To accommodate the upcoming poLANd tf 2025 LAN in March, the offseason between 6v6 Seasons 48 and 49 has been unusually short, but with LAN on the horizon chaos was inevitable as teams looked to build their rosters for the trip to Łódź. Combine this with the dissolution of both ÜBERFEST 2024 grand finalists and the return of legends Witness Gaming EU, and we have an offseason like no other.

/for fence

• Nevo
• Cuby
• Brujman
• dmoule
• deli69
• mulaa

Last ETF2L season, /for fence made history by becoming the first ever all-French roster to win gold in a 6v6 Premiership season. This had been a long time coming, given that throughout history there has been a whole host of top French lineups making deep runs in playoffs, but it took until ETF2L’s 48th season for everything to align. Their route to playoffs last was anything but smooth, having snuck into the 4th seed spot after their delayed official against Pepis Pizza Party during the ÜBERFEST LAN break. But when the playoff weekend began, the Frenchmen stepped up to a whole new level and played their best TF2 of the whole season, managing to battle their way through the lower bracket in three back to back full length BO3s against the best teams Europe has to offer.

Given this success, /for fence understandably saw little reason to change their winning formula coming into 2025. Will they be able to carry on this brilliant run of form into the upcoming season, and how will their unmodified roster match up against the strengthened field of teams formed for the new year?

Venomcrest

• junnu
• varnu
• kn
• tiram
• yak
• EoN

Venomcrest are no strangers to Premiership TF2. The core of this team first played under the Venomcrest banner in Season 42, placing fifth in that season and the next, before folding as the players went their separate ways into the high tiers of ETF2L. It took until Season 48 for them to reunite as Pepis Pizza Party, and they started strong. Cultivating chaos, they used unlocks and offclasses to the maximum, with varnu’s Heavy midfights and kn’s parachuting Soldier bombs striking fear and confusion into the hearts of their opponents. They defeated SKEDDA and narrowly lost to NOOBPANZER and MANDEM, but ultimately it wasn’t to be and they ended the regular season in sixth place.

This, they shrugged off. Mere weeks later came the far more coveted challenge of LAN: ÜBERFEST 2024, where in the group stage they were only defeated by NOOBPANZER and SKEDDA, before avenging their defeat by the latter in playoffs to make it onto the stage. Here, they came unstuck. After winning the first map of the Upper Bracket Final, they would win only four rounds of the next four maps to be eliminated in third place: on stage, their hallmark chaos let them down.

A change in philosophy? That would be too much to expect. This is a yak team, after all – it’s a matter of when, not if, the double Spy play will return – but with several months’ more practise now under their belts they may have found the consistency that has so far eluded them. Sure, they may get lost in the woods at times, but can Venomcrest’s opponents find the way out first?

MANDEM

• balder
• inso
• haunts
• ronz
• zambz
• ouppy

Coming into the “Witness break” era of European TF2, MANDEM were favourites to inherit the vacant throne in Europe after their outstanding performance during the regular season of S45. In the three ensuing seasons, MANDEM managed to finish on each of the three podium places once each, and also picked up a bronze medal from poLANd.tf #winter 2024 (albeit with a much different roster). Their gold came in Season 47, where MANDEM defeated /for fence and SKEDDA in two nail-biting playoff series to close out the season, putting an end to an unfortunate streak of seasons in which they struggled in the playoffs despite dominant showings in the group stage.

As with many other premiership teams this season, LAN is part of MANDEM’s long term plan, and so there have been some roster adjustments made to ensure that the MANDEM team that we will see online will be the same as the team that we will see in Łódź. inso and ronz finished Season 48 on the substitute bench for MANDEM, but both are being promoted to mains in place of .pandemiC and ex-captain lardox respectively.

MANDEM will also be without star demoman Fancy for the upcoming events as he will be replaced by ex-TLR demoman zambz. Whilst the explosive firepower and highlight capabilities of Fancy are of course hard to replace, zambz has proven to be an incredibly capable and reliable demoman at TLR both online and offline, having been champions of ETF2L Season 46 and runners-up at poLANd.tf #winter 2024. Will this new look MANDEM team be able to continue the name’s success against the strengthened field, and will they perhaps be able to defeat Witness Gaming EU once more?

ANTICIDE

• .pandemiC
• menex
• Blanc
• ry4n
• hugee
• theos

The story of ANTICIDE is a familiar one to many a past Premiership team: while this will be their first season as a team, they have spent years playing with and against each other in the top echelons of European TF2 and come with pre-prepared synergy.

Soldier ry4n is perhaps the team’s most successful player, coming into Season 49 as reigning LAN champion with NOOBPANZER and with an third place finish last ETF2L season alongside Demo hugee. ry4n also won Premiership in Autumn 2023 on The Last Resort with Scout .pandemiC, with whom he now reunites after the Scout’s silver medal run with Season 48’s MANDEM.

Medic theos comes in after a long stint with Garda Panteri and Greece’s national team, where he spent several seasons with Scout menex. The Greek Scout has been a regular sight in Premiership playoffs in past years, and he in turn claimed a Highlander Premiership trophy with Soldier Blanc on GANJA 2009; Blanc’s HL performance won him Soldier, Debut and Player of the Season all in one.

A motley crew they may be, but don’t let that fool you. Each and every one of their players has shown they have what it takes individually, and with an invitation to poLANd.tf 2025 already secured this ETF2L season will only make them stronger. Realistically, the expectation is not for them to win trophies in a season as stacked as this, but a podium finish is only a few upsets away – upsets that they are more than capable of pulling off.

Witness Gaming EU

• toemas_
• ixy
• papi
• hugo
• LUKASTANK
• auto

It's hard to overstate how utterly dominant Witness Gaming EU once were in Europe. Four consecutive ETF2L championships (dropping only one series in this time), and three back-to-back LAN victories. Now reinvigorated by 2025’s packed calendar of LANs on both sides of the pond, Witness Gaming EU return to ETF2L after their 17 month hiatus from online competition.

Silentes and Domo won't be on the roster moving forwards, leaving big shoes to be filled on Roamer and Demoman. hugo and LUKASTANK will be the ones trying on these metaphorical shoes, fresh off the back of many strong showings both online and offline throughout 2024 with NOOBPANZER and SKEDDA respectively.

Understandably, this return to online competition comes with the highest possible expectations. Whilst the new players may take some time to build synergy with the main core, and the team as a whole may take a little time to readjust to competition again, they are still favourites to be adding yet another gold medal to their collection this season. And with trips to Poland and the USA quickly approaching for this superteam, getting some strong early form under their belt will be important preparation for the LANs ahead.

Venomcrest and ANTICIDE contributed by JMaxchill