Amass minions, the eve is upon us and in the dawn we will see... pyros taken seriously! Such a festival of Highlander is a rare occurrence, one you should not avoid without laying witness to the brazen pleasures of 9v9 chaos, all courtesy of TFTV, Tt eSPORTS, serveme.tf, TF2Pickup.net and many, many great individuals. Starting from 16:00 CEST today, Sunday 19th October, Admirable, HiGPS and Suyooo will be bringing you six hours’ worth of live streamed action.

But what is in it for you? The loyal viewer going unrewarded? NEVER! Tt eSPORTS is offering you the viewers, a chance to win one of their brand new Tt eSPORTS VERTO Headsets! So be sure to tune in to the stream for details on how to win this fabulous prize.

With 8 of European Highlander's finest in attendance and 9x Tt eSPORTS DASHER Mouse Pads to be won for the 1st placed side and 27 items (killstreak kits, stranges, cosmetics and keys) generously donated by TF2Pickup.net and whitelist.tf - there is a little something extra to play for this Sunday on top of bragging rights for the season.

Maps & Format

A bit has to be said about maps for this tournament; the schedule is documented in the brackets above, but we will see the appearance of fixed maps to begin the event. Round 1 will feature everyone's favourite classic highlander map, Badwater, in a best of three rounds format, before we see a change of pace with the capture point map, Process, mixed in for Round 2 and for the Lower Bracket Round 1. The Upper Bracket Final and Lower Bracket Round 2 will be the fast paced, deathmatch-heavy, king of the hill map Pro Viaduct, before we seed the Lower Bracket Round 3 fought on the tactical masterpiece, Steel. Both the Lower Bracket Final and the Grand Final will see teams allowed to put their input in, picking from the provisional ETF2L S7 map pool which additionally includes Upward, Barnblitz Pro, Reservoir, Gullywash and Gravelpit.

The Lower Bracket Final will be played as a best of one map, with the map pick going to the winner of a heavy fistfight, if a map that uses the stopwatch config is selected, it will be played best of three rounds. Uniquely, capture point maps like Process and Gullywash will be set with a win limit of 4 and a time limit of 30 minutes. For the Grand Final, teams will be playing a best of three map series, however if a stopwatch map is selected, teams will only play one round in order to save time and energy.

Seeds & Rosters

For those naysayers or general public lacking familiarity with the scene, allow me to illuminate you, if you please. Each team has been seeded according to how their opponents rank them, though for funsies we allowed them to rank themselves in the vote to see which sides are supremely confident and which teams are hopeful at best. So let’s crack on and meet the teams!

Highpander

Ranked self #1.

Written by jakeowaty

Winners of the 6th season of ETF2L after a teeth-grinding final with runners-up, itsallgood. And, at last, team led by one and only Hildreth, a guy who is known because, well... he's known. The team has stayed mostly the same way they ended the season, solidified by that victory which has surely been making the headlines in newspapers around the globe; the pinnacle of European Highlander. Hildoge and his company of cutthroats are looking to plunder 9 mouse pads to match their 9 gaming mice.

But we may not see them in their full resplendent glory all night, as at least one ninth of their team is missing. They've been going through the process of trialling for a scout, sizing up a few talented individuals before deciding to go with yangpie for the tournament. The main roster includes logs.tf creator, zoob, highly rated as the best highlander soldier in Europe since his Colony days when finishing 2nd to SNSD and Steve, who as always has been showing aggressive pyro play that helps Pandas in their pushes. Hildreth himself will be return to spam sticky explosives upon his foes after his dalliance with medic in the Nations Cup. On heavy there will be Piddox, although for first two games we will be seeing Polk subbing in for the Dutch superstar who allegedly has something called “Real Life” -- noob. On engineer and sniper we will see old members nijoonen (Nigel) and phromelo (phroblem) respectively, so you can always depend on some crazy action from their POV. Finishing off the roster will be Grenjabob, neatly stolen from Kill Switch, he will definitely bring some of those classic stab-heavy spy plays that you all love.

Tourettes Chessclub

Ranked self #2

Highpander's closest rivals according to the general consensus of pre-season practise games. Having risen through the ranks of ETF2L, UGC and Wireplay, Chessclub are undoubtedly contenders for the tournament, but have never tasted sweet glory in any of the major competitions they have entered at the highest level. Winning Season 5 of ETF2L, they succumbed to 2nd and 3rd placed finishes in UGC Platinum season 11 and 12 (losing to two sides seeded below them in this tournament) whilst in Wireplay season 12 they overcame Highpander only to lose to Premtech... again seeded below them for this tournament. Last season in ETF2L, they managed an unexpected third placed finish by beating Kill Switch in the playoffs, but succumbed to Highpander for the second time that season.

Brief history over, Chessclub are a team led by the enthusiasm of Scissors, who has masterminded their steady ascent in the tables but their roster has taken many turns in recent seasons. Traditional players like Sprayer and Khazul remain on medic and spy, but they have experimented with all sorts of rosters and players but now they seemed to have found one that works. Latvian duo, atomic and uubers, have come in on the flank; atomic has recently been finding plaudits for his scouting work whilst uubers having been around the scene for a long time gets his chance to shine in highlander. Both making a solid pairing, being hard working players capable of making plays happen for their team. BreakfasT_Jr to me is probably the strongest heavy in the league, insane tracking pitted with top notch game sense, the England star had a great summer and will be partnering quintosh, an aggressive and... eccentric demoman. He possesses the sort of jumping skills and crazy plays you'd expect from a kaidus frag clip, certainly one to watch this tournament. Essex lad B4n4n4m4n may have the dumbest name in the team, but his engineer game doesn't lack any smarts, his KOTH and 5CP game is second to none at the moment. Completing this roster is perhaps their most deadly player and likely match winner, tracker previously known for carrying Stacked, this man is deadly on the sniper rifle and will probably be the most feared head-clicker in the tournament.

All in all I rate Chessclub highly, there are some question marks over their combo being able to play with each other as we have a demo, heavy and medic who's playstyles vary from hyper-aggressive to smart-aggressive to passive. Perhaps their biggest weakness will be how Sprayer, BreakfasT_Jr and quintosh combine, though there is more than enough talent to carry this team through without the needs for co-ordination, when the later rounds kick in, what will be of the combo? That is the nine dasher mouse pad question.

Kill Switch

Ranked self #3

After their championship win in Season 5 and UGC Platinum glory in Season 11, Kill Switch faded in recent times, with a disappointing 4th place finish. Much was said of their demise last season, they just about struggled through a torturous campaign only to narrowly miss the podium.

Their inspirational caller and demoman, EmilioEstevez lost his will to perform (just like in Young Guns 2); seeing the side succumb to roster changes, two of their finest players, it’s Mint and Hegee on engineer and medic respectively, taking a break from TF2, replacements not quite finding the same impact as the former two (sorry Freakie), roster changes and loss of team spirit contributed to the fall of the champions last time out. Until that is, the battle horn once again was sounded as Emilio gathered his former teammates and found his hunger for success again, completely reforming the side with the majority of the same side that won the Season 5 title.

It’s Mint is back on engineer, jamal back on heavy, Dennia back on scout and Hegee, the only medic Emilio ever loved (according to an interview on Team Colonslash website), though I am informed that Hegee will be absent for the tournament, with former itsallgood medic Bulow or ex-Highpander medic Fool amongst the two rumoured to be subbing. Ondkaja maintains his soldier position alongside Candle, the Croatian pyro desperate to please his lord Emilio. The most notable change to this team though will be in the assassination department, with the Indian ping monster, kcot stepping down to be replaced by ex-itsallgood spy inso, widely regarded as one of the best spies in the world, who has successfully converted his main to sniper, much to the dismay of many opponents around. The big story of the week will be the defection of Grenjabob to Highpander, though the reasoning behind it is related to the English spy being best buddies and roommates with Steve, however I like to rock the boat a bit and sensationally accuse Grenjabob and Emilio of falling out after a rampant sexual affair between Emilio and Mrs Grenja. His understudy for Team England, Carlotso has been trialling and performing well and will likely take the opportunity to face his countryman in this competition. 7 of the 9 title winners from Season 5 remain, but only six of them will be playing. Either way Kill Switch will be contenders and likely to be part of the top 3.

Fair Enough

Ranked self # 4

Just goes to show what practise and some roster changes can do to a team, going from scraping through a playoff versus Premtech to keep their Premiership spot last season and a 7th placed finish, a summer of practise has yielded silverware in THE LAST EVER WIREPLAY SEASON and enough confidence in themselves to make their peers believe they deserved the 4th seed.

Led by jakeowaty, the eccentric Polish medic, this roster has been reshaped with solid pickups mixed in with an experienced combo, this side expects to do well. Perhaps their biggest pickups are Blooddrunk, who is recognised as one of the best upcoming snipers from his Team Nein days, he is now clicking heads with the best of them. Swedish spy Villdjack had an impressive summer for his country and found a spot in this roster, alongside Goreston, the meanest and buffest gangster in the pyro hood. Hartz, a soldier known for having as many tricks up his sleeve as Swiss army knife is a good addition to the flank, but none shall fear the unknown more than Austrian dude, Numerious, previously from the lower echelons of Division 4 will be making an appearance, apparently as a trial. Without much knowledge of this player, I can safely bet he brings a lot of cart-pushing experience to the side.

With Lalli returning on demoman, the former SOLAR player has been padding impressive stats lately, with Qnai, statistically Gentlemen Jon's best heavy of Season 6, the Finn with catwalk looks makes up the other half of the deadly demo/heavy combination. Zimmer remains as the engineer of choice as this line-up have been looking dangerous and likely to upset a few of the top 3 sides above them, their combination of youthful exuberance and experienced match players has the formula to work out a treat.

Stacked

Ranked self #4

Preferring to be known as “a mix” rather than Stacked, this side is all a bit... experimental? If we are to see a Stacked team in Season 7, I am led to believe it will be different to the one that makes its appearance in this tournament. Last season this side were involved in a heated controversy (know known by me as “Samsung Galaxy-Gate”) in a match against itsallgood, long story short, they tried to take a default win with their opponents running late and then were counter defaulted by their opponents when they left the server, believing their default win was intact. An ugly affair for all involved, but did create a video response by their leader b33p, explaining the circumstances. Highlander is serious business folks.

But we're here to look forward, as Stacked remain historically successful, winning UGC Season 12 and placing 5th in ETF2L season 6, their roster for this cup has about as many changes as most the other teams. B33p remains on pyro, Mista formerly of DARATOUTOU fame, returns on engineer, TausoN comes back as their Soldier and the highly rated sorex is rumoured to be appearing on scout. Completing the rerun of 'Old Stacked', is strange Finnish sniper rouHe, who has been highly rated for a long time, but unable to break into the top 3 in his career... yet. So where are the new additions? Look no further than their combo, with previous backup demoman Dr. Phil taking up the reigns, who is known for his tube plays and amazing performances for Denmark in previous Nations Cup, he will be partnering Atomicus, a heavy main who in my eyes has always been one of the best in Europe, but being more let down by his temperament which will make an interesting combination with Russian medic LuLu, relatively inexperienced at this level – there could be trouble ahead with such little playtime together. I can't comment on where this team will end up, but with enough good players (many of them actually previously being on Stacked's roster, goodbye mix team) they have a chance of making something happen, I believe.

Premtech

Ranked self #4

Another supremely confident side, with another leader known for being....sigh, eccentric -- it is the only word I can use to describe highlander team leaders, they're all a bunch of crazy guys/gals with personalities to boot. But Maito is a bit of an outsider in the community, yet he managed to lead his side, Premtech within an inch of automatic promotion to the Premiership last season AND also pickup an unlikely Wireplay win in Season 12.

However one name stands out on this roster more than any others... ShaDowburn. The Russian roamer from 6's fame has made a successful transition to highlander and his unique style may be well suited to the format, where he is let off the leash to chase medics. The rest of the team boasts experience, Marty making the switch to medic from heavy for the tournament, alongside Tutorial doing the “reverse inso”, going from sniper to spy and former premiership pyro, Quell from Sookie Doing Work will make an appearance. Other regulars include ReseF, who is a decent heavy, jwso on scout and Polarbear on spy, but none shall be more watched in this side than their superstar ShaDowBurn, who I am sure Maito is wagering their teams success on -- he needs to turn up if the side will have any chance of repeating the claim from their ETF2L team page of a top 3 premiership finish next season.

Team Nein

Ranked self #7

Before I begin this, I need to pledge I will make no references to any war that has happened in the past. Now that is out of the way, I am interested to see Team 'No' perform in this competition, one of two sides gaining a place on the merit of their performance in Season 6 (and well, because teams fold and none of the old talent has reformed itself as of yet), they placed third in Division 1 last season. However some of their hottest talent like quintosh and Blooddrunk have since jumped ship to teams higher up, but Ze Germans do boast some relative names, feeling is making the switch from his 6v6 class soldier to scout, Flow has been sniping successfully for Team Germany this summer whilst Selek is a decent Spy, worth mentioning for being an incredibly nice guy.

With such an inexperienced side, who one could accuse of “making up the numbers”, (a rumour I will deny, ask bubble bobbler's sick mix team they made generously for this event, only to be turned down), Team Nein can't be expecting to go far, but with Season 7 looming and a potential Premiership on the cards, a good performance for this side will land them with plenty of virtue for the campaign ahead. Gwan' you Jerries!

Voodooh

Ranked self #7

Ah finally, the last one and Voodooh will add a sweet mixture of the “unknown quantity” into tournament. They may have only come second in Season 2, but a busy autumn practise schedule has seen them as the one side (with the exception of WASP perhaps) that show the sort of dedication and hunger to be a future top side. Led by Snooki, who has thankfully managed to avoid naming the side “Snooki Doing Work”, Voodooh could have boasted MGE Mike on demoman, who was seen practising as demoman on their roster until but a week ago. Sadly the Welsh superstar will not make an appearance.

Instead though we have a side who have been putting a lot of Division 1 sides to the sword and fighting closely with Premiership teams in the pre-season practise circuit. I honestly don't know much about them, some of their names like duck, JackyLegs, thaZu and Reservoir Dog I have seen before, all decent players. What I do know is a hungry team when I see one and Voodooh have managed to squeeze themselves an invite with their inexperienced roster based on their desire to prove themselves. Here's to a successful tournament boys, may the best spy win.