Can we just stop bringing out all of the great TF2 for ONE MINUTE PLEASE? No?! Okay fine, let’s have it, another Invitational tournament. This one though is a little different, it's the TeamFortress.TV Highlander Invitational #2, so that means it's 9v9 baby, oh yeah it's always good to mix things up, just ask Mrs Hildreth in the bedroom.
Tune in from 10:00 EDT / 16:00 CEST on Sunday 19th October, if you are a fan of the one of each class game mode, as it is the maiden voyage of the SS Euro Highlander scene onto the centre stage of TFTV stream. The confirmed casting partnership of Admirable and HiGPS will bring both good looks and knowledge of TF2 to the table to compliment the quality production you expect from TFTV.
This event will be backed by TF2Pickup.net, serveme.tf and a rumoured smattering of Tt eSPORTS goodies for the viewers to fight over as we prepare for a marathon of Highlander action in the lead up to the ETF2L Highlander Season 7, scheduled to commence in early November,
UPDATE The teams will be fighting over 9 Tt eSPORTS “Dasher” mousepads as prize for the winner, and possibly some in-game items and keys for the runners-up to feed their trading addiction.
Eight teams from the top of European Highlander have been invited, sadly though we have seen a few flames fizzle out over the summer. Last season's runners-up and regular season table toppers itsallgood folded after many years of being together and ravaging in the battlegrounds of Badwater, alas we say a silent prayer for Bulow, the new patron saint of Northern Ireland as he drifts into our distant memories. The other notable Premiership team to fold was Jamais Vu, better known as the once unbeatable SNSD who faded in recent seasons to the shadows of mid-table mediocrity, yet it is a smaller tournament without the dynasty's presence. Finally the Division 1 winners, Lets Go Bananas went through many revamps, changing their name to Momentum eSports, but lacked the sort of vigour their team name implies, wasting away during the summer holidays. These three teams' deaths have left a bit of a gap to fill, but luckily we have some keen, up and coming teams with the requisite talent hoping to make themselves heard in this tournament.
First up the surviving ETF2L Champions, Highpander (whom of which I share no common connection to, I swear) will return to compete once again with Season 5 ETF2L champions and UGC Season 11 winners Kill Switch, who have brought back most of their title winning roster after a disappointing 4th place last season. Chessclub Techniques also return with a revamped side trying to pick up from their momentum of a 3rd place ETF2L to try and add their first TF2 tournament win after a succession of 2nd and 3rd place finishes in all three major EU leagues.
UGC season 12 champions Stacked will also make an appearance, however with a very different side that narrowly missed out on playoffs amid the “Samsung Galaxy-Gate” scandal of last season, also being joined by Fair Enough, who managed to maintain their Premiership spot last season by beating Division 1 runners-up Premtech, who are looking to build on their win in the final season of Wireplay. The last two sides left will be ze Germans Team Nein, who came 3rd in Division 1 and are ready for a crack at the Premiership sides along with another emerging force, Voodooh who may only have came runners-up in Division 2 but have been showing an impressive streak in their attempt to rise up the tables.
A more in depth look at the teams and their respective rosters, including how they have seeded themselves will follow suite in another article before next Sunday as we complete the circle and unlock the achievement for completing invitational tournaments for both 6v6 and 9v9 in Europe and North America.
With so many events going on in the TF2 world, we may be about to see the influx of new players that have come into European Highlander as a result of the Highlander Open and TF2Center (plus a summer of Nations Cup action on BlackOut Gaming TV) start picking up the game in Europe's premier league, ETF2L, for their seventh Highlander season.
Big thanks to kKaltUu for his role in organising the event, Yggdrasil for the delightful promotional artwork and whitelist.tf for simplifying life.