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With the signups closed, we are happy to announce the provisional tiers & our Premiership Qualifier teams! As well as the teams who have already secured their place in Premiership for this season! Below you can find all the info on the provisional tiers, Premiership Qualifiers. Class restrictions will be updated here between now and the release of Final tiers this Sunday/Monday. The Final leading class restrictions will be on it’s own page when final tiers release.

Provisional Tiers

Down below are this Season’s provisional tiers. If you can’t find your team, it could be due to you recently changing your team name or not having 9 players rostered on your team page. Teams marked in yellow are more likely to be moved if there is a need to change teams around.

If you don’t see your team but you still intend to play, please make a ticket. If you signed up but already know you’re not going to play the season please also make a ticket. If you’re on the waiting list due to a late signup please make a ticket. If you have any other concerns regarding class restrictions in your division or the provisional tiers in general, please make a ticket.

Final Tiers will release on the 16th or 17th of August.

Class Restrictions:

The final class restrictions will be announced with the release of the final tiers.

Mid

Damage Control
– STiNGHAN – Can’t play Scout, Heavy or Sniper

Jarzyners
– masuj – Can’t play Pyro

welfare warriors
– xavier – Can’t play Soldier
– lunar – Can’t play Soldier or Engineer

Pudzian's Gym
– EASY – Can’t play Demoman, Soldier or Heavy

vampirefreaks.net
– lame – Can’t play Scout or Heavy

какавозик
– Boshy – Can’t play Soldier
– lc50 – Can’t play Scout
– WalkeR1337 – Can’t play Heavy
– lolevont – Can’t play Scout

Low

Team Colonslash: the SPY!!!!1!
– renton – Can’t play Scout
– ducky – Can’t play Spy
– honeybee_ – Can’t play Pyro

Tissit
– oben – Can’t play Scout, Soldier or Demoman

Olutlaatikko
– Liko – Can’t play Soldier, Heavy or Sniper

the wheel
– Villdjack – Can’t play Scout, Soldier or Demoman
– Included_Middle – Can’t play Soldier or Heavy
– Cookie_ – Can’t play Scout

Steamhappy Crusaders
– fingers – Can’t play Engineer

Zonos Zdradzonos
– Wietrzu – Can’t play Engineer

Inglorious Gamblers
– yakalelo – Can’t play Scout or Demoman

Open

Distemper
– Pixxi0us – Can’t play Demoman

Oomfie Psych Ward
– adora – Can’t play Sniper
– Ping – Can’t play Soldier

RUINATION
– Kebe – Can’t play Engineer
– atombomb – Can’t play Soldier
– slowmotion milk – Can’t play Soldier

Premiership

Based on previous season’s performances, the following teams have secured their places in Premiership for this season:

• TWICE
• Feila finanzieren durch DROPS
• pollos

Additionally, based on their roster strength, we have decided to bring the following team into Premiership without them having to go through the qualifiers:

• My New Highlander Team

Which leaves us with the following 3 teams to battle it out for the remaining 2 spots in Premiership:

• Physics & Maths Tutor
• ChudsX6
• Kazakh e-Sports powered by Chapman

Premiership Qualifiers

This leaves us with the last 2 spots being decided in the Premiership Qualifiers between 3 teams in a round robin format. The matches will be:

• Match 1: Physics & Maths Tutor vs ChudsX6
• Match 2: ChudsX6 vs Kazakh e-Sports powered by Chapman
• Match 3: Kazakh e-Sports powered by Chapman vs Physics & Maths Tutor

The two highest scorers at the end of the bracket will claim a spot for themselves in Premiership. If there is a three-way tie, the tiebreaker is first decided by map win difference. If that also leads to a tie, it is decided by rounds won. The loser of the bracket will be placed in High/Division 1.

The result deadline for all Premiership Qualifier games is August 19th, 23:59. Games may be played in any order. If a single team loses both games, they would instantly lose the qualifiers, and the 3rd game between the other 2 teams wouldn’t have to be played.

To facilitate the qualifiers, the start of week 1 of Premiership and High has been delayed. Week 1 will commence the day after all necessary qualifier games have been played.

Pick/Ban Format & Map Pool Premiership Qualifiers

Teams will follow the pick & ban process outlined below, using only the following subset of maps:

Both teams need to agree on who eliminates first. If the two teams cannot agree, they need to perform a Heavy Fist Fight [Explanation]. The winner of this Heavy Fist Fight can decide which team is Team A and which is Team B.

Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
The remaining map will be the decider

Map pool:

• pl_upward_f12
• pl_vigil_rc10
• cp_steel_f12
• koth_proot_b5b
• koth_product_final

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Tiebreaker details and the list of teams advancing to playoffs can be found below. Check out your upcoming playoff fixtures under the Playoffs tab at the top of our website, or find them directly on your team page.

If you find yourself on the list of these teams you are expected to be available. If you fail to provide sufficient information, we will have to decide your match dates for you. Keep in mind that we will try and accommodate both teams, but the match date may still vary from your provided days if for example none of the days match with your opponent’s, but your opponent offered more days than you did. Deadlines listed for the matches are flexible and may be changed in certain situations if admins are contacted about allowing extensions on these.

Playoff Configs

The progressive config is being used for 5cp maps. KOTH will be played as a best-of-5.

• Progressive config: etf2l_6v6_5cp_prog.cfg
• KOTH config: etf2l_6v6_koth.cfg

Progressive Ruleset incorporates this plugin that creates a dynamic win condition. The 5CP round win limit gets reduced to the current highest score +1 when the match timer runs out. For example, if the score is 1-2 when the map timer runs out, the win limit will be set to 3 and round continues.

The specifics of the progressive ruleset playoffs will look like this:

• The map timer for 5CP maps will be 25 minutes.
• The round timer for 5CP maps will be 4 minutes.
• If a team scores a total of 5 rounds before the end of the map timer, they win the map (winlimit 5).
• If neither team has scored a total of 5 rounds once the map timer runs out, the round winlimit is set to the current highest round score +1. The match continues until one team reaches the new round winlimit.

Map Pool for Playoffs

• koth_product_final
• cp_sunshine
• cp_process_f12
• cp_gullywash_f9
• cp_metalworks_f7
• cp_granary_pro_rc17a3
• koth_bagel_rc13

Pick-Ban Format

Both teams need to agree on who eliminates first. If the two teams cannot agree, they need to perform a heavy fist fight. The winner of this heavy fist fight can decide if he wants to start of if the other team should.

Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
The remaining map is the decider

Schedule

• Round-of-32: 11th-15th August
• Round-of-16: 16th-21st August
• Quarter-Finals: 22nd-26th August
• Semi-Finals: 27th-29th August
• Grand Final and 3rd Place Match: 30th August

The schedule deadline is the end of the first day of each period. If you end up seeded with one of the out-of-region teams, please contact the team leaders as soon as possible.

Playoffs Seeding Tiebreakers

Seedings are decided based on the points scored and then the following tiebreakers in the following order of priority:

• Head-to-head
• Bucholz Score
• Rounds Won
• Rounds Win Difference Total

Group A

1. Finland
   • 18 points
2. Netherlands
   • 15 points
3. Alps United
   • 12 points – Head-to-Head Victory
4. Ukraine
   • 12 points – Head-to-Head Loss
5. Belarus
   • 6 points – 1.0 Tiebreaker Score
6. Russia
   • 6 points – 0.0 Tiebreaker Score
7. Habibis United
   • 3 points

Group B

1. United States of America
   • 15 points – 3.0 Tiebreaker Score
2. Sweden
   • 15 points – 1.0 Tiebreaker Score
3. Russia B-Team
   • 12 points
4. Denmark
   • 9 points – 1.0 Tiebreaker Score
5. Turkiye
   • 9 points – -1.0 Tiebreaker Score
6. Germany B-Team
   • 6 points – 0.0 Tiebreaker Score
7. Slovenia
   • 6 points – -2.0 Tiebreaker Score

Group C

1. France
   • 15 points – 1.0 Tiebreaker Score
2. Czech Republic
   • 15 points – -1.0 Tiebreaker Score
3. Serbo-Croatia
   • 9 points – 2.0 Tiebreaker Score
4. Czech Republic B-Team
   • 9 points – -1.0 Tiebreaker Score – 15 Rounds Scored
5. Romania
   • 9 points – -1.0 Tiebreaker Score – 13 Rounds Scored
6. Portugal
   • 9 points – -4.0 Tiebreaker Score
7. Norway
   • 6 points

Group D

1. England
   • 18 points
2. Poland
   • 12 points – 0.5 Tiebreaker Score
3. Canada
   • 12 points – -0.5 Tiebreaker Score – 20 Rounds Scored – 12 Rounds Win Difference Total
4. Germany
   • 12 points – -0.5 Tiebreaker Score – 20 Rounds Scored – 10 Rounds Win Difference Total
5. Maghreb United
   • 6 points – 1.0 Tiebreaker Score
6. Belgium
   • 6 points – -1.5 Tiebreaker Score
7. Lithuania
   • 4 points

Group E

1. England B-Team
   • 18 points
2. Scotland
   • 12 points
3. England C-Team
   • 6 points
4. Ireland
   • 0 points

Playoffs Bracket

The playoffs bracket is ordered using the following methodolgy:

This leaves us with the following bracket.

Server Location Rules Reminder

For matches between a European team and non-European team, the server locations rules are the following:

• Map 1: European server
• Map 2: Out-of-region server
• Map 3: European server

Servers should be chosen to be the most favourable for the disadvantaged team. For example, for a match between Germany and USA, reasonable choices would be:

• Map 1: French server
• Map 2: New York server
• Map 3: French server

Unreasonable choices would be:

• Map 1: German server
• Map 2: California server
• Map 3: German server

Teams may deviate from this if both teams agree. For matches between two out-of-region teams, teams are to decide amongst themselves. In the case of a unresolved disagreement, make a League Admin Ticket.

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Long anticipated results of the Pre-season poll are out! We are happy to announce the winning map that will be played in the upcoming season!

Reminder that signups end at 13th August 18:00 CEST (Roster lock will be enabled when signups close)

Pre-season vote Poll results

Before the season, we asked about the maps you would like to see in the map pool for the upcoming season! And here are the results!

Despite many requests to put plr_bananabay and ctf_applejack into the vote we decided to NOT do it. (Maybe next time)

Based on these results pl_swiftwater_final1 will be the last map for this season’s map pool

Map Pool

Here is the list of the currently confirmed maps for the season:

• pl_swiftwater_final1
• pl_vigil_rc10
• cp_steel_f12
• pl_upward_f12
• koth_product_final
• koth_proot_b5b

Map Rotation

The round structure of this upcoming season will be as follows:

• Week 1: pl_upward_f12
• Week 2: cp_steel_f12
• Week 3: koth_product_final & koth_proot_b5b
• Week 4: pl_swiftwater_final1
• Week 5: pl_vigil_rc10

Division Helpers

We are also still looking for Division Helpers, although we already have enough helpers, we would still appreciate more sign ups!

Are you interested in being a Divison Helper? Sign up below!

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With all games of the cup now concluded roster lock has been lifted and the winners are known! To those whom proved themselves as apex predators, Congratulations! To others we hope you had fun swimming with the fishes.

High-Tide Highlander One-Night-Cup: Megalodon Winners

After going on a feeding frenzy in the group stages keicam led his shiver to face Physics & Maths Tutor in a hunting competition on the tropical waters of banana bay. After a grueling 25 minutes and 8 seconds fight Arch of Titus ended up outcompeting Physics & Maths Tutor for territory. Proving themselves to be the true primordial sharks. Congratulations!

The winning shiver of Arch of Titus is:

• varnu
• dwo69
• grip
• samii
• Elysioner
• keicam
• Arcades
• broken
• mezzo

School Placements

Megalodon

1. Arch of Titus
2. Physics & Maths Tutor
3. Feila finanzieren durch DROPS

Hammerhead

1. 007: Wedkarze na etacie
2. Romani National Team
3. BananaKnights

Salmon

1. Anglo: Death, Undeath and Re-death
2. мусор дроп
3. HyMi jengi

Tuna

1. RepublicOfGamers
2. Untitled Highlander Project
3. DBFLOWER5 FAN CLUB

Anchovies

1. a smelly smell that smells... smelly
2. Homeless Last Hope
3. Night Watchers

Goldfish

1. chudhalla
2. SKT
3. The Hightower Cappers

Guppies

1. egarnitur
2. Red Tape Restart
3. Open Warriors

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Schedule

• Signups: NOW! – 13th August 18:00 CEST (late joining in swiss divisions is possible until the end of the first regular season week)
• Provisional Tiers: 13th/14th of August
• Main Season: 17th August – 27th September (5 weeks + Uberfest break)
• Playoffs: 28th September – 18th October (3 weeks)

Map Pool, Feedback results, Weapon bans, Map Rotation & Map Votes

In the Highlander Season 35 (Spring 2026) Feedback poll we asked you to rank the season’s maps from best to worst indicating that the (2) lowest voted map(s) will be rotated out for season 36. The following are some results to highlight from the polls:

Reading some of the written feedback we also notice a pattern across divisions of play. People tend to not like 1 or 2 specific KOTH maps and tend to be fine with all the stopwatch maps. Most people were fine with the map pool as a whole but common feedback such as: “DELETE product”, “ashville is super duper bad…”, “I despise warmtic, I think I’d genuinely enjoy dustbowl more”.

Notably, despite scoring the second lowest numerically, proot received zero negative comments while all other maps were mentioned negatively numerous times. proot in fact was praised as something “fresh” numerous times.

Based on all this feedback the maps koth_warmtic_f10 will be removed from the map pool being clearly voted the most disliked map from last season.
Additionally koth_ashville_final1 will also be removed being the both 3rd worst voted map as well as being the map that received the most qualitative complaints out of any of last seasons maps.
Both warmtic and ashville will become voteable for the season again for reintroduction in Highlander Season 37.

Weapon Bans

Another part of the feedback poll is always whether weapons should be banned or unbanned. We haven’t been publishing these the last couple seasons as nothing noteworthy has happened here. This season again the consensus is that the whitelist is not in need of any change. And we on the staff team agree.

We do see a small group of people without knowing it, seriously arguing against each other surrounding the bleed weapons. Some lobbying to unban the flying guillotine whilst others want to see the wrap assassin banned.

There is also an unnamed group of higher division pyro mains (and we suspect also one particular demo main) that seemingly wanna troll people with a scorch shot unban. Our response: No.

Map Pool

Here is the list of the currently confirmed maps for the season:

• pl_vigil_rc10
• cp_steel_f12
• pl_upward_f12
• koth_product_final
• koth_proot_b5b

Map Rotation

The round structure of this upcoming season will be as follows:

• Week 1: pl_upward_f12
• Week 2: koth_product_final & koth_proot_b5b
• Week 3: cp_steel_f12
• Week 4: Map #1 from Preseason Poll below
  • (In the case that a Map #2 is needed due to a KOTH/5CP/TOW map winning the poll, this map will be decided by a mix of vote results and admin discretion)
• Week 5: pl_vigil_rc10

As you can see, week 4 needs its maps decided. Please vote for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 maps that you would like to see in the upcoming season.
The first (and potentially second) most voted maps will make it into the upcoming season. The poll will end August 10th around 12:00 CEST.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Rules that are being worked on

2.7. Player Experience

We are currently fine-tuning some improvements to rule 2.7 Player experience. We are noticing specifically some issues with unclear wording and the rules surrounding transferring HL to 6s experience not being accurate for higher div highlander players, along with some smaller issues. We are trying to get the full rule update out ahead of the start of Highlander Season 36. Related rules such as the already mostly depreciated rule 3.7 are part of this rework.

There is a Ping Limit Discussion happening

Last season a discussion around ping limits was started in the Highlander Premiership players channel on the etf2l discord. Teams were expressing their frustration after scrims against Brazilian sniper Mujet playing on over 220 ping.

Firstly, we would like to preface that we understand ETF2l’s role as the most globally accessible league for regions that don’t have their own larger competitive leagues (Africa, Middle East, etc.) and we will keep accommodating and trying to serve that function for these regions. However we do understand the frustration of having to play against a 220 ping sniper main with a 100 ping Russian sniper, effectively creating a 300 ping chasm in a sniper vs sniper scenario.

Hence we are actively considering whether or not to introduce some form of ping limit into the rules, and if so what form that could take. Please reach out through the etf2l discord if you have any input on this as we understand this is a contentious issue. We don’t plan to rush any decision regarding this issue.

Setup

Roster Lock

We will be maintaining a roster lock starting on the 13th of August (after sign-ups close), after which players can only join through admin requests instead. This will be possible up until the start of the last week of the regular season, after which no new players will be able to join teams.

For all divisions players cannot be more experienced (in accordance with rule 2.7) than the tier of the team they want to join. Experience in other leagues is also included.

Between the signup deadline and the season start we might be more lenient when it comes to players. However adding higher skilled players will affect your team’s seeding.

We are currently in the process of looking at changes to the player experience and late joiner rules. So stay updated to any potential rulechanges ahead of the season!

Class Restrictions & Division Helpers

We’ll avoid trying to apply class restrictions at the start of the season. However, based on feedback from previous seasons, we will be applying limited restrictions on specific players. This means that teams might have large skill gaps between its players but we’re trying to put a bit more emphasis on allowing people to play with their friends on the class they enjoy playing the most. For this purpose we are also employing Division helpers for Season 36 as we did in the previous seasons.

Are you interested in being a division helper for Highlander Season 36? Sign up below!

Furthermore teams WILL NOT be transitioned between divisions during the season, neither will teams in the playoff positions.

Playoffs

Playoff information will follow at a later date. For Premiership and Division 1/High teams (2nd highest division) we will be employing a double elimination bracket where the top 4 teams make playoffs. The top 2 teams will enter the Upper Bracket Final and the 3rd and 4th place teams will start in the Lower Bracket Semi-Final. For Open & Low, expect a standard single elimination bracket like in previous seasons.

Fresh Division

We will determine if this division will be used based off of signups. After gathering feedback from Fresh players, we will be more strict on which players are eligible to participate in this division. Players who meet any of the criteria below are not eligible to play in the Fresh division:

• played more than 10 matches in ETF2L Open
• played in ETF2L Open playoffs or above (this does not include cups)
• participated in the playoffs of a previous Fresh season or Fresh Meat Challenge
• played more than 10 matches in RGL Amateur
• participated in RGL Newcomer playoffs

6v6 experience will be considered. Any previous experience from leagues not listed above will be judged on a case by case basis.

Sign-up Process

First and foremost, you must sign your team up here: 

Then, if you are applying for Division 6/Open/Fresh (which are our entry divisions), you do not have to provide any proof that you are capable of playing at that level.

Otherwise, we encourage you to send in an application through the ticket system in our Discord or by directly contacting a league admin, with the following information:

– Team name, Division you apply for and ETF2L team link
– Roster
– Recent results and logs associated to them
– Reasons why your team deserves to be placed in the tier you applied for (optional)

e.g.
– Team BIG EXPLOSION, Premiership, https://etf2l.pro/teams/1/
announce the roster with the classes
– 5-2 vs Team Aoshi’s All Stars (Prem) : https://logs.tf/012345

Teams that do not contact the admins risk losing their spot in the division they are asking for. If your team is signing up for the High division, we strongly recommend that you tell us if you are looking to play in Division 1 or Division 2; the same goes for Mid teams that have a preference for Division 3 or Division 4.

Please note that the success of your request also strongly depends on the free slots in the tier you aim for. Established teams will be favoured over new teams or teams that request to jump a tier.

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Tiebreaker details and the list of teams advancing to playoffs can be found below. Check out your upcoming playoff fixtures under the Playoffs tab at the top of our website, or find them directly on your team page.

If you find yourself on the list of these teams you are expected to be available. If you fail to provide sufficient information, we will have to decide your match dates for you. Keep in mind that we will try and accommodate both teams, but the match date may still vary from your provided days if for example none of the days match with your opponent’s, but your opponent offered more days than you did. Deadlines listed for the matches are flexible and may be changed in certain situations if admins are contacted about allowing extensions on these.

Progressive Config

For Playoffs we will be using the progressive config for 5CP in Top Division, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 & Low. Open and Fresh divisions will continue using the regular config.

The Progressive Ruleset incorporates this plugin that creates a dynamic win condition. The 5CP round win limit gets reduced to the current highest score +1 when the match timer runs out. For example, if the score is 1-2 when the map timer runs out, the win limit will be set to 3 and round continues.

The specifics of the progressive ruleset playoffs will look like this:

• The map timer for 5CP maps will be 25 minutes.
• The round timer for 5CP maps will be 4 minutes.
• If a team scores a total of 5 rounds before the end of the map timer, they win the map (winlimit 5).
• If neither team has scored a total of 5 rounds once the map timer runs out, the round winlimit is set to the current highest round score +1. The match continues until one team reaches the new round winlimit.

Pick/Ban Format (Top Division)

The same 9 maps from the regular season for Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 & Low will be played during playoffs. Matches will be played as a best-of-three (bo3 maps). Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System:

For Round 1 of Playoffs:

Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System: The Higher seed is Team A.

Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
The remaining map is the decider.

For Other playoff Rounds

Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System: Higher seed/Coming from higher Bracket gets to pick whether they want to be Team A or Team B.
Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
The remaining map is the decider.

For Grand Finals only

Best-of-three: Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System: The Winner of Upper Bracket/Coming From Higher Bracket is Team A.
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
The remaining map is the decider.

Best-of-five: Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System: The Winner of Upper Bracket/Coming From Higher Bracket is Team A.
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B picks a map
The remaining map is the decider.

Schedule for Top Division

• Upper Bracket Round 1 & Lower Bracket Round 1: July 20th – July 26th (Schedule Deadline, Tuesday July 21st at 12:00)
• Lower Bracket Round 2: July 27th – August 2nd (Schedule Deadline, Monday July 27th at 23:59)
• Upper Bracket Final, Division 1 Semi-finals & Lower Bracket Round 3 : August 3rd – August 9th (Schedule Deadline, Monday August 3rd at 23:59)
• Division 1 Grand Final & Lower Bracket Final: August 10th – August 14th (Schedule Deadline, Monday August 10th at 23:59)
• Premiership Grand Final: August 15th – August 16th

Top Division

For Top Division, we will be going with the top 8 teams into the playoffs in a Triple Elimination bracket. The Top 4 from the group stages will start in the upper bracket and place 5-8 will start in the lower bracket. All matches will be played as a BO3 except the Premiership Grand Final match, which can be played as a BO5 if both teams agree

1. The Plucky Luckers
   • 39 Points
2. The Odds
   • 34 Points
3. .ALPHAGLΩCK.
   • 29 Points
4. EXPOSE ME, EXPOSE ME
   • 24 Points
5. CUBISM
   • 19 Points
6. Garda Panteri
   • 18 Points
7. Explosive Dogs
   • 15 Points
8. The Compound
   • 13 Points

Upper Bracket

Upper bracket Round 1: The Plucky Luckers vs EXPOSE ME, EXPOSE ME
Upper Bracket Round 1: The Odds vs .ALPHAGLΩCK.

Lower Bracket

Lower bracket Round 1: The Compound vs CUBISM
Lower Bracket Round 1: Explosive Dogs vs Garda Panteri

Pick/Ban Format (Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 & Low)

The same 9 maps from the regular season for Division 2, Division 3, Division 4 & Low will be played during playoffs. Matches will be played as a best-of-three (bo3 maps). Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System:

Higher seed gets to pick whether they want to be Team A or Team B.

Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
The remaining map is the decider.

Schedule for Division 2, Division 3

• Semi Finals: July 20th – July 26th (Schedule Deadline, Tuesday July 21st at 12:00)
• Grand Final & 3rd Place Match: July 27th – August 2nd (Schedule Deadline, Monday July 27th at 23:59)

Division 2

For Division 2, we’re going with the top 4 teams in the playoffs. All matches will be played as a BO3.

1. born in tf2c
   • 24 Points
2. brownpill
   • 21 Points
3. Pallitarzan
   • 15 Points
4. Unknown Quantities
   • 14 Points

Semi-Final 1 : born in tf2c vs Unknown Quantities
Semi-Final 2: brownpill vs Pallitarzan

Division 3

For Division 3, we’re going with the top 4 teams in the playoffs. All matches will be played as a BO3.

1. Choking Hazard
   • 36 Points
2. meimei
   • 29 Points
3. scouts talk back = benched (emotionally)
   • 28 Points – 10.8 Tiebreaker Score
4. Lit Tetose
   • 28 Points – 9.61 Tiebreaker Score

Semi-Final 1: Choking Hazard vs Lit Tetose
Semi-Final 2: meimei vs scouts talk back = benched (emotionally)

Schedule for Division 4 and Low

• Quarter Finals: July 20th – July 26th (Schedule Deadline, Tuesday July 21st at 12:00)
• Semi-Finals: July 27th – August 2nd (Schedule Deadline, Monday July 27th at 23:59)
• Grand Final & 3rd Place Match: August 3rd – August 9th (Schedule Deadline, Monday August 3rd at 23:59)

Division 4

For Division 4, we’re going with the top 8 teams in the playoffs, using the Single Elimination format. All matches will be played as a BO3.

1. Chestnut Bakery
   • 42 Points
2. 6 ДЕГЕНЕРАТОВ С ПРОПИТЫМИ МОЗГАМИ
   • 30 Points
3. Spin the wheel
   • 29 Points
4. marmot
   • 25 Points – 12.02 Tiebreaker Score
5. Seer Coincidence
   • 25 Points – 11.36 Tiebreaker Score
6. Oracle
   • 25 Points – 9.95 Tiebreaker Score
7. PHONK CLICKER
   • 24 Points – 8.75 Tiebreaker Score
8. $6.32 nigerian haircut
   • 24 Points – 7.30 Tiebreaker Score

Quarter Final 1: Chestnut Bakery vs $6.32 nigerian haircut
Quarter Final 2: 6 ДЕГЕНЕРАТОВ С ПРОПИТЫМИ МОЗГАМИ vs PHONK CLICKER
Quarter Final 3: Spin the wheel vs Oracle
Quarter Final 4: marmot vs Seer Coincidence

Low

For Low, we’re going with the top 8 teams in the playoffs, using the Single Elimination format. All matches will be played as a BO3.

1. Эщкере
   • 35 Points
2. Team Colonslash
   • 30 Points
3. Alles Door Oefening Den Haag
   • 29 Points – 15.00 Tiebreaker Score
4. Mr McVities, Grandstanding Digestives
   • 29 Points – 13.72 Tiebreaker Score
5. The Bugatti Boys
   • 28 Points
6. back in my day
   • 27 Points
7. bug life
   • 22 Points
8. Asian Cooked Show 4
   • 21 Points

Quarter Final 1: Эщкере vs Asian Cooked Show 4
Quarter Final 2: Team Colonslash vs bug life
Quarter Final 3: Alles Door Oefening Den Haag vs back in my day
Quarter Final 4: Mr McVities, Grandstanding Digestives vs The Bugatti Boys

Pick/Ban Format (Open & Fresh)

The same 7 maps from the regular season for Open & Fresh will be played during the playoffs. Matches will be played as a best-of-three (bo3 maps). Maps will be decided using the following Map Elimination System:

Team A bans a map
Team B bans a map
Team B picks a map
Team A picks a map
Team B bans a map
Team A bans a map
The remaining map is the decider.

Higher seed gets to pick whether they want to be Team A or Team B.

Schedule for Open

• Knockout Rounds: July 20th – July 26th (Schedule Deadline, Tuesday July 21st at 12:00)
• Quarter Finals: July 27th – August 2nd (Schedule Deadline, Monday July 27th at 23:59)
• Semi-Finals: August 3rd – August 9th (Schedule Deadline, Monday August 3rd at 23:59)
• Grand Final & 3rd Place: August 10th– August 16th (Schedule Deadline, Monday August 10th at 23:59)

Open

For Open, we’re going with the top 12 teams in the playoffs. The top 4 teams advance directly to the Quarterfinals. Teams 5 -12 play an initial knockout round to reach the Quarterfinals. From there, the single-elimination bracket continues. All matches will be played as a BO3.

1. Team Imperial
   • 37 Points
2. κore
   • 33 Points
3. It's Hunting Season.
   • 31 Points
4. Lowlands
   • 27 Points – 15.93 Tiebreaker Score
5. x♔x_Г☣ЛдИк ЛеГаСи_2026_x♔x
   • 27 Points – 11.50 Tiebreaker Score
6. Funkier monks
   • 26 Points
7. Freaky Frogs
   • 25 Points
8. Ca$hubians
   • 24 Points – Won Head to Head
9. Ratfckers
   • 24 Points – Lost Head to Head
10. open idiots (kinki)
    • 23 Points – 12.38 Tiebreaker Score
11. THUG PRO.
    • 23 Points – 11.77 Tiebreaker Score
12. Los del kiosko de al lado :p
    • 23 Points – 8.42 Tiebreaker Score

Knockout 1: x♔x_Г☣ЛдИк ЛеГаСи_2026_x♔x vs Los del kiosko de al lado :p
Knockout 2: Funkier monks vs THUG PRO.
Knockout 3: Freaky Frogs vs open idiots (kinki)
Knockout 4: Ca$hubians vs Ratfckers

The winners of these Knockout rounds will face the top 4 teams in the Quarter Finals:

Quarter Final 1: Lowlands vs. Winner of Knockout 1
Quarter Final 2: It's Hunting Season. vs. Winner of Knockout 2
Quarter Final 3: κore vs. Winner of Knockout 3
Quarter Final 4: Team Imperial vs. Winner of Knockout 4

Schedule for Fresh

• Semi Finals: July 20th – July 26th (Schedule Deadline, Tuesday July 21st at 12:00)
• Grand Final & 3rd Place: August 3rd – August 9th (Schedule Deadline, Monday August 3rd at 23:59)

Fresh

For Fresh, we’re going with the top 4 teams in the playoffs, using the Single Elimination format. All matches will be played as a BO3.

1. OFC Enjoyers
   • 30 Points
2. Ras al ain defenders
   • 24 Points
3. five ggs
   • 15 Points
4. Horizontal rotierender Fisch
   • 12 Points

Semi-Final 1: OFC Enjoyers vs Horizontal rotierender Fisch
Semi-Final 2: Ras al ain defenders vs five ggs

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Hello darkness my old friend. After a long night of grinding me and the other admins are proud to release the 6v6 Nations Cup 11 Groups! Below you will find the updated schedule map pool, an indication of playoffs structure, some last rule changes regarding server rules and the configs that will be used during different stages of the tournament. The groups can be found here.

Schedule

• Group Stage: 20th July – 9th August
  • Round 1: 20th July – 26th July
  • Round 2: 27th July – 2nd August
  • Round 3: 3rd August – 9th August
• Playoffs: 10th August – 30th August (Round of 32 playoffs)

Map Pool

• cp_sunshine
• cp_process_f12
• cp_gullywash_f9
• cp_metalworks_f7
• cp_granary_pro_rc17a3
• koth_bagel_rc13
• koth_product_final

Map Rotation

• Round 1: cp_process_f12 & cp_sunshine
• Round 2: koth_bagel_rc12 & cp_metalworks_f7
• Round 3: cp_gullywash_f9 & cp_granary_pro_rc17a3

Group Stage Rules

No roster lock will be enabled during this cup. Teams may add and remove players throughout the cup. For countries with A, B (C) teams. Switching between rosters will be allowed until the start of playoffs. After which player swaps between rosters have to be approved by staff. Unrostered players or players rostered on a B team of that country, may play for that team but by default count as mercs and have to be approved by the other team.

For KOTH etf2l_6v6_koth.cfg should be used.
For 5CP etf2l_6v6_5cp.cfg should be used.

Playoffs

Completed playoff information will follow at a later date.

The Top 32 Teams will make it to playoffs. The top 7 teams from Group A, B, C & D will make it into playoffs. The 8th place of these groups will be eliminated. All teams from the (Name Redacted Pending Legal Review) group will enter playoffs. The better you do in the group stage the better your seeding in the playoffs. There will be a follow up post on this later.

For Playoffs we will be using the progressive config for 5CP. the KOTH config remains etf2l_6v6_koth.cfg.

The Progressive Ruleset incorporates this plugin that creates a dynamic win condition. The 5CP round win limit gets reduced to the current highest score +1 when the match timer runs out. For example, if the score is 1-2 when the map timer runs out, the win limit will be set to 3 and round continues.

The specifics of the progressive ruleset playoffs will look like this:

• The map timer for 5CP maps will be 25 minutes.
• The round timer for 5CP maps will be 4 minutes.
• If a team scores a total of 5 rounds before the end of the map timer, they win the map (winlimit 5).
• If neither team has scored a total of 5 rounds once the map timer runs out, the round winlimit is set to the current highest round score +1. The match continues until one team reaches the new round winlimit.

You can activate this ruleset by exec’ing etf2l_6v6_5cp_prog.cfg.

Final Rule Changes

After a bit of discussion with the team leaders the following rule will change slightly to better accommodate non-european teams.

Server Location & Timezones

As non-European countries might be participating we’re adding an addendum to the server clause ONLY FOR THE NATIONS CUP. The server chosen when competing against a non-European team IS IN EUROPE. But should be the best possible ping the other country can have while ping for the European team stays within reason.
Example:
If North Americans are playing European teams we expect a western/central European server to be used rather then an Nordic/Eastern European server.

If 2 non-European teams are facing off against one another they will get to choose a non-European server. Additionally, teams may always decide to play a map in another region’s server but it is ultimately up to the European team playing.
Example:
USA v Sweden in the group stage by default is on European servers, but with Sweden’s permission a map could be played on American servers

Playoffs exception: In the event that a European team faces off against a Non-European team in the playoffs section, the second map ONLY will be played on the Non-European teams server. This server should still be reasonable for the other team as is the same with the Group Stages in reverse.
Example:
USA v Sweden in playoffs will be map 1 on a Dutch server, map 2 on a New York server and the decider map would be on the Dutch server, if required.

Roster Limit

Traditional 6v6’s roster limit is 13, we’ll be increasing this to 16 for the nations cup. Be sure to make full use of it.

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Countries and Captains

• Alps United – june
• Belarus – kr1sp0
• Belgium – Aoshi
• Canada – Toss
• Czech Republic – gedu
• Czech Republic B-Team – DelT
• Denmark – Dr. Phil
• Denmark B-Team – Fox
• England – jubba
• England B-Team – zetok
• England C-Team – Sabesaroo
• Finland – Robert
• France – Brujman
• Germany – voxtec
• Germany B-Team – Kingorcoc
• Habibis United – EoN
• Ireland – dempsey
• Italy – .strix
• Kazakhstan – specialsadism
• Lithuania – Rain
• Maghreb United – Big Papa MattJ
• Netherlands – Jordy
• Norway – Storm
• Poland – alov
• Portugal – haunts
• Romania – rutu
• Russia – utka
• Russia B-Team – dastron
• Serbo-Croatia – SURFYMEiSTER
• Scotland – renton
• Singapore – Rainn
• Slovenia – Korra
• Sweden balder
• Turkiye – demirbilek
• Ukraine – Doge
• United States of America – logan

Is your team missing from the above list? Please make a ticket to contact admins as soon as possible. Also, the roster limit is higher than on a standard 6v6 team at 16. Make sure to make the most of it!

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We know you are eagerly awaiting the start of the next season, but since we are delaying Highlander Season 36 a tiny, whiny bit, we have decided to host a fast-paced summer fun cup to have some old waterpark fun!

Grab your sunglasses, your Hawaiian shirts, and a group of friends—we are excited to announce the ETF2L High-Tide Highlander One-Night-Cup!

Crack open those apple ciders (or other (non-)alcoholic beverages of your choice) and have a night of summer fun with 8 of your mates! This one-night tournament is all about good vibes and competitive banter, featuring an exclusively basegame, summer-themed map pool and a special long asked for Payload Race finale. Check out all the details, rules, and schedule below.

Schedule

• Signups: OPEN NOW – July 24th 18:00 CEST
• Final Tiers: July 24th (Roster lock will enable on publication if final tiers)
• Matchday: Saturday July 25th:
  • Round 1: 19:00 CEST (ctf_applejack)
  • Round 2: 20:00 CEST (pl_aquarius)
  • Round 3: 20:45 CEST (koth_sharkbay)
  • Grand Finals & 3rd Place: 21:30 CEST (plr_bananabay)

Map Pool & Map Rotation

For this cup, we’ll be running the following 3 rounds of round robin, groups of 4, on stock valve maps followed by a finals/3rd place decider:

• Round 1: 19:00 CEST (ctf_applejack)
• Round 2: 20:00 CEST (pl_aquarius)
• Round 3: 20:45 CEST (koth_sharkbay)
• Grand Finals & 3rd Place: 21:30 CEST (plr_bananabay)

Format & Whitelist

To ensure tight, competitive matches without a massive time commitment, we will be using a self-contained pool system for this cup.

• Division Structure: Teams will be placed into Pools of 4 (e.g., Premiership, High, Mid, Low, Open A, Open B, etc.).
• Winners: Winners are crowned per individual pool—so if you are in Open B, you are fighting to be the official Open B Champion!
• Whitelist: Standard ETF2L 9v9 Whitelist applies across all matches.

Special Game Mode Rules & Configs

Because we are playing some alternative game modes to keep the summer vibes flowing, please take note of the specific configs and rulesets for Round 1 and the Grand Finals!

Be advised, loading up the maps with the soap-dm plugin enabled will cause you to spawn outside of the map on 3 out of the 4 maps in this cup. Feel free to take a swim if you keep it enabled. We recommend disabling plugins whilst reserving a server on Serveme.

Capture the Flag (ctf_applejack)

Games are played using the etf2l_9v9_ctf.cfg configuration.

For those who don’t remember the win conditions of capture the flag from 2014 (or were barely born) they are as follows:

• Win Condition: First team to 10 total caps OR the highest score after 2 halves wins.
• Halves: Each half has a cap limit of 7 (mp_winlimit 7) and a time limit of 20 minutes (mp_timelimit 20).
• Overtime: Intelligence may be carried and captured past the time limit during overtime.
• Golden Cap: If the score is tied after both halves, standard Golden Cap rules apply:
  • 10-minute time limit (mp_timelimit 10), win limit of 1 round (mp_winlimit 1).
  • If neither team wins within the 10 minutes, a second Golden Cap round is played where whoever picks up the opponent’s intelligence first is instantly declared the winner.

Payload (pl_aquarius)

Games are played using standard stopwatch ruleset and config etf2l_9v9_stopwatch.cfg

KOTH (koth_sharkbay)

Games are played using the standard bo5 ruleset etf2l_9v9_koth.cfg.

Note that on the scorereport page & map page the map icon will appear twice. Just fill in the same score and log on both maps.
You are only supposed to play ONE standard BO5 KOTH map (Do not play the KOTH map twice!).

On the backend every map icon is worth 3 points. So to ensure that round 1, 2 and 3 are all worth 6 points we have to put the map icon on the matchpage twice.

Payload Race (plr_bananabay) – Ruleset

Payload Race can notoriously take ages, so for the Grand Final on Banana Bay, we will be using a Payload Race ruleset via the etf2l_9v9_plr.cfg configuration.

There is no time limit. A win limit of 2 rounds (mp_winlimit 2) is set. The first team to win two rounds in the map wins.

Please note that matches have the potential to last for some time with mp_winlimit 2. For this reason we will allow either team to call for one free shared additional 5 minute pause per match after playtime exceeds 45 minutes

Sign-up Process

First and foremost, you must sign your team up here:

Then, if you are applying for Division 6/Open tier (which is our entry division), you do not have to provide any proof that you are capable of playing at that level.

Otherwise, we encourage you to send in an application through the ticket system in our Discord or by directly contacting a league admin, with the following information:

– Team name, Division you apply for and ETF2L team link
– Roster
– Recent results and logs associated to them
– Reasons why your team deserves to be placed in the tier you applied for (optional)

e.g.
– Team BIG EXPLOSION, Premiership, https://etf2l.pro/teams/1/
announce the roster with the classes
– 5-2 vs Team Aoshi’s All Stars (Prem) : https://logs.tf/012345

Teams that do not send an email or contact the admins risk losing their spot in the division they are asking for.

Please note that the success of your request also strongly depends on the free slots in the tier you aim.

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This is a provisional schedule therefore dates are subject to change.

High-Tide Highlander One-Night-Cup

• Signups: Now – July 24th 18:00 CEST
• Final Tiers + Roster Lock – July 24th 20:00 CEST
• Matchday: Saturday July 25th –
  • Round 1: 19:00 (ctf_applejack)
  • Round 2: 20:00 (pl_aquarius)
  • Round 3: 20:45 (koth_sharkbay)
• Playoffs: Grand Finals & 3rd place match: 21:30 (plr_bananabay)

6v6 Nations Cup #11

• Signups: 8th June – 12th July 18:00 CEST
• Captain Announcement: 13th July
• Group Stage: 20th July – 9th August
• Playoffs: 10th August – 30th August (Placeholder, subject to change)

Highlander Season 36 (Autumn 2026)

• Signups: Mid July – 13th August 18:00 CEST (late joining in swiss divisions is possible until the end of the first regular season week)
• Pre-season cup (tbc) – 8th/9th of August
• Provisional Tiers: 13th/14th of August
• Main Season: 17th August – 27th September
  • Break week(end) for Überfest 2026
• Playoffs: 28th September – 18th October

(LAN) Überfest 2026

• From September 11th to September 13th

Mystery Halloween Cup (One night/weekend cup)

• Signups: 5th October – 30th October 18:00 CEST
• Final Tiers + Roster Lock – 30th October 20:00 CEST
• Matchday: Saturday October 31st –
• Playoffs: Saturday October 31st/(Sunday November 1st)

6v6 Season 53 (Autumn 2026)

• Signups: 14th September – 8th October 18:00 CEST (Prem signups end 7th October 12:00 CEST)
• Provisional Tiers: 8th/9th October
• Final Tiers: 11th/12th October
• Main Season: 12 October – 29th November (7 Weeks)
• Playoffs: 30th November – 14th December (3 Weeks)

And more to be announced.

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