Tournaments

File: config/frontier/tournaments/<id>/tournament.conf

Each .conf file in a tournament’s directory defines one tournament. The directory name becomes the tournament ID. Tournaments control bracket format, scheduling, registration, team locking, NPC autofill, and optional rating integration.

Quick Example

displayName = "Weekly OU Tournament"
description = "Every Saturday, open to all players. Gen 9 OU rules."
timeZone = "America/New_York"

schedule {
    registrationOpens = "2026-03-14T10:00:00"
    registrationCloses = "2026-03-14T13:00:00"
    bracketStarts = "2026-03-14T14:00:00"
}

maxPlayers = 32
bracketType = SINGLE_ELIMINATION
seeding = ELO_BASED
format = "gen9ou"
extraClauses = []

rating {
    affectsRating = true
    ladderReference = "gen9ou"
}

revealFullBracket = false
noShowGraceSeconds = 300

arenas = []

bestOf {
    default = 1
    overrides {
        quarterfinals = 3
        semifinals = 3
        finals = 5
    }
    arenaOverrides {
        # finals = "grand_arena"
    }
}

rosterChangeBetweenGames = false
battleMusic = ""

npcAutofill {
    enabled = true
    npcClass = "cobblemon:ace_trainer"
    skill = 4
    presetId = ""
    namePool = [
        "Ace Trainer Red",
        "Ace Trainer Blue",
        "Ace Trainer Green",
        "Ace Trainer Yellow",
        "Ace Trainer Silver",
        "Ace Trainer Gold",
        "Ace Trainer Crystal",
        "Ace Trainer Ruby"
    ]
}

Tournament Fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
`displayName`	`String`	`"Tournament"`	Human-readable tournament name.
`description`	`String`	`""`	Description shown in UIs and announcements.
`timeZone`	`String`	`"UTC"`	IANA time zone for schedule times.
`schedule.registrationOpens`	`String`	`""`	ISO-8601 datetime when registration opens.
`schedule.registrationCloses`	`String`	`""`	ISO-8601 datetime when registration closes.
`schedule.bracketStarts`	`String`	`""`	ISO-8601 datetime when matches begin.
`maxPlayers`	`Int`	`128`	Maximum number of registered players.
`bracketType`	`Enum`	`SINGLE_ELIMINATION`	Bracket format. `SINGLE_ELIMINATION` or `DOUBLE_ELIMINATION`.
`seeding`	`Enum`	`RANDOM`	Seeding method. `RANDOM`, `MANUAL`, or `ELO_BASED`.
`format`	`String`	`""`	Battle format ID applied to all matches.
`extraClauses`	`List<String>`	`[]`	Additional clauses on top of the format.
`rating.affectsRating`	`Boolean`	`false`	Whether results affect ladder ratings.
`rating.ladderReference`	`String`	`""`	Which ladder’s rating pool to use.
`revealFullBracket`	`Boolean`	`true`	Whether the full bracket and teams are publicly viewable.
`noShowGraceSeconds`	`Int`	`60`	Seconds before a no-show is declared a forfeit.
`bestOf.default`	`Int`	`1`	Default best-of count for all rounds.
`bestOf.overrides`	`Map<String,Int>`	`{}`	Per-round best-of overrides (e.g., `finals = 5`).
`rosterChangeBetweenGames`	`Boolean`	`true`	Allow roster changes between games in a best-of series.
`battleMusic`	`String?`	`null`	Custom battle music resource location. Null = default music.
`arenas`	`List<String>`	`[]`	Allowed arenas for the tournament. Empty = use any available arena.
`bestOf.arenaOverrides`	`Map<Int, String>`	`{}`	Per-round arena overrides (e.g. finals on a specific arena). Key = round number.
`npcAutofill.enabled`	`Boolean`	`false`	Fill empty bracket slots with NPCs.
`npcAutofill.npcClass`	`String`	`"cobblemon:standard"`	NPC class identifier for autofill NPCs.
`npcAutofill.skill`	`Int`	`3`	AI skill level for autofill NPCs (0-5).
`npcAutofill.presetId`	`String`	`""`	Preset ID for NPC teams. Empty string = random generation.
`npcAutofill.namePool`	`List<String>`	`[8 default names]`	Pool of names randomly assigned to autofill NPCs.

NPC Autofill Config

NPC autofill fills empty tournament slots with AI-controlled opponents to reach a bracket-compatible player count.

Field	Type	Default	Description
`enabled`	`Boolean`	`false`	Whether NPC autofill is active for this tournament.
`npcClass`	`String`	`"cobblemon:standard"`	The NPC class used for rendering autofill NPCs.
`skill`	`Int`	`3`	AI skill level from 0 (weakest) to 5 (strongest).
`presetId`	`String`	`""`	Preset ID for NPC teams. Leave empty for random teams.
`namePool`	`List<String>`	8 default names	Names randomly assigned to NPCs. Defaults: “Youngster Joey”, “Bug Catcher Ben”, “Lass Dana”, “Ace Trainer Liam”, “Pokefan Rex”, “Ranger Kim”, “Veteran Sol”, “Black Belt Ryu”.

Best-of Config

Controls the number of games played per match in a bracket round.

Field	Type	Default	Description
`default`	`Int`	`1`	Default series length for all rounds.
`overrides`	`Map<String,Int>`	`{}`	Per-round overrides. Keys are round names, values are best-of counts.

Valid best-of values are odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7). A best-of-3 means the first player to win 2 games takes the match.

Schedule

All schedule fields use ISO-8601 datetime strings, interpreted in the tournament’s configured timeZone.

Field	Description
`registrationOpens`	When players can begin registering.
`registrationCloses`	When registration closes and teams are locked.
`bracketStarts`	When the first round of matches begins.

The tournament automatically transitions between lifecycle states based on these times:

SCHEDULED -> REGISTRATION at registrationOpens.
REGISTRATION -> LOCKED at registrationCloses.
LOCKED -> ACTIVE at bracketStarts.

Rating Reference

Controls whether tournament results affect a ladder’s rating pool.

Field	Type	Default	Description
`affectsRating`	`Boolean`	`false`	When `true`, match results update player ratings.
`ladderReference`	`String`	`""`	The ladder ID whose rating pool is used (e.g., `"gen9ou"`).

When affectsRating is true, ladderReference must be set to a valid ladder ID. Rating changes are calculated using the same algorithm as ranked ladder matches.