As the month of February comes to a close, it's fair to say the current installment of Team Fortress has reached a critical phase in North America - the outcome of which will likely determine the strength and stability of the scene. There is no denying the game's potential; from the rabid pub-following, to recent interest from major e-Sport organizations, to a strong European scene, there are plenty of signs that gamers around the world enjoy playing TF2 and want it to grow into something special. But it seems that for each supporter proudly touting the TF2 flag, there's half a dozen nay-sayers labeling TF2 as nothing more then a pub game. Not to mention the disintegration of the top competitive league, CEVO-P.

So where do we stand? What's in the future? What can we, as a community, pin our hopes on as TF2 enters these murky times?


The debate over a professional, competitive format has plagued North American TF2 since its beta development, and will continue to rage on far longer then this writer deems necessary. Yet, the time is coming when debate, logical arguments, and even fan-based polls like our own here at GotFrag become redundant. Why? One simple reason: the success of the European scene.

While the North American 6v6 leagues have floundered through their first seasons, the premiere European ladder, ESL's Major Series, is already going through their second round of qualifiers for what will no doubt be an exciting 2nd season of 6v6 play. Based purely on a comparison of the two scenes, it's clear that whatever Europe is doing, they've got it right. The time has come for the North American leagues like CEVO to accept the error of their ways and make the move to the European set of rules - namely, 6v6 with class restrictions.. and no crits.

Players can argue till they're blue in the face, but nothing will change the cold hard truth that TF2 on this continent is dying at the highest levels, while a crit-less Europe is going strong. The stance that the current rules (ie. 6v6 with crits) for CEVO-P is 'perfectly fine' no longer has any support. If things are perfectly fine, why are the top teams dropping like flies? Now, I'm not saying crits are the only problem with CEVO, but taking them out is a good place to start.

So who does it fall on to make these changes? Well, while the door does have to be opened by the league, but it's up to the players to walk through it. If this poll is a genuine reflection of the teams desired rule set, then it's up to the teams to force change upon the league.


While the crit debate has come to the forefront of competitive TF2 talk, the old '6 players versus 8 players' discussion is still worth mentioning as we look back on the past month. There seems to be a growing realization that some teams will focus on 6v6 while others simply prefer 8v8, and both seem perfectly satisfied with playing in their respective leagues. What seemed like a major schism before has settled into a simple preference over gameplay, and while there may not be any 8v8 LANs anytime soon, there's no real reason why an 8v8 team can't sign up for a 6v6 LAN. Personally, I was quite impressed by CAL's move to offer an 8v8 league along with 6v6, and hope that other leagues like CEVO make this move too. Heck, if there's enough support for both formats, why not?

Another interesting note concerning these two formats is the direction they're going with crits/classes - namely, the more successful 8v8 leagues like STA seem to be thriving with crits in and class restrictions out. Meanwhile, the general sentiment of the 6v6 teams is quite the opposite (even if their leagues don't quite reflect that yet), presenting the two sides of that debate with a very neat and tidy solution.


I'm going to be honest here - I love taking cheap shots at the trainwreck known as CEVO-P. For a league that started out with so much potential, coming off an exciting tournament and with all the top teams taking part, CEVO-P really has become a joke. The refusal to do away with the preset schedule in the face of so many now-dead teams just baffles me. But, despite the obvious and repeated setbacks, there still is some hope for the league due to its successful sub-division, CEVO-A.

Part of what makes these next few weeks so critical for North American TF2 is centered on what's going to happen in CEVO and CAL. CEVO is approaching the end of the season, a time when they can combine the two divisions and change the rules. In other words, save this sinking ship. If CEVO holds strong and continues to offer a place for quality teams to compete, it will be a success. But the league has to make the changes this community needs. Learn from what works; learn from Europe. And for pete's sake, do week-by-week schedules like CEVO-A.

CAL, on the other hand, has a much more daunting task ahead of them. CAL will be the first** free 6v6 ladder since the CEVO tournament and will, in my opinion, act as a much more accurate barometer of TF2's grassroots support. The free 8v8 leagues have been to date much more successful than CEVO - more teams, more matches, hardly any forfeits - but the argument can be made that their success is based on the lack of cost. That's where CAL comes in. If CAL can offer 6v6 teams a viable outlet for competitive 6v6 play that's free, it will help stabilize the scene and give teams a place to learn and grow before moving up to the big leagues (ie. pay-to-play). The somewhat disappointing part is that CAL plans to leave crits in for the first season, which I'm sure the established teams are a little miffed about. However, with so many new pub teams signing up for the league who have probably never played without crits, things could still work out. And there's no reason why CAL could also make the no-crit change in season 2, when there are actually divisions separating the pros from scrubs like me.


In the end, one of the major advantages TF2 has is the ongoing support from its developers at Valve, which we saw first hand this month with the release of Badlands and more tweaks and shifts to the gameplay. The game is supported by an active, excited team of developers who continue to work on and improve the game with new maps, new gameplay formats, and even a new weapon schemes. Also, Valve is willing to fix any mistakes they may have made in the past (such as the cp_granary spawn timers that were adjusted, and then adjusted back). They give the appearance that the community opinion really does matter to them. Along with the developer’s support, the recent wave of professional e-Sports organizations dipping their hands into the TF2 scene bodes well for aspiring players and teams. It gives the gamers additional incentive to keep playing this beautiful game. While the scene isn't being flooded with LAN announcements, the presence of an active and interested community is the base upon which all eSport rests, and is something that is well within TF2's reach.

There's no doubt that the coming month will be an interesting one for competitive TF2, and as a fan of the game I hope it survives the turmoil ahead. And who knows, maybe this summer we'll even see the odd LAN or two..

** - It's come to my attention that TGL has indeed been running a 6v6 Open ladder that has simply slipped under my radar since taking over here at GotFrag. My sincerest apologies to the folks at TGL - I meant no disrespect, and will pick up things on my end :) -rk