With the end of the final season of ESEA lurking closer, the Recharge Gaming League (RGL) has announced their appeal to the traditional sixes competitive community, hoping to capitalize on the vacuum left by ESEA, who will be dropping their Team Fortress 2 league following the end of ESEA Season 31. Unlike RGL's previous endeavors, this new league aligns far closer with the mainstream competitive ruleset, albeit with some alterations.
Divisions
Unlike ESEA's three-division structure, RGL's new league will instead feature six smaller divisions comprising of only around 10 teams each. The prospective divisions and their prospective skill levels in relation to ESEA are as follows:
Invite: ESEA Invite
Advanced: From low ESEA Invite to high ESEA Intermediate
Main: Mid-range ESEA Intermediate
IM: From mid ESEA Open to low ESEA Intermediate
Open: Low ESEA Open
Fresh Meat: New players only
Whitelist
The RGL whitelist will once again diverge from the Global Whitelist standard, and instead mimic the ESEA Whitelist, with the exception of allowing the use of the Solemn Vow. This brings the amount of banned weapons down to just seventeen, with the organization open to unbanning further weapons in the future. The remaining banned weapons are the following:
Soda Popper
Bonk! Atomic Punch
Crit-a-cola
Mad Milk
Flying Guillotine
B.A.S.E Jumper
Reserve Shooter
Disciplinary Action
Natascha
Buffalo Steak Sandvich
Fists of Steel
Rescue Ranger
Short Circuit
Wrangler
Quick-Fix
Vaccinator
Machina
Sydney Sleeper
Jarate
Ruleset
The RGL ruleset will be nearly identical to the current ESEA ruleset, maintaining the two-half structure, 5 win-limit on 5CP, and 4 win-limit on KOTH. The only difference concerns half-time on KOTH, which occurs at 2 wins as opposed to 3 in ESEA. Full rules are as follows:
5CP: First to 5 wins the match, with half-time occurring at 3 wins or 30 minute time limit. Remaining half is also 30 mins.
KOTH: First to 4 wins the match, with half-time occurs at 2 rounds won.
For the playoffs stage, each division will run a double-elimination bracket, with all matches excluding the grand finals running a best-of-three set. For the grand finals, the two teams will play in a best-of-five set, with the upper-bracket team starting the series with a 1-0 default advantage.
Maps
A version of the map banning process that has existed in ESEA since Season 28 will be partially continued into the RGL league. Teams playing in Invite or Advanced will have the privilege of pick/banning their maps, while lower divisions will have to be content with a set weekly map pool.
koth_product, cp_snakewater, cp_gullywash, cp_process, cp_sunshine, cp_metalworks, and cp_propaganda will continue to be played, while cp_badlands and cp_granary with be replaced by koth_clearcut.
Open teams will play one map per week, while remaining teams will face two opponents each week.
Points
The largest change in this new league will be in how standings are calculated. While ESEA based standings primarily on a team's win/loss record, RGL will also account for the point differential in matches.
A total of 3 points are available to be won per match, with the losing team gaining points according to how close they make the match. The winning team then receives the remaining points.
Fees and Prizes
RGL is expecting a $6,000 - $8,000 prize pool for its first season, which will be based on the signups it receives for its first season.
Fees per division are as follows:
Invite: $40
Advanced: $30
Main: $20
IM: $15
Open: $0
RGL are also offering a 20% Early Bird discount for fees, with the promotion running until June 18, 11:00 PM EST.
The first RGL Traditional Sixes League will begin on July 23rd — two days after the end of ESEA Season 31 playoffs — and wrap up on September 22nd. More information can be found in RGL's official blog post and interested players can sign up on RGL's website.