Hi Hannes, love the concept! You guys have clearly done a lot of work on it as well, it seems largely very well thought out from what I can see.
There is only one obvious point to me, which is if someone wins a slam they shouldn’t just get the ranking points, they should automatically qualify for the world finals. Two big benefits: firstly, it gives a more obvious weight to the slams themselves. Secondly, a top competitor will still be able to qualify for the world finals even if they are so strapped for time that they can neither enter any of the regular memory league seasons nor enter all of the slams (maybe because they’re a doctor in the US?). I’d recommend that this doesn’t get given to second place in the slam if first place has already qualified, instead add one to the number of people who can qualify by ranking points, else getting automatic qualification may seem a little cheap.
You asked if there should be 8 or 16 people in the world finals. It might not help but don’t forget it doesn’t have to be a conventional knockout. A group stage or a bye for 1 or 2 people could help you move this, so you could have any number in between. I know you want more specific feedback on this number from us fans though, so for me, I’d want it to be the sum of people who would have more than a 20% chance of beating the world number 1 over the duration of the final. You will be able to judge this far better than I could.
More minor points: I love the qualification score system and the way that maps to world points, but the other league points distribution seems a bit strange. Surely getting promoted from division 2 should be worth more points than getting relegated from division 1? Also, having the world finals in December isn’t ideal, I respect that congestion means you might not be able to move it much earlier, but people do tend to be busier this time of year, even a couple of weeks could make a big difference
Overall, though I love the idea, look forward to seeing what you guys can make happen