.ALPHAGLΩCK.

• juxta
• varnu
• amppis
• Maccy
• syrus
• iMauriceiNoob

Season 52’s silver medallists return again with the same roster for another bite of the cherry. Their run last season started poorly: they were convincingly beaten by The Odds in Week 1 and were one of only two teams from which last-placed Club Lugs took points. In the playoffs, they started with a closer defeat by The Odds before storming through the lower bracket to set up a rematch: a resounding 2-0 victory, including a mathematically precise overtime win on Gullywash to take them to the Grand Final. There, they ran out of luck and of pluck, but took home a silver medal that pundits had thought was beyond their reach.

In Season 52’s awards, amppis won Pocket of the Season (and was arguably MVP of Finland’s Nations Cup run to fourth place) while Syrus – aka Mr Soundboard – won Debut of the Season. Maccy, varnu and juxta were all runners-up on their roles, while only iMaurice was snubbed by admins determined to censor the success of the VitaSaw.

Compared to other teams, this is a team that should take third place but should struggle to do better. Returning with an identical roster, though, bodes very well for their season to come: they are familiar with each other; they have experience at the top; they share strategy and tactics and synergy. Most importantly, they are on the same page. This is not just a one-off team but a roster with the same goals and who agree on the way there. Last season, when it got messy for .ALPHAGLΩCK. it got very messy. When it goes well, however, it could go superbly: they have the potential to match the pace of the best teams’ gameplay, but the key question they must answer is whether they can refine their reactions to flow together as smoothly as they must in the most crucial of moments.

TFTV: You beat The Odds to finish second place last season, but this season the field of opponents looks stronger by comparison. Where are you hoping to place this season?

amppis: I don't really want to set any specific expectations for what place we should finish or put any extra pressure on us. The competition is obviously a lot stronger than last season, but I think we can still have respectable results or even beat some of really good teams this season. But we're gonna have to improve a lot and put some work in for sure.

TFTV: In your playoff run last season, was there any player in particular that you think stepped up to help you finish as strongly as you did?

amppis: I think everyone did great really, our scouts had super good comms and everyone was playing super high energy and coordinated. The difference between earlier in the season and the playoffs for us was night and day. Hoping that we can make as much progress this season again too.

TFTV: Are .ALPHAGLΩCK. going to poLANd.tf 2027?

amppis: Yeah, we are pretty much set on going. Its what we are ultimately focused on from now on as the final goal.

CIAO

• junnu
• kori
• n4ver
• jekeb
• Dejvi
• seeds

CIAO left it until the final moments to say hello to the rest of this Autumn’s Premiership cohort, but managed to form just in time to claim a spot to test themselves against the best. Captain Dejvi has been hard at work to make this one come together, and the squad he has assembled might well be strong enough to turn some heads.

Leading the line on pocket scout is junnu, fresh from an impressive run in the recent ETF2L Nations Cup where he toppled Sweden and Germany en-route to his fourth place finish. His compatriot kori joins to make an all-Finnish scout duo, an unused substitute in that run who has dipped in-and-out of Prem multiple times over the past few years, notably on sammakot and TLR. jekeb on the other hand is using this team as his first ever opportunity to dip into Prem altogether, after numerous seasons of great showings in Div 1 this is his best chance to show his talents at the top level of competition. His pocket partner n4ver won't be a familiar name to anyone who has only kept their eyes limited to the European leagues, but will instantly raise the eyebrows of anyone familiar with the Asian TF2 scene. This Singaporean soldier has four recent Asiafortress gold medals to his name and a dream to prove his strength outside the small scene where he began. The ever-keen captain Dejvi broke into the top tiers in Season 48 with DTR and since then has steadily improved to the point where he has become somewhat of a mainstay at this level. Finally rounding out the roster is ex- NerdRage/ TF2Easy medic seeds, whose activity has reduced since their time as one of the top medics in the scene, but with someone who peaks as high as theirs the years can easily be rolled back.

A real conundrum for anyone's power rankings due to a vast amount of uncertainties, but all the more reason to pay attention to the fate of CIAO this season. How does n4ver (and by extension the rest of the Asian scene) stack up against EU? Will the newer and returning players be up to the task despite minimal preparation? And will Dejvi manage to break his curse of 6th place finishes at the highest level?

TFTV: With CIAO being a new roster, it can be hard to directly compare it to existing teams. That being said, what placement are you realistically hoping for in this online season?

Dejvi: It's hard for us to give you a clear placement. We only really played a couple of scrims as of right now (12th of October). Ideally we are aiming for a top 4 finish, top 3 would be even better but only time will tell. It will all depend on how keen and motivated we'll be as a team!

TFTV: Will CIAO be attending poLANd.tf 2027?

Dejvi: We do not know yet. Again we have played very few games together so far, the general idea in the team is that we are all down to go to poLANd, which was actually my main goal, but we also agreed that we would like to see how we get on first, before committing time and money to it. We are definitely going to take advantage of the sign ups being open until November 15th, with the entry system being qualifiers which helps us a lot more than a first come first served one would

CUBISM

• Houf
• wyser
• Def
• Lupus
• kul
• Skiii

CUBISM’s debut Premiership campaign was a success in some regards but a disappointment in others. Their fearless and bombastic playstyle proved too much for The Compound and Club Lugs to handle in the early stages, propelling the team into the upper echelons of the Swiss system. However once there they struggled to keep it together against the stronger teams in the division, eventually settling in 5th position - just one place outside of the upper bracket for playoffs. This dropped kul's squad straight into a last chance match in the lower bracket against their week 1 victims The Compound, the 8th seed. An eminently winnable game on paper, but one that their opponents refused to give away easily. A clever pick-ban from The Compound and a determined comeback on the decider map process was enough to steal away the series and eliminate CUBISM in only the first round of Top playoffs.

Undeterred, CUBISM are back with a new-look roster and a vengeance. Houf and wyser rejoin the roster as the scout duo, a combo which actually formed the chariot for CUBISM’s High 3rd place finish back in Season 50. The rest of the roster remains unchanged from Season 52, so we can expect to see plenty more of their usual forms of abstract art: flank demoman, crazy backcaps and relentless aggression. Will it be enough to stand up to the improved Premiership cohort this season, and will they be able to extend their 4-season streak of making playoffs every time?

Explosive Dogs

• tenno
• senko / chey
• zen
• AlienSmiley
• Afri
• Sossok

Season 51s Division 2 champions were thrown into an unfortunate scenario at the start of Season 51. Given their almost unchanged roster, they intended to play in Division 1 the following season, but the merge with Prem to form the “Top” division thrust Explosive Dogs straight into the big leagues. Whilst they quite understandably struggled against the very top seeded teams, the French side proved a good match for the teams in the middle-of-the-pack and finished the regular season with 14 points, a remarkable achievement for a team that was playing in Div 2 just a few months prior. Playoffs saw them exact revenge on Garda Panteri before eventually falling victim to both “Div 1” grand finalists - EXPOSE ME, EXPOSE ME and The Compound.

The resulting 6th place finish and the string of impressive results that got them there landed Explosive Dogs with a place in Premiership this season, a first for many of the squad. The only departing player from last season’s starting roster is flank scout and go-to sniper offclasser yakalelo, who breaks up a long-standing scout partnership with tenno. senko joins in replacement for their first taste of Prem in a 12 year career, and ex /for fence scout chey joins as a scout sub to cover any gaps in availability.

As with the other teams remaining in the top flight after Season 52, the scale of opposition facing Explosive Dogs will be cranked up by multiple notches this Autumn. On paper it won’t be an easy ride, but this squad has exceeded expectations before, and they will be trying everything in their power to do it again.

MANDEM

• balder
• zoey
• Brujman
• ry4n
• Fancy
• june

It's hard to overstate the significance of the performance that this very squad produced on the world stage this February. For three long years, they sat in wG’s shadow as clear second-best, never able to match them when it mattered most. But this winter in Łódź, it was different. Just one week after two humbling 2-1 defeats to DM in Premiership playoffs, they stormed through the upper bracket of LAN to set up a rematch with their eternal rivals, against whom they clutched a 3-2 victory in one of the most intensely fought series that this esport has ever seen. MANDEM had finally proved themselves to any of the remaining doubters and had done so in front of the whole TF2 world.

So what's next? MANDEM have already confirmed their intent to defend their international title at poLANd.tf 2027, however in the meantime they are seeing a couple of changes to the roster that lifted the trophy in Łódź. haunts had returned to the team in January on a temporary basis for the remainder of Season 51 and LAN, and arguably hit career-beat form whilst doing so. However, he sits back on the bench in favour of Brujman, who returns to competition following the end of his four-year long captaincy of /for fence, during which he climbed from Div 2 to being the first all-French roster to win Prem. Now he is looking for a new challenge, and with silver and bronze poLANd.tf medals already in his cabinet he is only one great LAN performance away from joining balder and haunts in the exclusive club of players with the full collection.

Despite many valiant attempts, MANDEM’s sole Premiership gold came all the way back in Season 47, two and a half years ago. With clear improvements in LAN form since then, will this new-look team fresh off the back of LAN glory be able to show that they are the greatest both on and off-line?

Noodles, Don't noodles

• andi
• ixy
• papi
• Silentes
• LUKASTANK
• auto

Four years ago Witness Gaming EU were the best in Europe and the second best in the world. A year and a half ago they became uncontested world number one. Six months ago, the crown slipped through their fingers as MANDEM took it from them at poLANd.tf 2026 in what everyone – the squad included – thought would be their swansong. We all thought wrong.

The five old hands of Witness need no introduction; all have a strong argument to be the best in the world at what they do. However, the tip of the spear has changed. After seven years with Witness and Ascent EU, toemas_ has departed, and in his place comes Europe’s hottest prospect andi.

For more than a year, the squad have had their eyes on the duude. andi first stood in for them in S50, in only his sixth match in Prem, and against ÜBERFEST 2025 runners up DM he went 52:25. In his second season, he came third with The Ender Pearls, ahead of kek minoin samurai but behind the LAN-ready squads of MANDEM and DM. When a permanent place in the wok opened up, his raw talent was undeniable.

18 months ago the Noodles were on top of the world. 6 months ago they fell inches short of retaining their crown. This is a squad built, like several others, to be the best in the world. They should beat most other teams with comfort, this season; anything but a Grand Final finish is failure, and yet for the Noodles online play no longer really matters. Mistakes may happen in the early weeks but don’t expect them to make the same mistake twice.

TFTV: After poLANd.tf 2026 there were rumours that your team was considering retirement. Were these true, and if so what motivated you to carry on?

papi: Quit, don't quit?

Noodles, don't noodles

You are too concerned about

what was and what will be.

There is a saying

Yesterday is History

Tomorrow is A mystery

But Today is A gift

That is why it is called

The "Present"

protfx.com/6v6

• flick
• snh
• jubba
• alov
• front
• poy

Following a long summer of leading England to glory in the ETF2L Nation's Cup #11, jubba is already back to the grind with his new PUG-star project to take on the latest online season. His England and The Odds teammate flick joins him on pocket scout, a duo that not only won the Nations Cup together but also the entire Premiership division back in Season 46. The team’s flank scout, snh, doesn't have to look as far back for his last Prem gold as he topped the league only last season, winning the both the Flank Scout and Offclasser of the Season awards in the process - watch out for that sniper! alov’s MGE World Championship win in Philly remains the main narrative surrounding him, and for an achievement of that scale it is understandable, making it easy to overlook the wealth of Premiership and LAN experience that he brings on both soldier and scout. He will be maining the former this season, but the latter may prove useful should snh decide to start picking up the rifle. front, who played alongside alov in Poland's recent Nations Cup quarter final run, joins on demoman for his Premiership debut season one year on from winning High in Season 50. Finally, poy rounds out the roster on medic, committing to her first full season in almost 3 years, keeping warm in this time with a wealth of mercing and protfx PUGs.

On paper, protfx.com/6v6 have the mechanical skill and result history to brush shoulders with the very best in Prem. Six of the continent’s top players, with synergy built from weeks of sleepless nights playing pickups together, this is truly a roster to be feared.

Going Normal

• cz731
• ivan
• Daemon
• Dave
• adamcz
• Padux

A beyond-last-minute signup, this team was initially placed in Division 1 but upon the announcement that FimoZ Clan were dropping on the Wednesday of week 1, team leader Dave volunteered his team as a replacement. A decision that is in equal parts brave and respectable, and one which the admins were willing to accommodate given the circumstances. Going Normal were one of the favourites to win Div 1 this season after their third placed finish in Season 51, but do they have what it takes to hang with the very toughest?

With contributions from JMaxchill.