CommunityFortress

That’s right, the European version of Steam Powered User Forums (SPUF) 6v9 is back! Having done it once before, I’m confident this event will be even more popular, especially since it’s getting a lot more publicity!

Where are my manners? Hi, I’m Shintaz, the organiser of this event. The event pits six of the best Europe has to offer in the world of TF2 vs nine regular guys... the “pubbers”. All those guys that mutter on the STV’s about how much better they are than all the big shots – it’s their time to prove themselves!

So how is this going to work? Well, we all know the standard 6v6 layout: Medic limit 1, Demo limit 1, Class limit 2. The twist is that the pubbers will be playing in the highlander setup – Class limit 1. That’s right, one of each class.

Both teams have been fully chosen, and here is a run down of the rosters:

The Pros:

• Scouts: Predz // blight|perry
• Soldiers: TCM Coinz // [FB] Dr.LeoN
• Medic: dignitas/agron
• Demoman: Extremer

The Pubbers:

• Scout: Kenny
• Soldier: Acegikmo
• Pyro: Hisui
• Demoman: 7Daniel
• Heavy: icechiller
• Engineer: Hildreth's Will.hi5
• Medic: Sheridyn
• Sniper: Freeflow
• Spy: elchi

This time round, the map choices were interesting. The pro team has almost taken pity on the pubbers, and have chosen a map which is widely popular with both the competitive and public communities – cp_gravelpit. The pubbers are yet to choose their map, but there are some hints at a pl_ map, but there is no final idea. If a decider is needed, I took the liberty of choosing the map and it is ctf_turbine.

The config used will be the official etf2l config, which means that the rules will be played as the official etf2l rules. 30 minute timelimit, 5 win difference limit and a 6 round win limit.

I took a little time out to talk to a couple of people from each team:

Sheridyn – Pub Medic

Shintaz: What inspired you to sign up for the game? Was it the first event, or something completely different?

Sheridyn: Actually as luck would have it, I just happened to be browsing the Steam forums when I saw the thread about the match. It was definitely not the kind of opportunity I could pass up - I jumped at the chance to game with some of TF2's top competitive players. After all it's not every day that opportunities like this land on your doorstep.

Shintaz: Nearly everyone can agree that the medic is the heart of a competitive team - and the enemy team’s main target. Does this worry you, to know you have 5 of the best EU players aiming for you constantly?

Sheridyn: Definitely - I think my biggest concern is the scout pair. I've seen the kind of damage Predz and Perry can do and I'm not keen to be on the receiving end of it. We'll have to be on our toes throughout the match to ensure we don't give them any easy opportunities. Ultimately, I'm still being backed up by eight of the best players from the pub scene though, and I have great faith in their abilities.

Shintaz: So you're saying that you're pretty confident that you can give the competitive side a run for their money?

Sheridyn: Well, we'd better hope so! We have an advantage in numbers, and we'll be sure to use it. Everyone on our team is here because they're good at what they do, and I think the maps we're playing will give us a good chance to use each of our classes effectively. We'll definitely be getting in plenty of team practice before match day, so I think it'd be a mistake for the competitive team to underestimate us just because we're pubbers.

Shintaz: Any final words for the competitors?

Sheridyn: Don't roll us too hard :P

Hildreth’s Will – Pub Engi

Shintaz: What inspired you to sign up for the game? Was it the first event, or something completely different?

Hildreth: Well I am always an avid follower of competitive TF2 and just left my team to get back into pubs....a chance to play against a full team of top players I couldn't turn down.

Shintaz: You've already met your team and played a few games with them. What were your first impressions and do you think they have the potential to put up a fight? Who stood out?

Hildreth: My first impressions were: “We’re all going to get HAMMERED!”… the first time we all met together, we were pretty quiet... But, we played a few games and the teamwork was pretty good, I was surprised by the knowledge these players had and how well they coped. Obviously it will be a tougher test against the 'pros', but I think we can give them a run for their money, who knows?

Who stood out? Our sniper Freeflow. In match, he had an amazing shot, game sense and comms. Prior to the match, I asked him if he would like to play a few minutes of public. After only a few seconds of being in the server, I could only think “Damn, he’s good.”

Shintaz: Finally, in the competitive scene, engineer is seen as a 'useless' class when it comes to attacking. Do you think you'll be able to adapt to the pros?

Hildreth: Well, looking at the map choices, you can see that the engineer has a decent defensive role – even in competitive. However, there is the matter of the team knowing their roles based around the engineer. If our team adapt around me, it won’t be so hard to adapt to the pros when playing on defense. Offense however could be tricky – in practice we just talked about myself being a slow scout with a powerful gun at my disposal. Who knows, we’ll wait and see.

Shintaz: Thanks for your time Hildreth.

Predz – Competitive Scout

Shintaz: Yo Predz, thanks for your time.

Predz: You’re welcome honeypot.

Shintaz: So, you’re seen as one of the best scouts in Europe at this time, so you must be used to high pressure moments in TF2. Do you have any worries about the upcoming match?

Predz: Well the large number advantage the pubbers have will make moving around unnoticed a lot more difficult if they communicate well. Also, having a sentry gun means getting behind and doing some real damage will be a real problem. Perry and I  have an uphill battle to fight I think.

Shintaz: If you lose this match, will you be able to live with everyone in the competitive scene pointing and laughing?

Predz: I guess I’d be able to, but my team would never let me live it down, sspecially dunc. It’d be mentioned in EVERY match we play.

Shintaz: Thanks for your time Predz.

[FB] Dr.LeoN – Competitive Soldier

Shintaz: Hey Leon, thanks for taking part in both the event and this interview.

LeoN: My pleasure.

Shintaz: Some would say that FB came from being a "pub team" to being one of the best teams in Europe. Because of this, do you think you could be in for a surprise?

LeoN: Who knows, anything can happen on a pub server. On paper, the competitive is obviously far better than a bunch of random people off of the forums. However, if the pubbers can actually sort themselves out by appointing a main caller or “organizer”, then we may indeed be in for a surprise.

Shintaz: So do you think it matters what maps you play?

LeoN: Well, if the pubbers were to choose a regularly used 5CP map (such as granary or badlands), I’m pretty confident it would just be a roll over for us. Surprises or no surprises, this is the thing that the competitors do every day, and have been doing for a long time. If both maps are popular on public servers, then we might be able to see something special from the pubbers. If they do appoint a smart “main caller”, they might be able to use their number advantage against us heavily.

Shintaz: Any final words for the pubbers?

LeoN: Playing organized 6v6 is a lot more fun than a 16v16 spamfest with 20 fps :D


The event will be played on the 13th of February, 18:00GMT.
SourceTV IP’s (supplied by those wonderful people at Fakkelbrigade):
•    fakkelbrigade.eu:27101
•    fakkelbrigade.eu:27102
•    fakkelbrigade.eu:27103

As an added bonus, there may be a “mumble cast” with top European caster AcidreniX. You’ll be able to tune into mumble whilst watching the game on one of FB’s STV relays! More info on this will be added when it is all confirmed. Full details on everything in this article (and more) can be found here.

So, what will happen when the competitive and public communities clash? Who are YOU rooting for? Make sure you grab a spot on STV to watch one of the most exciting, outgoing and tense games of the year!