're very similar concepts and both are decently popular. As it stands I'm personally in favor of Sketchmons as it is a much more competitive premise to me, and has seen a lot of interest in the past and has kept that interest well. However I think that an argument can be made for both so I'm excited to see the discussion there.

Finally, I would like to throw my support for including 2v2 in this tour. While I personally do not like this metagame for various reasons, I think that it has proven itself so much to be included in this tour and I have a very deep respect for it and its community. No other meta mentioned is more deserving than 2v2.

To sum up, my personal opinion on the lineup of metagames would be:
SS Godly Gift
SS Inheritance
SS Inverse
(Best of 5) SS 2v2 Doubles
SS Sketchmons
SS Bonus Type / SS Pokebilities
 

There are 6 teams. Each team will have have 6 players and at least 2 subs. Managers cannot play. The players are bought using the 80k credits that managers receive during the auction. Managers will be able to self-purchase for 16k. For the following 5 weeks teams will face off against each other, where winning a round earns 2 points and tying earns 1 point. After the 5th week, the two teams with the most points will advance to the finals where a champion will be crowned.
Just pointing out an oversight, the tour description states that managers cannot play, but later mentions they can self-buy for 16k. Which one of these is correct?
Also, what's the reasoning behind 80k credits, why isn't it 100k like OMPL?

Tiers look good, thanks for hosting this!
 
Once managers are chosen I'll be going over all of the responses and making the final decision myself, most likely along with the OM Leaders.

Gonna highlight my personal opinion on the options listed in my preemptive list as well as some alternatives below is some bullet point pros and cons on each of the options I've considered

SS Godly Gift
Pros:
Cult classic, a lot of people who are both interested in this tour that love this tier. It was very close to being picked last year but barely missed out.
Cons: Not super developed metagame and somewhat volatile, would require active tiering if it's included I believe.

SS Inheritance
Pros:
Staple from OM Snake, insanely good concept and incredibly popular. Not much to say here lol.
Cons: None

SS Inverse
Pros:
I believe that Inverse will become a staple in this tour as well, Inverse has maintained insanely good activity through forum tours and resource updates that have kept the metagame fresh and brought in new players.
Cons: None

(Best of 5) SS 2v2 Doubles
Pros:
Easily the most developed and popular option on this list, 2v2 has a massive playerbase and will draw a lot of attention to this tour if it is included.
Cons: As a non-6v6 metagame, this slot would be difficult to draft in the sense that it's drastically different from the other listed metagames and most 2v2 players have little to no experience with other slots. Additionally, some argue that this metagame is a bit too popular for this tour. While I do not agree that its popularity is a bad thing, I can sympathize with wanting to focus more on only non-ladder metagames.

SS Tier Shift
Pros:
Similar to standards means it will likely attract a ton of non-OMs players. It has also been in every iteration of OM Snake and is a classic OM.
Cons: Questionably active TL and little to no metagame development ever. Frankly this metagame concept doesn't allow for much development which makes it pretty boring to both watch and play, in my opinion.

SS Sketchmons
Pros:
Was in most iterations of OM Snake and has returned to its old popularity since returning with its Gen 8 metagame. Really great moves-based OM
Cons: Competes with Alphabet Cup since they are very similar concepts.

SS Bonus Type
Pros:
Unique metagame concept that has received a lot of interest since being introduced a few months ago.
Cons: Being a newer metagame, it hasn't fully developed and may not have garnered enough interest in the past few months.

SS Trademarked
Pros:
Was in last year's OM Snake Draft and many enjoyed it.
Cons: Lack of TL at the moment pretty much takes this out of the running, it has also seen no activity since last year's Snake Draft.

SS Alphabet Cup
Pros:
Pretty popular moves-based meta, similar to Sketchmons.
Cons: Competes with Sketchmons and is arguably a more volatile metagame.

SS Pokebilities
Pros:
Classic OM that's always a popular OMotM. Also pretty similar to standards so I think it would attract a good amount of players if included.
Cons: A bit buggy on the main server which may cause issues, and has never really been given attention in tours so I question whether people would actually be interested outside of its ladder success.

SS The Loser's Game
Pros:
Incredibly well developed metagame with unique gameplay that differentiates itself from the other tiers
Cons: Boring(?) The metagame being super developed is somewhat of a double edged sword here, as the metagame is nearly solved. I don't think many would appreciate the gameplay in this tier, though I personally don't mind it

SS Pure Hackmons
Pros:
Has a pretty decent playerbase
Cons: i mean...

SS Shared Power
Pros:
Insanely popular ladder metagame that has surpassed even main tiers in its OMotM runs
Cons: Somewhat uncompetitive, and is seen as more of a "fun" metagame than one that should be considered for tournaments.

After looking at these options, I do have a different personal opinion on the lineup than the preemptive list. I think that while Tier Shift has been a part of tours for years now, it'd be foolish to ignore how far it has fallen out of popularity this generation. Not having an active tier leader is pretty much a deal breaker for any tier on this list for me bar PH, since this is a crucial time for these tiers. On top of that, Tier Shift's fall from popularity can probably be attributed to Generation 8 as a whole. I think this metagame struggles a lot to be interesting with the cards dealt to it in Gen 8. I think that it's time to move on from Tier Shift, despite the potential it has to attract non-OM players.

In place of Tier Shift I think there's two options that stand out from the others: Bonus Type and Pokebilities. While I may be biased on Bonus Type as its tier leader, I think that most would agree that it has gained a lot of traction lately and is a metagame that is somewhat similar to OU with a twist that adds a lot of flavor without compromising it too much competitively. On the other hand, Pokebilities is unique in that it's the only metagame on my personal list that is an ability-based metagame. It also is in a similar spot to Bonus Type in that I think it's similar enough to standards to attract more players without being boring.

Another topic of discussion I expect will be Sketchmons vs ABC, since they're very similar concepts and both are decently popular. As it stands I'm personally in favor of Sketchmons as it is a much more competitive premise to me, and has seen a lot of interest in the past and has kept that interest well. However I think that an argument can be made for both so I'm excited to see the discussion there.

Finally, I would like to throw my support for including 2v2 in this tour. While I personally do not like this metagame for various reasons, I think that it has proven itself so much to be included in this tour and I have a very deep respect for it and its community. No other meta mentioned is more deserving than 2v2.

To sum up, my personal opinion on the lineup of metagames would be:
SS Godly Gift
SS Inheritance
SS Inverse
(Best of 5) SS 2v2 Doubles
SS Sketchmons
SS Bonus Type / SS Pokebilities
As one of the relatively few people with significant amounts of background in both Sketch and ABC, as well as being the (albeit temporarily not at the moment) Tier Leader for both, here's my breakdown:

Alphabet Cup has a very high power level compared to the average OM (at least as far as move OMs go) - a lot of the alterations made from ideas like STAB are neutered by GF logic: While Behemoth Blade is obviously stronger than Iron Head, it's not giving a steel mon some insane new tool - it's just boosting what it (usually) already has. Some status moves definitely mess with that idea, which definitely brings excitement to the tier, and mons like Rotom get multiple types to play with, but you generally know what you're getting into.

Alphabet Cup turns that to 11. Plenty of pokemon get coverage options, recovery, pivots, priority, etc that they otherwise have no place learning. The amount of preparation needed to have a good understanding of a team at team preview is quite high. That said, the creativity is unrivaled, especially after pushing to add the Prevo Clause. It brings forth a boatload of new ideas and encourages players to actually think about previous evolutions, which is a relatively unique concept - generally a player works with what is in front of them, and doesn't worry about other mons than the 6 at preview.
I think tournament play MASSIVELY benefits from that "hype factor". Additionally, the games tend to be either offensively oriented or at least catered to balance/bulky offense teams, which allow for games to last long enough to really enjoy the cool action that comes with observing two players as they learn about one another and adapt/condtion, etc throughout the game. They're long enough to be detailed but short enough to keep things interesting.
I'd highly recommend ABC for one of the OM choices. There are definitely some bans that need to be made to the tier prior to its incorporation, but I already have those discussed and planned out. I'm not sure why they aren't done already, but that's a topic for another day.
Overall, Alphabet Cup is fun to build, watch, and play, and it allows for creative/stylistic choices, which always shine in tours.

Sketchmons is very strange.
Sketch only gives you the chance to add ONE move, but that can be (just about) ANY move. Once that move is revealed, you can usually figure out the rest of the set. Determining these things at preview is almost impossible, which means scouting and creative conditioning is a really cool thing that folks get to watch.
Sketch really benefits from those first 20 or so turns, which often really let battlers shine, but once both players know the sketched moves, the rest of the game is basically "OU: the remix". Mons need to already have a really good movepool, stats, etc., to do well in Sketch. While some mons (like Silvally or rotom) can go completely off the deep end in ABC, those kinds of things have little place in Sketch.

ABC is very dynamic and "expect the unexpected", while Sketch is very mindgamey and tactical.

They both offer really cool types of battles, but they attract very different audiences. I think ABC maintains the "mystique" across the whole game, while Sketch really weighs that in the front.

As a whole, I think it's really important to look at things also from the perspective of a spectator: what's fun to watch? Does the audience want a Finchinator video or a Pokeaim/Blunder video?

They are both very effective and enjoyable forms of entertainment, but the goal is very different.

Again, I have a large amount of skin in the game for both, but I think ABC particularly rewards clever team-building, while Sketch rewards clever play.

I personally like to see what kind of crazy and awesome things people bring to tours, so I would recommend ABC, but they're both great OMs and having either would be cool!
 
Is there a reason you're going with the 80k draft budget rather than 100k? It seems like 100k would be a lot better for allowing managers to get lots of maybe not the best players for 3k so more people who want to can be involved, since it is already quite limited by the small number of teams and having manager self-picks
 

Senko

meow
is an Artist
Co-Managing with Kris
below is info abt me
Bio: No experience with managing a team but have experience with setting lineups and overall staying on top of scheduling
Team name: STINKY STUNKYS
Commitment: Kris and I will make sure this Stunky stank will stay on top of managing this banger team :3
ezgif.com-gif-maker (1).gif
 
Is there a reason you're going with the 80k draft budget rather than 100k? It seems like 100k would be a lot better for allowing managers to get lots of maybe not the best players for 3k so more people who want to can be involved, since it is already quite limited by the small number of teams and having manager self-picks
Don't be silly, Will. If we gave the managers another 20k, they'd just spend 23k on the last player. After all, everyone knows that not getting subs is one of the best managerial decisions possible
 
I've been convinced to apply so here we go:

Bio: I'm the de facto (albeit right now not de jure) TL for sketch and ABC and I know quite a bit about both metas - I have a pretty solid background with teambuilding/battling and I do management-type stuff as part of my irl job. I also have dabbled in most OMs and I spend a good bit of time on the discord so I'm familiar with both some of our more famous players and the metas in general. I've never managed in the sense of a smog team, but I'm always looking to learn more and I'm happy to co-manage.

Team name: :shiinotic: :amulet-coin: of :love-ball: (Shenotic Cents of Pride) - named after the award ITH said that comes with winning but with some quality LGBT+ <3

Commitment: I’m definitely down to do this thing! Always wanted to do something like this and it all starts somewhere

Edit: Changed the team name to include a Pokemon and fixed the images
 
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Dr. Phd. BJ

aphasia
is a defending SCL Champion
OMPL Champion
Bio: I have never managed any team tours, however I have been around the om community for a LONG time. In fact, I predate most of the oms that would be played in this tour. I have played in or built for ompl finals, om snake finals, and om grand slam finals. I have experience in about half of the tiers that are up for discussion and am willing to learn the tiers that I don't know depending on which are selected. Willing to co-manage or manage by myself, whichever is needed to make this tour happen.

Team Name: Sleepy Slowkings

Commitment: I'm really committed to managing if it makes this tour possible, I feel as if organizing a tour involving these oms can allow for the metagames to grow a player base, and evolve each respective tier.
 
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I wasn't gonna sign up to manage, but I want this tour to get off the ground so here goes! Signing up to manage wih Lasen as my assman.

Bio: I managed this last OMPL and while we didn't make playoffs, we were in contention for the whole duration of the tour. Plus I'd like to think our failures came down to me underperforming as a player, not as a manager. I played in last year's iteration of this tour and I know at least 3 of these tiers well enough.

Team Name: UwUrshifus

Commitment: I want this tour to happen, so I'll do my best to fulfill my duties as a manager throughout its duration.
 
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Lasen

smiling through it all
is a Site Content Manageris an official Team Rateris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a CAP Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributor
I wasn't gonna sign up to manage, but I want this tour to get off the ground so here goes! Signing up to manage wih Lasen as my assman.

Bio: I managed this last OMPL and I'd while we didn't make playoffs, we were in contention for the whole duration of the tour. Plus I'd like to think our failures came down to me underperforming as a player, not as a manager. I played in last year's iteration of this tour and I know at least 3 of these tiers well enough.

Team Name: TBD

Commitment: I want this tour to happen, so I'll do my best to fulfill my duties as a manager throughout its duration.
1629631168683.png



Trophy wife manager Lasen reporting for duty
 

in the hills

spreading confusion
is a Top Artistis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
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