EDIT: Match is over! You can watch the VODs here!

So just like all of the other major TF2 leagues, its playoff time.  The first round for Division 2 (that's the cute one ♥, for those who aren't familiar with TWL) of TWL's 5th season is underway and we waterboarded a TWL Admin so that we could get the information for a match between TEAM BAD and TONY HAWK PRO SKATERS.

So tune in at 10pm EST tonight and catch the broadcast on TGBF.tv!  The Commentators for tonight will be yours truly and a MYSTERY GUEST because eXtine is afk.

This match will be a bo3 (best of three) on Freight, Badlands, and Yukon, in that order.  Good luck to both sides!

Back in early 2008, when TF2 was just getting off the ground, I used to see this kid named [BRO]Smerbuck pocketing his buddy [BRO]ChadBroChill all around the Right to Rule 24/7 2fort server. Talked to him a few times and realized that he was a cool dude. Little did I know Smerbuck would go on to medic for such high level teams as ParaGon, xensity, and now, Vicious Gaming.

Everyone knows Buick for his "Chuckles Don't Leave Me" youtube sensation, as well as his shenanigans on Gotfrag, but not a lot of people realize that Buick is one of the smarter players in TF2.

I sat down with Keith aka Buick to just pick his brain about ESEA, medicing, and the TF2 community. This is part 1 of 3 (or 4).

Enjoy....an evening with Keith Smerbeck

So the other day, I saw that eXtine was enjoying tens of thousands of views on his videos in the CommFT account, whereas most of my videos on the same account were struggling to break the one thousand mark.  So

because I remembered that I could get some of those sweet poon-views if I just made an article complete with links to them like eXtine did!

So here's the list of videos that I have been making since December to contribute to the CommFT Youtube Account:

VVVVVVVVVV (click over there)

February is Black History Month and thus an appropriate time for us to examine the issue of Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, and Equality in TF2 and other videogames.

TF2 has gained a reputation for being one of the more relaxed gaming communities out there, but it is not without it's ugliness. Thankfully the situation isn't nearly as bad as X-Box Live, which is about the pinnacle of FPS nastyness. This video demonstrating very NSFW language makes it quickly apparent how unwelcoming a community can be. As our community looks to grow further and strengthen itself as a place for fun and competition we need to stand up to the bigots and racists.

For those of you who haven't been keeping up, here's a brief recap of everything that went on last week:

The ESEA-Invite playoff spots go to Evil Geniuses, Complexity, Pandemic, and Muscle Milk and Moolians. eXtine gives us a quick look at the results. For a more detailed look at the standings, see ESEA's website.

As the regular season draws to a close, djfivenine gives us ESEA-O power rankings. The latest standings can be found via ESEA's website.

Due to low registration, CEVO has canceled the NZXT RUSH tournament, and opened registration for season 5. Following input from CommFT's maptesting team, jinn_ is opening the table for discussion this upcoming Thursday.

djfivenine consulted Community Fortress writers and ESEA-Invite players to come up with a list of top ten ranking North American teams.

Lange's editing and eXtine's commentary present us with January's top 10 plays.

eXtelevision gives us a closer look at the match between Muscle Milk and Moolians and Pandemic.

djfivenine, molk and schetter commentated the TGBF shoutcast of compLexity versus Muscle Milk and Moolians.

Competitive and pubstar players faced off in a 6v9 match. The comp team won Granary, but the pubstars came back to win Gorge and Viaduct. Demos available here.

tgbf.tv is proud to present dynamic vs complexity TONIGHT at 11 EST on granary.

Complexity (12-3) - Coming off a huge win against Muscle Milk, looking to keep their momentum up rolling into the playoffs.

Dynamic (6-9) - Looking to finish the season on a high note and show that they are going to be a dangerous team next season.

Join me, molk and schetter TONIGHT! On tgbf.tv!

Due to a low number of @ready teams on the final day of registration, CEVO has decided to cancel the NZXT RUSH Tournament. The tournament was originally designed for the top tier of TF2 teams but as registration wound down, it was clear that these teams had other obligations. CEVO has responded by going ahead and opening registration for Season 5 tonight at 8 PM CST:

CEVO is pleased to announce the opening of registration for the next season of Team Fortress 2. Season 5 features $3,500 worth of prizes for teams competing across the various skill divisions.

CEVO is also excited to announce that with Season 5 comes the return of the CEVO-Amateur Division.

The regular event membership fee for the Professional Division is $20 USD per player. However, any player who registers by midnight CST Sunday, February 21st will receive a discounted early bird rate of only $15 USD. Players may register for Season 5 without already being on a team.

Paid teams will be able to reserve premium quality game servers for their matches, courtesy of NuclearFallout.

Registration for CEVO Team Fortress 2 Season 5 opens on Sunday, February 14th at 7 PM CST and remain open until Sunday, March 14th at midnight CST.

Event Details:

The event will consist of three skill divisions, Professional (CEVO-P), Main (CEVO-M), and Amateur (CEVO-A).

The Professional Division (CEVO-P) will consist of the most talented teams in North America. Any team interested in competing in the Professional Division will be accepted as long as they pay the entry fee. The Professional Division has only one National region. Teams will be competing for at least $1,500.00 in guaranteed cash along with the following prizes:

• 1st Place- 6x NZXT ADAMAS BLK Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($1139.99 value)
• 2nd Place- 6x NZXT Sentry LX High Performance Aluminum Fan Controller Black W/ LCD Dual 5.25IN ($539.99 value)
• 3rd Place- 6x NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse ($419.99 value)

Professional teams will play two matches per week on Monday and Thursday nights.

The Main Division (CEVO-Main) is FREE to all participants but is invite or application only. The top 16 teams from the Alienware Arena Bigfoot TF2 Challenge are invited to this division (they are named as they were during the Alienware event):

Loaded
Blight Gaming
Pandemic
EG
Point and Click
Farmers Market
Knights of Goku Z
Jammin with Jammar
the terribles
Target Practice
Immortal-7
Failin with Vhalin
Team Noise
eXultance TF2
Double Negative
what!

If you feel that your team is of the caliber necessary to play in the Main division, you need to submit a Main application. If you are unfamiliar with this process, you need to follow these steps:

• Sign up your team in CEVO-FREE.
• Get a minimum of 5 roster players (@ready).
• Captains will then see a Main application under their Control Panel.
• Simply fill out the application and submit.

Main has a single region, just like Professional, called National. Teams will be competing for the top two spots which receive free entry into CEVO-P Season 6. There will be one match per week in this division and the match deadline day is Thursday of each week.

The Amateur Division (CEVO-A) is specially designed for new and competitive teams that are looking to get their feet wet in competitive play. This division has two regions, Central and Atlantic, that teams should join based on their geographical placement. There will be one match per week in this division and the match deadline day is Thursday of each week.

NOTE: Teams in this division may not reserve a NuclearFallout game server, will be limited to 2 disputes per season, and will not be eligible for any yet-unannounced promotions for paid members.

Map Rotation:

Preseason 1- TBA
Preseason 2 - TBA
Week 1 - TBA
Week 2 - TBA
Week 3 - TBA
Week 4 - TBA
Week 5 - TBA
Week 6 - TBA
Week 7 - TBA
Week 8 - TBA

Check out the associated news post for information on how to voice your opinion on this season's map rotation (http://www.cevo.com/index.php?page=forum&func=viewthread&id=9865&forumID=2)

You can check out how to register HERE and view the map discussion news post on CEVO's site HERE. If you paid for the NZXT tournament, you can HERE to request a refund.

After 7 months of absence, the Pro-Pubstar games have returned to the spotlight!

Click here to join the SourceTV relay, courtesy of Apocalypse Gaming, when the match begins at 9pm EST (GMT-5)... and also don't forget to join me in the Official CommFT Mumble server (make sure you have at least version 1.2.0), courtesy of Apoloexy Industries, as we watch the match together!  Also, here's a link to the updated poster, with the changes to the old one done by yours truly!  The maps will be cp_granary (pro choice), cp_gorge (pubstar choice), and koth_viaduct (tiebreaker).

For those of you who either weren't around 7 months ago or otherwise weren't paying attention, the Pro-Pubstar games are a social occasion reminiscent of the old days of the Holy Roman Empire where gladiators would be called into the Colloseum to perform for the masses as they slaughter defenseless animals, Christians, and babies.

The premise is simple: what happens when a hardened, veteran pro team with sponsor from the best TF2 leagues meet 9 wacky pubstars who spend all day training in 32-player servers, yelling hacker every time they die?  Well, we'll find out tonight at 9pm EST (GMT-5) courtesy of cerious and shintaz, organizers of the classic Pro-Pubstar games!

The EU version of these games finished just minutes before I began to write this article, and the cad  himself, Arx, blessed elchi and freeflow as the most valuable players after the Pubstars tied the Pros on Gravelpit and came out on top of Badwater.  It was quite the festivity, that it was.  Jolly good.

Lastly, lets give some spotlight to the lucky pubstars and pro players who will be competing tonight:

...from the pubstars:

-Scout: Shepard // Pwnacus Maximus
-Soldier: Multipoke // Velkira
-Pyro: Crinkz // Queso // DemigodAtPlay
-Demoman: Crowquill // Alero
-Heavy: Ho-Ho-Ho!
-Engineer: Ever // mistereggsalad
-Medic: Meta Omega // stale
-Sniper: [amphipod] // Fred
-Spy: redban // Nanaya Shiki

...and from the pros:

[AG] Lancer as Demo
Flow as Solider
AG| Zalfy as Scout
kayteee?? › fbs!! as Scout
hf Aaron as Medic
AG| Otter as Solider