Another season of 6v6 TF2 in Europe is upon us and since the last two have been dominated by Epsilon eSports, with Slick's crew of powdered up superstars being wrapped in cotton wool ahead of another season and a chance to surpass Team Dignitas' feat of 4 straight ETF2L crowns after winning a record 6, topping the Relic's of old. Standing in their way are the “usual suspects” from the past season, Crack Clan and Broder along with the revamped Nerdparty (BFF) squad. The rest of Prem seems to be an assortment of new teams the likes of Doctrinal, Quarantine and Pokemon dying, it makes way for a new generation of promoted teams along with reformed sides from the leftover players in ETF2L's recruitment section, let's have a look at the teams shall we?

Epsilon eSports

Scouts – Shocky / basH
Roamer – Gear
Pocket – Mike
Medic – Knoxx
Demoman - Numlocked

The champions, the most successful team in European TF2 history with the biggest all star lineup ever assembled, no doubt Epsilon will stop at nothing short of winning ETF2L without dropping a map again. It seems the main motivation for Epsi is to show the yanks Europe has a lot more to offer at this summer's i-series and that a European super team is as good or better than an American counterpart, but all of that will be decided on the weekend of August 23-25th, right now the only change to the star studded lineup is GeaR stepping back in for Knoxx's friend Mitsy, moving Mike back on to pocket soldier as the devastating German scout duo of Bash and Stefen look to remain in place alongside the vocal leadership combination of French tactical mastermind Knoxx and the self-crowned “best Demo in the world” Numlocked. A team used to winning, their only slip up in the final against Broder last season seemed to come down to a lot between disagreements in calls by Numlocked and Knoxx, perhaps if these problems continue to become apparent we might see Epsilon drop maps and maybe be dethroned?

Player to watch – Shocky – I could have said all of them but when it comes to TF2 there is a saying, you're only as good as your scouts and Stefen has managed to wrestle himself back as the best in Europe again, if he can dominate like he did last season no-one else stands a chance.

Possible Weakness – GeaR – After a season out you have to look at how GeaR comes back and plays, it's unlikely the roaming sensation will have lost much, but the transition to using unlocks might have some effect on how he plays and how Mike's style differs.

Broder

Scouts – Cookye / Bybben
Roamer – Jukebox
Pocket – Zebbosai
Medic – Mirelin
Demoman - Ryb

Bwwwwwoder were so close last season to toppling the Epsilon monopoly and this season they need not be discouraged for their chances of once again making the final and overcoming Epsilon as they move into their second season. The only change in the lineup for the Swedish/Latvian/Finnish brotherhood is Jukebox coming in for Tek on the roaming soldier spot, leaving the rest of the team the same although it appears Broder may spend a bit more time rotating backups in as rumours have it Ryb and Bybben's availability fluctuates depending on the day. Still with superstar caller Zebbosai at the helm on pocket soldier, the ever slippery Mirelin dodging like a 1960's conscientious objector and Europe's 'other' dominant scout, Cookye still going, there is more than enough talent and leadership for Broder to topple the big boys of Epsilon and go into the summer LAN as Europe's top dogs.

Player to watch – Zebbosai – The aim, the brain and leadership role as fit Zebbosai perfectly in Broder, his pocketing skills and use of ubers plus heals sees him regularly dish 10k + damage each map as he micromanages his team to turn them into true champions, I always have an eye on what he is doing when it comes to Broder.

Possible weakness – Ryb – Now Ryb's first season back has been put under scrutiny by a lot of people, damage numbers being the key factor in the stats but a big step up in performance in the final versus Epsilon has some of his doubters in check, can Ryb continue to pick up from where he left off and put himself back upon the elite crop of European Demomen?

Crack Clan

Scouts – Smzi / Tviq
Roamer – T-Mac
Pocket – Ipz
Medic – 2nuts
Demoman - Brego

The community team, getting involved in more TF2 projects than the government, Crack Clan have been on the forefront of trying to bring exposure to competitive TF2 and making Prem teams accessible to the average newer player. But on the field CC failed to make it to the Grand Final, although an array of changes may have been something to do with it last season, bringing in potential talents Brego and T-Mac through the course of last season. Their raw skills needed some harnessing and after a season of yelling in the ear by Europe's keenest gamer Ipz, we could see a change in Crack Clan's fortunes – especially since Irish Jimmy “Admirable” O'Donnell has taken the season off, giving CC the chance to actually be invulnerable at some point in their match. Former Justice League soldier, 2nuts has been given the chance to pickup the Medi Gun and collect the discarded underwear and creeper mail from Admirable's large female following, but without the luck of the Irish will CC be able to break the dominance of Epsilon and topple Broder?

Player to Watch – Tviq – The Swedish sniping sensation has more skulls on him than Pol Pot but his inventive, aggressive Scout play along with Crack Clan's creative plays from mastermind Ipz really make Tviq the player to watch, the wildcard for CC// if you like, I seen him win games with his sniping alone.

Possible Weakness – 2nuts – Now Medic isn't the hardest class but it certainly brings the most pressure to the table and 2nuts lack of experience at the top will be looked at strongly, but surely all he has to do is heal Ipz and right click occasionally?

Nerdparty (formerly BFF)

Scouts – Kiler4fun, ???
Roamer – Flisko
Pocket – Daleth
Medic – Skeej
Demoman - Kaidus

No top team has changed more than the Nerdparty, including their name in spirit of BFF's splitting up forever. Team leader Kaidus has seen his side lose their Medic Hat, pocket Hocz and their scout combo change twice as Beavern's promotion means he is less than available to come to the Nerd parties. After an off-season of trialing, ex-SOLAR medic Skeej has been given his chance to shine for a top side alongside Portuguese talent Kiler4fun picking up the scattergun. Ex-Infused, TCM (and LTG) legend Flisko has come back into the game on Soldier once again on roamer, moving TF2's own Berwick Rangers star Daleth into the pocket role. The team are, in the words of Kaidus still looking for a new Scout as the season reaches it's start, with the likes of WebOne folding leaving Droso and Fl1p available, we might see Nerdparty dip into the realm of the Div 1/Prem borderline, or perhaps rumours that legendary Infused scout Greg could return to TF2 and bring much needed experience to the lineup, who knows.

Player to Watch – Kaidus – It can only be Kaidus, no other Demo in the world can play like Kaidus, his mixture of smarts/aggressive Demoplay, insane DM skills, warp speed rollouts and movement like no other makes him one of the most entertaining players to watch in TF2. The Carry of the season will be the key to any sort of success BFF/Nerdparty have of breaking the top 3.

Possible weakness – Whoever comes in as Scout – Now Beavern and Kiler4fun was a solid pair but there will be a lot of pressure on whoever comes in as scout to step it up.

Revoluzion la metagame

Scouts – Quad / Flippy
Roamer – Tek
Pocket – Haunter
Medic – Spin
Demoman – Exon

This team seems to be that token clanless Prem player team that forms every season as the leftovers of Punchline reform combine with a couple of random others from Pokemon, Doctrinal and BFF Doctrinal medic Spin combines with BFF exile Quad and ex-PyroGen demoman Exon. Fellow Frenchmen Tek and Flippy formerly of Broder and Punchline come together in this team to give it some extra deathmatching quality. To finish the team off, ex-TCM legend Haunter who in recent times has been touted as past his prime playing for Pokemon fills the last Soldier spot. On paper this lineup is as deadly as Broder or Crack Clan but what they have in DM skills and talent they may lack in teamwork and co-ordination, it is entirely possible we'll see RLM in the playoffs and pushing one of the top 4, most likely Nerdparty out but

Player to Watch – Tek – Tek is undoutly one of the best roaming soldiers in Europe, up there with the likes of Mike and Zebbosai with his DM skills, creativity plus intelligent teamplay, getting Tek in the squad will be a huge boost for their chances of making the playoffs. Possible Weakness – Quad – The pistol master's performances will be under close scrutiny every step of the way as his BFF/Nerdparty exit was less than glamorous, kicked for a combination of bad attitude and performance, though so far in Premiership Playoffs Quad has been up to the task, but will a 10 week season take it out of the former i43 winner and will his attitude and commitment be put into question again?

Last Man Standing

Scouts – Reko / Forsak3n
Roamer – Empty
Pocket – Ordinator
Medic – Whiteglow
Demoman – Gdk

The all Russian lineup won Division 1 in Season 11 with 4/6 players in this team and having Kritz machine gdk in the squad alongside Russian MGE god Empty, LMS finally get a chance to fulfil their placement in Prem after choosing to not participate in Season 12. Their squad played admirably in the Premiership playoffs as well, despite a spanking on Badlands, they came back and won Granary in convincing style against RLM. Forsak3n's switch to scout from soldier has been one of the questions raised about this squad but so far the former Potential's roamer has made the transition well. I can see LMS, with practise possibly coming off better than the rest of the new Prem teams and finishing in 6th place.

Player to watch – Gdk – How can it not be gdk, his stats for damage and frags are huge, it seems like the team is shaped around his talents with the Kritzkreig and dealing big damage, with Soldier aggression to take pressure off the gdk/whiteglow combo and scouts that will switch from Defensive to Aggressive in an instance so long as gdk is no longer vulnerable.

Possible weakness – Empty – Despite having more MGE points than the average Russian has brain cells, Empty's decision making has been put into question at times for making solo plays and dying at the wrong times, but that is from seasons gone by and perhaps there is a new Empty in town, one who makes good choices and hits big shots?

Vinland

Scouts – Rake / Delzic
Roamer – Salmon
Pocket – Darn
Medic – Jose
Demoman – Suqp3r

Veenland got their Premiership spot with a bit of controversy as they avoided the playoffs, however with WebOne folding so early, it seems like it wouldn't have mattered. TF2 legend Darn's flirt with Low Prem continues as he tries to build an all-Finnish team, taking the best he can find from his home country to compete. Ex-Luteset players Salmon, Jose and Suqp3r have been combined with former Potential's and CKRAS scout Rake, who has been in no fewer than 17 teams teams in his ETF2L career. The final piece of the Suomi jigsaw is Delzic, a highly rated upcoming scout who has been around for a while but this is his first chance in a Premiership team. For Vinland though, with this roster probably destined for a season fighting for survival, it Is evident the glory days of Finnish TF2 are over.

Player to Watch – Delzic - My eye in this team would be on their scouts, particularly GEORGE CARLIN known for his sniper play. There aren't really too many names other than Darn who stand out in this team, so it is sort of unknown who will step up for the Finns.

Possible weakness – Suqp3r – Vinland have been seen playing with fellow Finn tomzi on Demoman and the choice between suqp3r and tomzi must have been close but either Demo isn't the same class as Hymzi who was playing with this lineup before his interest in the game disappeared again. I rate Suqp3r an excellent Demoman but there is always that comparison for Demos that exists.

SOLAR

Scouts – Maidu / Cor
Roamer – Qnx
Pocket – Hycz
Medic – Vanilla
Demoman – Lalli

Last season's division 1 winners have come into Prem expecting a tough season with rumours of availability issues and a few changes in their team, but their 36 man strong roster should be able to handle any issues they have. The team has undergone changes pre-season, removing Skeej as Medic and switching Vanilla back into the healing position, his first appearance for a Premiership team since Season 9 http://etf2l.org/matches/26487/ with Monster Munch. The rest of the team has been together for a while, with some incredibly highly rated upcoming players from recent seasons finally able to make their Prem debut. However their lack of experience alongside rumours of their team's feigning motivation to try and keep pace with the rest of the league could see the team down in the relegation zone or folding.

Player to Watch – Hycz – The upcoming talent of the season has been putting out huge damage numbers in pcws for SOLAR lately, peaking 10k damage on a regular basis, he is certainly going to be the one making the difference for his side alongside his medic Vanilla.

Possible weakness – Cor – 5 of the 6 SOLAR players are making their Prem debut but Cor is the only one to have been out a couple of seasons. Jumping back into Prem with his scout partner Maidu, you do have to look at these scouts as possible weaknesses for this team.