Schedule (EDT) – Subject to Change

21st May
Open Round 1 – 16:00
Invite Round 1 & Open Round 2 – 17:00
Invite Round 2 & Open Round 3 – 18:00
Invite Round 3 & Open Round 4 – 19:00

22nd May
Invite Round 4 & Open Round 5 – 16:00
Invite Round 5 & Open Round 6 – 17:00
Tiebreaker Rounds – 18:00
UB Round 1 & LB Round 2 – 18:45

28th May
UB Round 2 & LB Round 2 – 16:00
LB Round 3 – 18:15
UB Finals & LB Round 4 – 20:30

29th May
LB Round 5 – 16:00
LB Finals – 18:15
Grand Finals (Bo5) – 20:30

https://essentials.tf/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022CCD-MAYNATF2CLASH.jpg

We are happy to announce that DreamHack Community Clash is back! On May 21-22 & 28-29th, we will be hosting an online tournament for North American teams. Signups for this tournament are now live! There is also another announcement on its way sometime soon, so stay tuned…

This is the event thread for this tournament sponsored by DreamHack and organised by EssentialsTF. Details about the event will be posted here when available, so any questions place any questions here. We will try to answer all questions promptly. I would encourage any teams interested to check out the tournament pages which contains all the relevant details about the event, but also keep an eye on our twitter page and Clash.TF for updates:

All matches are played using the Unity Cup Config (30min match/5min round timers; Winlimit 5; Continuous Overtime - +1 rule; Bo5 KOTH) and RGL Whitelists. Updated configs can be found on NA Serveme under the names unity_5cp_rgl and unity_koth_rgl (https://essentials.tf/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/unity_cup_rgl.zip).

EssentialsTF Discord

Invite Qualifiers:
Up to 6 Teams will make up our invite groups. If there are enough teams (aka more than 6) that want to play Invite we will run Invite Qualifiers from 16-20th May.

Structure of the qualifiers will be small round robin groups which you can play and schedule freely within the week prior to signups closing.

12 Team Cap

Registration ends 15th May @ 1 am EDT.

Link: https://play.toornament.com/en_GB/tournaments/5629406496420880384/

Main Tournament:
Signups start 26th April and end 20th May @ 1 am EDT
21-22nd May: Invite Round Robin and Open Swiss (Bo1), Group Tiebreakers (Bo1) and first stage of Playoffs (Bo3).
28-29th May: Double Elimination Bracket (Bo3 with Bo5 Grand Finals)

Prize Pool

1. $1,200
   
2. $600
   
3. $420
   
4. $240

Link: https://play.toornament.com/en_GB/tournaments/5623087432864137216/

There is a soft region lock, no teams can have more than 3 players from a region that is not North America without admin approval. Feel free to reach out to admins through the Essentials Discord.

TL;DR

• Timelimit 30, Winlimit 5, and Round Timer 5 should be implemented by all leagues/tournaments ASAP
  
• The impact of Continuous Overtime was not as severe on scheduling as planned, but an indefinite match time for all standard matches is very risky in time-sensitive competitions.
  
• Continuous Overtime should replace Golden Cap

I think that the viewpoints of players and spectators are very important, yet I would like to give my feedback based as an organiser/TA.

I believe that we should be playing the same game, regardless of whether its a PUG, Official, League or LAN. It's been something I've advocated for a while now and so that I why I was very keen to help admin this Unity Cup. So I'll quickly put down my thoughts about the ruleset.

Short thoughts:

• There is no reason that everyone shouldn't be using Winlimit 5, leagues and tournaments should make this change ASAP. Windifference is fine, but at the point where WD would come into play Winlimit does that far easier and much quicker.
  
• Leagues and tournaments should use Round Timer 5, theres still some debate on it but I think that it is an improvement on the game by removing 10min stalemates. In the vast majority of settings round timer has no impact (on average, rounds in the Invite Groups & Playoffs Bracket lasted around 5 minutes total) and in the cases where it does I'd imagine teams would be stalemating regardless of whether its 10 or 5 minutes, but that's just me.
  
• A combination of Winlimit 5, Timelimit 30, and Round Timer 5 should be the standard across all leagues in all regions, and this should be done soon.

Continuous Overtime
The more complicated part of this discussion from a TA/Organiser point is the use of the continuous overtime (+1 round) rule. For LAN and Weekend Cup competitions, like iSeries and Community Clash we have blocked out 1 hour for a BO1 and then a 15 minute 'break'. This is incredibly generous and in 90% of cases most matches end way before the next round is due which tends to create a fair amount of downtime, much to the dismay of players. But this is by design for 2 key reasons:

1. Health and rest for Staff & Players
   
2. Scheduling and preventing delays

We block out more time than the match is expected to take because we expect delays. Be technical issues, players being late to contact one another, pick/bans, a late start, or just a long match. Because right now under the old ruleset a match has a finite timepool from which we can confidently construct a schedule that runs pretty much on time, as its a schedule that expects things to go wrong. A continuous overtime presents a risk of a match running beyond our expectations and delaying the entire tournament, in the case of a Swiss setup.

What we found in this Unity Cup is that on average (for Invite & Playoff Matches), matches that went into continuous overtime (AKA past 30 mins) only went on for another 10 minutes with the most extreme case being NOOBPANZER vs Witness going for 50+ minutes. Under the schedule setup we've used at LAN/Weekend Cups we can likely do a BO1 within an hour, BO3 within 2 1/2 and a BO5 within 4 hours using the Unity Cup rule set as is. I was surprised that the tournament ended up running pretty much on schedule or even ahead of it, so I can say that its possible.

The other side of me though thinks that its risky to assume that it will be the case in future events. To this end, I think that the overtime should only activate at a draw or at most a 1-round deviation (1-0, 2-1, 3-2,4-3), and only in matches where there must be a Win or a Loss (things like Playoffs etc.). Basically, removing Golden Cap for a Continuous Overtime rule. Ending a match and then re-execing stuff and re-readying up actually takes quite a lot of time so in this case an overtime rule would actually probably end up saving time. If garbage time is really a problem for teams/players, then I'd recommend implementing the GG plugin again, just with tighter restrictions on when it can be used (3 mins left on match, only by losing team).

In summary, this format has promise and there are parts I definitely feel have value and should be implemented straight away, but the use of Continuous Overtime in standard matches would likely cause massive headaches from an Admin/Organiser's perspective, particularly in time-sensitive tournaments like Weekend Cups and LANs.

The toxicity in this game is as frequent as most other modern titles. What is different compared to lets say LoL or Valorant is that those games have a MUCH bigger playerbase so whilst you will encounter toxic people frequently, its incredibly rare to come against the same person twice in a single night, or even ever again. Plus these games have quick tools to mute or block them, preventing you from ever having to deal with them in the future.

TF2, comp TF2 especially so, does not have this luxury. Its very likely that you'll remember one or two individuals who really ruined your day and unless they get banned or you actively avoid them its inevitable that you'll see them again. The impact one person has on a players experience in comp play is far higher than in other games. Even worse are these circlejerks these people find which form groups big enough that you're always going to encounter someone from them at some point, which is especially bad if you are someone they've labelled as someone to target specifically.

Yet, that same system allows you to find groups or communities that are the complete opposite. Leagues or platforms have large power to prevent such individuals from competing on their sites, which by proxy can outright ban them from taking part in competitive play. So whilst each individual has more impact, they have more accountability. Ultimately its not a matter that TF2 is more toxic than other games, but rather about those you surround yourself with.

https://twitter.com/DreamHack/status/1470786849098579969

https://dreamhack.com/blog/2021/12/14/dreamhack-anaheim-2022-cancelled/

Measures should now be in place for people to get refunds if they have purchased a ticket. We will assist where possible although any queries regarding the refunding process should be directed towards DreamHack first, as we have no involvement on that side.

With that being said, we will continue to monitor the COVID situation to determine when and where it is safe to bring LAN back to the global TF2 audience. If you are aware of any events, organisers, or venues that you believe could be a place for a viable and sustainable LAN competition please don't hesitate to get in contact with one of the EssentialsTF team leads.

At this point in time we do not wish to confirm anything, but we are engaging in a dialogue with DreamHack and others to explore our options for the 2022 year. Given the recency of this cancellation, we want to assure any loose ends as a result of this decision are closed before we look to the next event.

There will be an update on their end soon, I believe there are certain things they need to set up before they formally announce it.

I want to inform you all that the decision was made to cancel the tournament due to rising COVID cases both domestically and internationally. It is frustrating, but it must be done to protect those around us.

We will continue to work on bringing NA a community LAN that anyone can participate in, but for now plans are on hold.

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Yeah, my bad on that one. Currently there are no official dates for Insomnia.

Just bumping this thread to confirm that the event in question will be DreamHack Anaheim. A forum for the event has been posted here on TFTV so you are free to start booking. Any questions about the event should be directed there first.

https://www.teamfortress.tv/60693/dreamhack-anaheim

cu@

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It's with a heavy heart that due to rising COVID cases both domestically and internationally, the TF2 tournament DreamHack Anaheim will be cancelled. It is a frustrating announcement to have to make, but the safety of those around us has to take priority. This has been a very recent development and was something we were not aware of or expecting. The North American scene has long waited for a LAN that anyone can turn up to, whether they have took part in the Newbie Drive or have been topping the Invite leaderboards. We really wanted this to be the start, but that beginning has to be put on hold.

For those that have already purchased tickets, I have been assured that there will be full refunds available and we will let you know when this is ready. We will work with them to ensure that anyone that has spent money on this event gets a full reimbursement.

In the meantime we will look into some online events that could be run in its stead. LAN is not off the table, but plans are currently on hold.

We are in touch with partners and have reached out to them to gain more details. I will aim for an update sooner than your mentioned date as I am aware people would like more information before making a solid decision, however a fixed date at this point cannot be certain. We are working our hardest to get information to you as soon as we can.