LEGO

• Scout: pot8o
• Scout: zen1th
• Roamer: dmoule
• Pocket: Josh
• Demoman: Dr.Phil
• Medic: cmd

With their last appearance already being at the previous edition of Copenhagen Games, the LEGO squad has seemingly morphed into a LAN-only team. Last year ended with a bronze medal, and they will be looking to expand on their success with their new and revamped roster, who looks a lot like the one they used when they last reached the podium in ETF2L.

pot8o is the only one to not be an “historical” LEGO player, but he spent Season 32 getting back to the game in Division 1 and his disciplined playstyle makes him a great asset to have. The other scout spot is filled by known Dane zen1th, whose relaxed state allows him to chain meatshot upon meatshot. Josh, big absent from last year will be present and based on the couple of games in which he merced last season, is assured to be a major threat for any team. His long-time soldier partner dmoule is also here despite some financial issues, his cunningness and offclassing talent being the perfect foil for Josh’s aggression. Dr. Phil is of course part of the show, the team captain recently finishing second with Ascent.EU in ETF2L will surely use this fresh experience to guide his team. And naturally, where Dr. Phil goes, cmd follows. The experienced medic will surely be happy to go saw-to-saw with some of the younger kids to teach them a lesson.

The Theorists

• Scout: Aph
• Scout: YeeHaw
• Roamer: leth
• Pocket: Opti
• Demoman: Mak
• Medic: Doughy

For their first season in the top flight, The Theorists had an decent run that ended at the 6th spot, winning against the bottom of the table, but losing out to more experienced teams. Their strong DM as well as their coordination makes them however a big fish in the Open Group, and teams with less time spent playing together might have a lot of difficulties overcoming these brainiacs.

Aph and YeeHaw have shown that their ability to combine is on par with other Prem teams, and their DM isn’t too shabby either. leth and Opti are the most recent members to join the team and both of them are eager to keep proving themselves on the big stage, as it was leth‘s first season in Prem and the 3 teams that Opti had been a part of before joining the Theorists all folded. Team leader mak is ready to spearhead the charge in a new battlefield, and Doughy will surely be right behind him.

The Bus Crew

• Scout: aidelos
• Scout: Deox
• Roamer: Warped
• Pocket: Poison
• Demoman: Scyper
• Medic: Marten

The Bus stops by Copenhagen once again. Last year, they created the surprise by finishing 4th,, and they look like they want to claim Copenhagen as their preferred parking spot. The not-so magical Bus and its Crew were lastly seen at i63 ending up in 5th place and they changed a fair amount since.

Marten, Deox and Poison are still here, but they will be joined by aidelos, Warped and Scyper. Interestingly, this roster manages to be filled with players with Premiership experience, but who did not play in the top flight this season. Still, Deox and aidelos both possess the talent to stay relevant, Scyper recently finished 2nd in the Nations Cup and Warped was an integral part in the 3rd place finish achieved by AWOOOOOO in Division 1. Marten’s god-like movement is always a sight to behold, and Poison’s uncanny ability to shoot everything that is in the air makes him a constant threat. A guy like him should wear a warning.

Orachiladas

• Scout: Nevo
• Scout: alba
• Roamer: Raf
• Pocket: fluo
• Demoman: Eemes
• Medic: Maroś

A roster made of established players hailing from different teams and players who mostly play at LANs and a cheesy name ? Yep, it’s the classic high-level mix team. Hoping to strike fear into the hearts of opponents by mimicking Ascenchiladas, calling this team a mix might be selling them a bit short however. Firstly because they are training like every other top-level team, but mostly because almost all of their players have played in the Premiership playoffs at one point or another.

On the scout side, Nevo has been more and more consistent as the time passes, his sniping prowess not needing another demonstration too, meanwhile alba has the reputation of being a LAN monster and we’ll see if his one-season break hindered him in any way. Raf might have ended in last place this season, but the veu crever roster shuffle who (among other things) put him on Soldier was the thing that allowed them to pick up their only win of the season, and fluo has been aching for more top-level action since his breakout with Ascent.EU in Season 28. Renowned analyst Eemes also returns from a one season hiatus and will be surely eager to make his return on a big stage. Finally, Maroš will celebrate his medic debut for this team. A decision born due to Bear not being able to attend, he looks like the unknown factor in this team who could cause issues to a lot of their rivals.

The Prophets

• Scout: Swi
• Scout: nation
• Roamer: tobs
• Pocket: Fischkopf
• Demoman: Yohn
• Medic: celvn

The mixing is not over however, as The Prophets will also be joining the fray, and I prophesize that they could throw a wrench into the gears of many. With a roster composed of players who were able to reach the top-flight before, and a fair amount of them spending last season keening up, they are surely a worthy opponent. Fischkopf, nation and celvn all spent Season 32 practicing in Division 1, with celvn reaching playoffs and Fischkopf winning it with wer das liest ist doof. Swi was a part of MONGI MODE, who folded in Prem after a few weeks, but was noted as a constant performer for his team despite their short-lived showing. Finally, tobs and Yohn were a part of The Bus Crew that made a big impact last year. With a less impressive showing at i63, they’ll be happy to show that this is the LAN for them, even if no one is a prophet in their own country…

NEON

• Scout: toast
• Scout: Villdjack
• Roamer: koling
• Pocket: Der_Milchmann
• Demoman: Neon
• Medic: CeeJaey

While they might be here to play Highlander, Neon and his ionized teammates have previously shown that when they are at LAN, they’ll show up no matter what, as their appearance at i63 ended with them making it out of the Open Group and taking SVIFT to a golden cap (albeit with a slightly different roster). With them retaining almost the exact same roster as the one they used in ETF2L, this team can show all these 6’s elitists that maybe they should not have such a strong opinion of gamemodes.

Lentävät Sirkkelit

• Scout: Kyyyy
• Scout: irppa
• Roamer: HEMSTRAND
• Pocket: tonmas
• Demoman: iikq
• Medic: Turboapina

Their name sounds like a summoning, but the only spell that these Finns now, is pain. With a core roster that has been around the higher divisions for a long while now, and some of their players, like iikq and HEMSTRAND have Prem experience as well. After an incredibly close Grand Final, they were barely edged out by THE JOE ZONE, and while a Division 2 silver medal is nothing to snicker at, it will surely bolster them to play there best here and maybe make a lasting impact.

Ringo

• Scout: z0diack
• Scout: Vouri
• Roamer: oJ
• Pocket: Hugo
• Demoman: Eli
• Medic: bum

Surely honoring the worst Beatle, this Ringo squad is starring British talent from divisions 1 and 2. Hugo, oJ and Vouri have all played in the Division 1 playoffs over the last few seasons, with the latter 2 recently achieving second place in them, and could become Premiership players in the near future, while z0diack, Eli and bum have been steadily climbing up the ranks in the lower divs. All in all, a solid roster.

pheassexynipples

• Scout: quad
• Scout: Teo
• Roamer: Alfie
• Pocket: foz
• Demoman: jimb0t
• Medic: Dandere

Having already won the “worst team name” competition, pheassexynipples will be looking to win some games too, and they don’t exactly have an bad roster to do so. While they do have some relatively unknown quantities in Dandere, foz and Teo, the presence of Alfie the PASS time enthusiast, and jimb0t, who has played in Prem and top Division 1 before and who had a very solid performance at i61 will surely be a big boon for them. This team also marks the return of quad to the scene. Mainly known for his perfectly precise pistol, quad was last seen in the top level in Season 21, but his glory days go all the way back to i43, which he won with Epsilon eSports. Maybe another LAN will activate his old instincts again ?

POUNDLAN

• Scout: hp
• Scout: liko
• Roamer: Grape Juice III
• Pocket: HOI
• Demoman: Cyanic
• Medic: Slicerogue

This LAN team is articulated around the core of POUNDLAND, as HOI, Cyanic, hp and Liko are all rostered on it on ETF2L, and just achieved a 5th place finish in Division 2A. The standout player being hp as he’s got a season of Premiership under his belt back in Season 24 with PC Master Race. The squad is completed by 2 North Americans, Slicerogue and Grape Juice III, making this team one of the two intercontinental teams at Copenhagen Games 2019.

LAN Culture

• Scout: kodeey
• Scout: proky
• Roamer: coyo
• Pocket: wand00m
• Demoman: calle cool
• Medic: Aoshi

Just like POUNDLAN above, the LAN Culture squad is based on their ETF2L team, The Culture, with calle cool, Aoshi, wand00m and kodeey all part of the team which finished 6th in Division 2A. They will be joined by a duo of Brits, coyo and proky. This cultivated contingent also possess two ETF2L admins in the persons of Aoshi and proky, so cheaters beware.

rødgrød med fløde

• Scout: phong
• Scout: hamaham
• Roamer: Kosuke
• Pocket: nicco
• Demoman: tiia
• Medic: Wylen

Behind this hard to pronounce name are a few div2 players, who’ve opted to join forces for this event. Teamfortess.tv producer hamaham will be combining with rookie phong, Prem Highlander player Kosuke and Wylen are also in for the ride, as well as the tiia and nicco duo, who just reached Division 2 playoffs with Nighttime 6’s.

placeholder russian name that does not break the article

• Scout: Lightclaw
• Scout: marisa
• Roamer: Boshy
• Pocket: Meaff
• Demoman: Crime
• Medic: Pahan

This team is identical to the one that just won Mid in ETF2L, after having won Low the season before, so it looks like Boshy and friends are interested in continuing their meteoric rise upward, just like how Boshy broke a bunch of jump map records. There’s also a 100% overlap between this roster and the kiti s bakenbardami squad that will partake in the Highlander tournament, making them matryoshka teams.

Midnight 6’s

• Scout: Fishyard
• Scout: Equal
• Roamer: Traitor
• Pocket: harry
• Demoman: ZeFrosty
• Medic: Tercio

Midnight 6’s is another established Mid team, who finished 11th this season, but their LAN roster has picked up a couple of upgrades compared to the one used in the regular season, with veterans Tercio and Equal joining. As their name indicates, they come ready to play up until late in the evening, which could be a decisive advantage in an offline setting.

Tracksuit Boys

• Scout: Maxi
• Scout: hobnobs
• Roamer: Pete
• Pocket: Valafar
• Demoman: Cnoz
• Medic: Levia

These boys are looking like they are looking for a deep run in this group, and the presence of Cnoz, who plays in Premiership Highlander will surely help. Maxi is leading this team, and will be shepherding the squad, which includes Archimedes Cup winner hobnobs.

MGE FAMILY: SUOMI SETTIÄ

• Scout: eLs
• Scout: dissy
• Roamer: Nitro
• Pocket: Bloodis
• Demoman: roban
• Medic: Habina

You thought the Finns were gone ? Well, they are not finnished and this time they brought an ETF2L Head Admin with them ! Bloodis will be spearheading his team from Soldier, with his Prem experience giving them an edge in the mass of other mid teams around here, despite being on another class.

chundergoons

• Scout: cupcake
• Scout: planck
• Roamer: Streep36
• Pocket: Maly
• Demoman: Mopahh
• Medic: Lux

These goons are definitively looking canine, with Lux, cupcake, Mopahh and planck are part of the not red doggo that just reached second place in Mid this season and Streep36 moving over from not dead doggo. Maly is also here. They will surely be eager to cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war on unsuspecting opponents.

Back назад

• Scout: fnzkie
• Scout: Fridge
• Roamer: ts
• Pocket: Marcus14
• Demoman: pozker
• Medic: Wynran

Apparently when kiti s bakenbardami set out to LAN, they were all very keen to play 6’s as well and so, with some help by Wynran, they managed to fill out another team to compete. With the presence of high-level high-lander players like ts and pozker, they could have a lot of success surprising enemies with some daring offclassing.

doggo black

• Scout: samiface
• Scout: Tob
• Roamer: JLEBS
• Pocket: Zolak
• Demoman: XO
• Medic: 009EFF

Who let all these dogs in ? Hopefully this one won’t be the bearer of a curse. Jokes aside, this is the second intercontinental team in this LAN and they might be even more intercontinental than the previous one, with players haling from the far away lands of Brazil, the United States, Iceland, or Belgium. Notable players are 009EFF, who played for Danger Dogs this season and renowned interviewer samiface.

John

• Scout: Vclox
• Scout: Kimo
• Roamer: NioH
• Pocket: Jedi(fla)master
• Demoman: old Billy Riley
• Medic: Icewind

This is John. John originated from the ETF2L team John. Shocking I know. 3 of its players ended up combining with others to form this LAN team, including Prem pyro Vclox. With such a fiery pickup, surely John can set out to victory and could maybe even level up to Johnny.

Oh frick we have freddian

• Scout: MoreBuckets!
• Scout: lsd
• Roamer: Tamir
• Pocket: Droy
• Demoman: Basti
• Medic: freddian

I like teams where the name contains important information for the readers, that makes my job easier. What else could I say ? Apart from the presence of the aforementioned freddian, lsd, Tamir, Basti and Droy are all a part of The Jens Weber Society, who reached Mid Playoffs this season, but they will be mixing classes a bit for LAN. A man claiming a need for additional watertight, vertical cylindrical recipients was also sighted.

pionta álainn

• Scout: Amaterasu
• Scout: FizzyPug
• Roamer: Löwenzahn
• Pocket: Jortand
• Demoman: cloudy
• Medic: sek

With a name roughly meaning “beautiful pint” in Irish, it is clear that this team will probably look for more type of shots than just airshots. The presence of cloudy and sek, Sniper and Engineer for Strong Opinions respectively will add some experience in this squad. Their roles mean that they probably cannot rely on offclassing to save the day, but you never know…

PoundLAN BLACK

• Scout: Mirra
• Scout: Dural
• Roamer: TheMackey5
• Pocket: Ironhawk
• Demoman: Loric
• Medic: row

Here’s a two for two £ deal, as POUNDLAN’s sister team also mustered the funds to go to LAN. This team has been hailed as the upcoming destroyers of the Open Group who will take the world by storm thanks to their genius plays. Their medic is also incredibly handsome. (row is my Highlander team leader and forced me to do that. Luckily he cannot read between parentheses)

Rågsäcken

• Scout: BirbalStorm
• Scout: ALWEN
• Roamer: ZiggoKill
• Pocket: TidB
• Demoman: able
• Medic: NeoBern

Rågsäcken is an island located between Västerås and Eskilstuna, in Sweden. It is also an Open Highlander team, who seems to have sent part of its roster to partake in the fun. The most notable player is probably TidB, who was pocket on my Fresh Meat team and is an all-around lovely fellow (although I’m sure that the rest of the team is very nice as well). I’ll be honest, there’s a slim chance that this team finishes outside of the top 4. But at the end of the day, I’m sure that no matter the results, they will all have fun together and really, that’s what LAN’s all about.