Dylan 718
22 · Dynamite · From New York
Staff member
Moderator
SUMMIT Staff
Event Organizer
Media Staff
Site Supporter
Founding Member
Credit to @Neopolitan for making the tournament graphic.
REGISTRATIONS
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: JUNE 17, 2024 @ 23:59:59 PM UTC
DATES: JUNE 22, 2024 → JULY 14, 2024
Introduction
With the Olympic Games happening later this year in Paris, France, MK8DX Staff have partnered up with @DrProctor to bring you Grand Slam, our own spin on the Olympic Games! Just like in the real Olympic Games, teams will send a player (or players) to compete in a specific event to earn points for their team. If this sounds familiar to anyone, then MK8DX Staff are pleased to share that Grand Slam will act as a spiritual successor to the two Apex Invitationals that were hosted by @DrProctor a few years ago, hence why he'll be co-hosting the tournament with MK8DX Staff. As this is the most ambitious tournament MK8DX Staff have ever conceived, please read the entire tournament thread in its entirety; don't hesitate to ask a member of MK8DX Staff or @DrProctor any questions or concerns you may have.
Tournament Information — Format, Ruleset, & Schedule
Grand Slam is a two-stage tournament. The tournament will last for four weeks (eight days in total). Below is an overview of the tournament structure. The tournament will be capped at 48 teams to allow the tournament to run smoothly. Additionally, teams are required to have a minimum of nine but no more than fifteen players on their roster.
In this tournament, teams will send a player (or players) to compete in a specific event to earn points for their team. The premise of this tournament is very similar to FFA Fridays, in which players compete in various qualifier events to earn points to qualify for the finals. Unlike most squad tournaments on MKCentral, which split teams into groups, teams will be split into divisions of 12 teams each and will solely be competing against teams within their division. As teams earn points, they will be competing for a spot in the playoffs, similar to Mario Kart Universal (MKU). The top six teams in each division with the most points will advance to that division's playoffs, where a champion will be crowned.
This tournament is unique in that it is MKCentral's first ever Mixed Format tournament, with players competing in FFAs, 2v2s, 3v3s and 6v6s; as such, this tournament will utilize both the MKCentral Universal Ruleset for MK8DX FFA Tournaments and the MKCentral Universal Ruleset for MK8DX Team Competitions, depending on the type of event that is being held. As this is a brand-new tournament, with a lot of unique rules and quirks, we will detail the tournament schedule first and then list out the rules for each event.
Having said that, here is the schedule for Grand Slam.
Staff would like to clarify a few things first. First, each event is its own isolated tournament. All events will be one round and will be unaffected by other events of the same format. Think of it as a Lounge match, where players have only one round to compete and win. To segue off of Lounge, FFA, 2v2 and 3v3 events do not have a specific team that must host the room; for these events, anyone can host the room. Additionally, specific formats will have a limit on how many times a certain player can compete in said events, in order to encourage teams to utilize as many different players as possible. Lastly, in case there is any doubt amongst players, teams must participate in every event; failure to participate in an event will result in a forfeit loss, which will earn a team no qualifier points.
Free-For-Alls (FFA)
There will be six events dedicated to Free-For-Alls, scheduled all day on Day 1 and Day 5. At one time, all 12 teams within a division will compete in a single FFA room together. Because all 12 teams within a division will be represented in a single room, there are no extra rules pertaining to how matchups will work. For consistency's sake, the Free-For-All event matchups can be viewed below, ordered by a team's seed within the division.
A specific player can only compete in an FFA event ONCE. Players who compete in a second (or more) FFA event will have their in-game points removed and will earn no qualifier points for their team. Point values for Free-For-All events can be viewed below.
2v2 Mogis
There will be six events dedicated to 2v2 mogis, scheduled all day on Day 2 and Day 6. At one time, all 12 teams within a division will compete in two separate 2v2 rooms. All 12 teams within a division will be seeded in a semi-snake format, and the result of this "draft" will be the matchups for the first 2v2 event. To maximize team diversity within rooms and to eliminate as many rematches between teams as possible, the matchups for each subsequent event will change. As 2v2 mogis have six teams within one room, and there are two 2v2 rooms happening at one time, rematches are unfortunately inevitable; depending on a team's seed, teams will rematch other teams up to four times. The 2v2 event matchups can be viewed below, ordered by a team's seed within the division.
A specific player can only compete in a 2v2 event TWICE. Players who compete in a third (or more) 2v2 event will have their in-game points removed and will earn no qualifier points for their team. Point values for 2v2 events can be viewed below.
3v3 Mogis
There will be three events dedicated to 3v3 mogis, scheduled once a day at 4:00pm EDT / 22:00 CEST on Day 3, Day 4, and Day 7. At one time, all 12 teams within a division will compete in three separate 3v3 rooms. All 12 teams within a division will be seeded in a snake format, and the result of this "draft" will be the matchups for the first 3v3 event. To maximize team diversity within rooms and to eliminate as many rematches between teams as possible, the matchups for each subsequent event will change. As 3v3 mogis have four teams within one room, and there are three 3v3 rooms happening at one time, rematches are unfortunately inevitable; depending on a team's seed, teams will rematch up to two other teams. The 3v3 event matchups can be viewed below, ordered by a team's seed within the division.
There is NO LIMIT to how many times a specific player can compete in a 3v3 event. Point values for 3v3 events can be viewed below.
6v6 Wars
There will be six events dedicated to 6v6 wars, scheduled twice a day at 2:00pm EDT / 20:00 CEST and 3:00pm EDT / 21:00 CEST on Day 3, Day 4 and Day 7. The overarching 6v6 portion of Grand Slam will feature the Swiss format, with teams playing against other teams in their division based on their current win-loss record. After each 6v6 event, teams will progressively play against other teams with a similar skill level (e.g. both teams have the same win-loss ratio) to their own level. In total, teams will face off against six other teams. Tiebreakers will be determined by these three criteria, in decreasing priority:
1. Wins against tied opponents
2. The Median-Buchholz system (sums the number of points earned by the team's opponents, excluding the highest and lowest)
3. Point difference (+/-)
The Swiss matchups can be viewed below, ordered by a team's seed within the division.
There is NO LIMIT to how many times a specific player can compete in a 6v6 event. Point values for 6v6 events can be viewed below.
Playoffs
After seven days of competing in events, teams will have accumulated many points. The top six teams with the most points will be invited in compete in their division's playoffs, which will be a 6-team 6v6 Single Elimination Bracket. In the event of a tie for 6th place (e.g. two teams have the same number of points), a team's performance in the 6v6 swiss pool will act as the tiebreaker. The playoffs bracket will occur on Day 8 of the tournament, and will take place across 2:00pm EDT / 20:00 CEST, 3:00pm EDT / 21:00 CEST and 4:00pm EDT / 22:00 CEST. The top two teams will be granted byes and will begin their bracket run in the Semifinals, with the other four teams beginning their bracket run in the Quarterfinals. This stage is winner-takes-all, and the winner of this bracket will be declared the winner of their Division. All matches in this bracket, including the Finals, are Best of 1.
The playoffs bracket can be viewed below, ordered by a team's result in the division stage of Grand Slam (e.g. ordered by a team's total points). Mock point values have been added to better visualize how teams will be seeded in the playoffs bracket.
Grand Slam will begin on June 22, 2024 and will end on July 14, 2024.
TO SIGN UP FOR GRAND SLAM, CLICK HERE
TO SIGN UP FOR GRAND SLAM, CLICK HERE
