Dylan 718
22 · Dynamite · From New York
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SUMMIT Staff
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Hello everyone! As of yesterday, the 2024 tournament calendar for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been completed. However, only one day later, and MKCentral Staff are ready to share some details regarding what 2025 entails for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournaments.
But first, MKCentral Staff and MK8DX Staff would like to thank the community at large for competing in the tournaments that were offered this year. 2024 was a record-breaking year for the community, as every single player and team continuously set the bar higher on what to expect from MKCentral tournaments, be it player/team count or tournament format. Before we move onto sharing details on the future, we would like to look back on 2024 and showcase how the community contributed to making this year very successful.
- Mario Kart Universal
- MKU Season 24: The biggest iteration of MKU yet, with 184 unique teams spanning across 23 divisions.
- MKCentral Squad Tournaments
- Grand Slam: MKCentral's first-ever Mixed Format tournament saw 72 squads compete, the biggest of any squad event.
- American UML 2024: American UML saw a record-breaking 200 players compete from across the Americas, Oceania and Japan, shattering the previous record of 160 players from American UML 2021.
- Collegiate Karting League
- CKL Season 3: The biggest iteration of CKL yet, with 44 unique collegiate teams spanning across six divisions.
- CKL Season 3: The biggest iteration of CKL yet, with 44 unique collegiate teams spanning across six divisions.
- USMK Racing
- USMK Tournaments: 44 tournaments hosted by USMK Racing took place around the United States this year, ten more events than 2023.
- USMK Active Players: 1,061 players from around the United States has competed in at least one USMK Racing-sponsored event this year. Additionally, approximately 1,000 brand new players competed in said events this year, making the total number of players roughly 2,000; this is up from 2023, which saw an increase of 700 players.
- MomoCon 2024: The biggest iteration of MomoCon yet, with 144 players from around the world competing in the festivities: FFA, 2v2 and Battle Mode events.
2025 Tournament Schedule
Now, without further ado, let's dive into some details. Unlike 2023 and 2024, the number of tournaments being organized will be changing this year. 2025 will host three MKU seasons, two team tournaments, three major 200cc tournaments, and two squad tournaments throughout the year, with other special events and FFAs being ran on a case-by-case basis. In case you didn't notice, the number of team tournaments (e.g. MKCentral Frontier and Paradigm) will be dropping down to two for this year. There isn't an overarching reason as to why this change occurred, aside from scheduling conflicts during the second half of the year and a particular "outcome" that will addressed later in this thread, but we hope teams will still enjoy MKCentral Frontier and Paradigm all the same. Before sharing this information, it is important to note that this schedule is tentative and is subject change at any time for whatever reason.
Schedule: MKCentral 2025 Tournament Schedule
This is the same Google Sheet as the 2024 tournament calendar; future calendars will be added to the same Google Sheet over time.
Note: MKCentral SUMMIT events, one-day FFA events, Pacific League, and affiliate tournaments are not listed above but are planned for 2025; the schedules for these tournaments are still in development and will be publicized at a later date.
What's New in 2025
It wouldn't be a new year without new and exciting tournament experiences. Detailed below is a sneak peek on some of our general plans for 2025.
Player Feedback and Affiliate Tournaments
It goes without saying that player feedback is an important part of tournament drafting and scheduling. MK8DX Staff are always open to the community's feedback and ideas regarding future tournaments. As we approach 2025, please continue in using #tournament-discussion in the MKCentral MK8DX Community Discord Server to suggest tournament ideas and to provide constructive feedback towards our tournaments. A large amount of the community's unique tournament ideas, constructive feedback and proposed changes went into consideration when creating the 2025 tournament schedule and when assessing certain tournament formats; we cannot thank you enough for contributing to a great cause.
Moreover, over the course of 2023 and 2024, we have partnered with different tournament groups and motivated people to run an assortment of affiliate tournaments. If you are wanting to partner with MKCentral and host an affiliate tournament (either an FFA or a team/squad tournament), please make a ticket in the MKCentral MK8DX Community Discord Server where you may talk to MK8DX Staff. Please keep in mind that not all requests to become a tournament affiliate with MKCentral will be approved and decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis (e.g. is the affiliate staff representative/team trustworthy, is there a cash prize involved, is there an audience for your affiliate event, etc.).
200cc World Cup
The first event of 2025 will be kickstarted by the first-ever 200cc World Cup! This tournament will feature players from around the world as they compete to be the very best in 200cc. This tournament is scheduled for January. 200cc World Cup will be ran in its own Discord server and staffed by its own staff team, so for more information, please join their Discord server: 200L World Cup 2025
Regional Rumble
Back by overwhelming demand, Regional Rumble will return in 2025! This popular tournament features players who form teams based on the region they reside in (e.g. states of a country, or regions of a country if states with a small player population wish to merge). This tournament will be split in two, similar to UML: one for American players and one for European players. The goal of this tournament was to introduce the community to the players within their region and allow them to compete with each other; with the recent influx of new players the community has received, we hope players are even more excited for the return of this special affiliate tournament. This tournament is scheduled for June and more details will be shared closer to then, but you can join the Regional Rumble Discord server in the meantime: Regional Rumble
Sky League
On the topic of UML, let's take that tournament one step further, shall we? Why not replace the snake format of drafting players to your team with a live auction instead? The name of this tournament may ring a bell to certain MomoCon competitors, and we are excited to announce the first online iteration of Sky League is here! MK8DX Staff will be collaborating with @Rookie to bring you this very special tournament tentatively scheduled for sometime in the summer. Details are limited, but we would like to briefly share that Sky League will have a very limited player pool and number of teams competing (e.g. player registrations will be limited with a small and strict player cap) as compared to American or even European UML 2024. Please stay tuned for more information.
World Cup 2025 and MKWorlds 2025
Finally, we are pleased to announce that World Cup and MKWorlds are scheduled to return in 2025. World Cup 2025 is scheduled for July and MKWorlds is scheduled for December. It is important to note that these tournaments will only be organized if MKCentral Staff are successful in receiving a Tournament License from Nintendo. This is a long and complicated process, as we unfortunately learned from this past year, so we ask for your patience as we work tirelessly and effortlessly to get these tournaments up and running for 2025. In the event that MKCentral Staff are unsuccessful in achieving a license, then substitute tournaments will be organized during the days these tournaments are currently scheduled.
One More Thing...
Before we wrap things up for today, MKCentral Staff would share some important details pertaining to a certain "outcome" that may occur in the near future. Yes, we are referring to the high likelihood of receiving details of the successor to the Nintendo Switch, and with it, the release of the next Mario Kart sometime in the near future. As mentioned by Nintendo themselves, we will be receiving information regarding the Nintendo Switch successor before March 31st, 2025, or within the next four months. It is impossible to predict if we will see details on a new Mario Kart during this information drop; Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was utilized as a sizzle reel for the Nintendo Switch's introduction trailer all the way back in 2016 (with MK8DX, alongside Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart 7, functioning as launch titles for the consoles they've released on), while other Mario Karts were announced and/or released a year or two into the consoles they've released on's life, such as with Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart Wii, and the original Mario Kart 8.
Once we reach the day where details pertaining to a new Mario Kart are shared — as a reminder, this day is NOT guaranteed to occur in 2025 — MKCentral Staff will discuss and share the details on what will happen regarding the new Mario Kart game, and what will happen regarding Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; such discussions can take place over the course of many days as it will affect many aspects of MKCentral, the tournament calendar included. It is important not to get ahead of ourselves during this time of speculation, but sharing this crucial information with the community before 2025 is pivotal.
It has been seven and a half years since the Mario Kart community has jumped games — and this will be MKCentral's (as an entity) and a majority of the community's first time experiencing one — so we ask everyone for their patience as we slowly but surely count down the days towards a new Mario Kart game and a new era for MKCentral.
Closing Thoughts
We hope that the community is excited after hearing what MKCentral Staff and MK8DX Staff have planned for 2025. We are particularly excited for this upcoming year as changing times are upon us. Just like last year, there are a few surprises planned, and we are looking forward to sharing them with the community when the time is right. As always, please continue in using #tournament-discussion in the MKCentral MK8DX Community Discord Server to ask any questions, suggest tournament ideas and to provide constructive feedback towards our tournaments. Happy Holidays everyone!
- MKCentral Staff