The methods for managing your ETF2L matches have pretty much been the same since the site was first created. At a later date we introduced the schedule proposal system, to make sure both you and your opponent had to agree on a date before it was finally entered into the calendar. This system works as is, but it is in no way perfect. The handling of your matches takes place on 2 pages: The “Submit Results” page, where you enter your match results, and the “Calendar” page. Especially the second one lacks some overview with it’s 3 sections full of data it is easy to lose track of what’s going on, especially if you’re playing in multiple tournaments.

We have gathered some of your thoughts on that (made after the introduction of the scheduling system), and created an all-new page which tries to handle all the functions from the aforementioned two pages in a intuitive manner. We call this page, in a very web 2.0 style: “My Matches”.

New page

The page can be found here: [Link] It should be simple enough to be able to work with it without introduction, but we’ll give one anyway.

So how does this page work then?

How it works

When you load the page, you will see a list of all your upcoming matches.

This is what i see when i log in to my account. 2 upcoming ladder matches. The first 3 columns (competition, week/round and Match) speak for themselves. They display what match we are talking about.

Schedule history

The Schedule column shows the date this match is scheduled for, if both teams have come to an agreement that is. You’ll notice a little (+) in that column. If you click that, a list containing the full schedule history of that match will expand, so you can see who proposed what and what happened to it.

Schedule proposals

Next up is a link for making match proposals. If you click that, a dialog box will appear over the page. Here is an example of such a dialog box:

As you can see, it has 2 sections. The first section displays the latest proposal and its current status. In this particular case, the opponent suggested to play on 18/03, so there’s a button you can click to accept that proposal. If you were the one making the proposal, it would say “Awaiting opponent approval” in the same spot.

In the second section, you can suggest a new date and time for the match. Simply find the day on the calendar, add the time, and click the submit button. Adding a new proposal can be done at any time. Be it to change the proposal you made yourself, or to make a new proposal to your opponent. This will automatically reject the previous proposal. With this, you can finally edit your own proposals without waiting for your opponent to react, also a much requested feature.

SourceTV Information

Moving on is the SourceTV link. This will spawn a simple dialog where you can enter the sourceTV information of your match, to get all your fans on board.

Submit Results

The last link is, inevitably, Submit Results. This will open a dialog box, which contains nothing more than a modified version of the old submit results page you’re so familiar with. Enter the results, and submit it :)

Visual clues

Lastly: To help you realize there is work to be done on this page, we have added several visual clues. A small image will appear next to every fixture that has a schedule proposal that needs your attention. The notification widget on the front-page displays if you have any new proposals aswell, and links to the My Matches page. There is no excuse to not respond to a schedule proposal now.

Feedback

We hope you appreciate this new page and that it will help you keeping your matches organized. However, we realize that such a change won’t always go without hiccups. Therefore the old Calendar and Submit Results page will stay on-line for the time being, just in case you cannot get the new page to work. We tested it as much as we could, but you never know what problems may pop up. We advise you to use the new page in any case, and report any problems. You don’t want to be stuck when we pull the old ones off-line.

We have opened a feedback thread in our ETF2L forums, where you can report any broken sections, UI failures or other things that should be improved. If you just want to say the page is cool, that’s okay too.  [Feedback Thread]

We have three great TF2 minds casting the action, watching SourceTV alongside you. The hosts are Byte of TCM-Gaming fame, Cadred staff writer and former Division 2 player Dave, plus Team Vertex soldier and host of The Direct Hit podcast, Swarley.

• Starting at 21.15 CET

• SourceTV: fakkelbrigade.eu:27101
• Mumble cast: fakkelbrigade.eu / port 64740 / password: spuf

Alternatively, tune into the German language livestream cast from TF2Portal.de.

Thanks to FakkelBrigade for the SourceTV relay and Mumble server!

Match Overview

-- Wednesday, 17th March 21:15 CET --

ctf_turbine


I Don't Know? [13:7] The Last Resort

cp_gullywash


I Don't Know? [1:2] The Last Resort

OVERALL
I Don't Know? [3:3] The Last Resort

Week 4’s Division 1 games come to a close tonight as I Don’t Know? (4-0-2) take on Division 1 newbies The Last Resort (1-0-3).

Idk? will look to continue their stellar form on Gullywash, following recent wins there against TCM-Gaming and Power Gaming. In Week 2, both squads suffered dramatic Turbine losses, idk? falling just short of the line against What Women Want in a 9-10 loss, and TLR were on the wrong side of Turbine’s special sauce overtime rules versus Power, enduring a 10-11 defeat.

I spoke briefly with TLR scout Atreides:

How many points do you guys need from this game to stay competitive in Division 1?

Taking our future games into account, technically, we don’t need any points from this game. I think that, team morale wise, we’re realistically looking for one map win. We’ve had some convincing results on Turbine lately, and we’re fully aware of idk?’s strengths.

What’s the key to beating idk?

They’ve had some impressive wins and outstanding individual performances recently, especially from their demoman, Extremer. The game will totally depend on our ability to limit his damage potential and to take full advantage of his (at times) too aggressive moves. If we concentrate on our strengths, I forecast two close scores on both maps. The team that manages to exploit the other’s mistakes will win.

Coverage

• The game starts at 21.15 CET

• STV information will be posted here as soon as we get it.

Match Overview

-- Wednesday, 17th March 21:15 CET --

ctf_turbine


I Don't Know? [13:7] The Last Resort

cp_gullywash


I Don't Know? [1:2] The Last Resort

OVERALL
I Don't Know? [3:3] The Last Resort

Our partnership with EsportsHeaven continues with the 128 team Sapphire Challenge with €500 up for grabs.

While that partnership is strong, it is also a growing one, and we still need your support and participation. So, if you’re able to play on the evening of the 15th of March, make sure you sign-up today!

We’re also very excited to tell you about an upcoming Highlander tournament we’ll be hosting in association with Valve and TF2Lobby for new to competitive play teams. Expect details about how this involves you in the coming week!

Also make sure to check out the second episode of The Direct Hit podcast, “Who the hell decided to go valley?”, where the team takes a look at what’s wrong with competitive TF2 and how we can put a positive spin on it.

Rule changes with immediate effect

• In response to the awesome Fraglander frag movie by Sammage, we have been forced to rule that the kind of turning scripts demonstrated in his video will be banned in ETF2L play.
• After a number of issues with pauses in matches recently, in both ETF2L and the ESH cups, we are changing the pause rule to the following
  

  Teams may request a pause at any time during a match. Reasons for pausing include:

  - Player drop
  - Server problems
  - Your game is unplayable due to network issues

  If you need to pause, you must clearly request a pause and give a reason for it (for example: “Pause please, player drop”).

  The other team is then, by rule, expected to pause on behalf of their opponents in a sensible and sportsmanlike manner. They must pause at the first appropriate time.

  Teams should use their common sense about what an appropriate time to pause is. Try your best not to pause when major engagements are taking place. You should pause within 15 seconds of being asked.

  If a complaint is made that a team was either abusing the ability to request pauses to gain an unsportsmanlike advantage, or a team failed to fairly pause or took excessive time to do so after being clearly requested to pause, the admin team will review the supplied SourceTV demo and assess penalties on a case-by-case basis. Penalties include minor warning accompanied with the forfeit of the round in question, or, in extreme cases, major warning and forfeit of the map.

  A team is only expected to pause on behalf of the other team once per map. After the first pause has been used, it is up to the other team whether and when to pause or not.

  A pause cannot last more than 5 minutes. After 5 minutes have passed, the other team is free to unpause the game without the other team’s agreement, as long as they let the other team know that they are about to unpause. We advise teams to use the 5 minutes wisely: sort out whatever problem you have and arrange a sub from your roster in case the problem cannot be fixed.

  You may not unpause the game under any circumstances without giving proper warning to the other team.

• Following the results of the Obscure poll, cp_obscure_rc2 will be used in all future games until further notice.
• Please also note that several teams have fallen foul of the rule regarding the use of mercs. You must have the other team’s permission to use a merc, and all mercs must be registered with ETF2L. It is your responsibility to check this, not the other team’s. There will be no exceptions.We also advise, as always, that you get your opponent to agree to allowing your merc on the relevant match page. It’s also a good idea to screenshot their agreement (if it’s agreed in-game or through Steam chat/IRC) too.

Changes to the admin team

We regret to announce that we’re removing long-time volunteers Amonsilas and Weqo from the admin team due to inactivity. We thank them for their services to the community and wish them good luck with their future plans.

We have also taken the decision to relieve Anakin from his role in the anti-cheat team. An unfortunate conflict of interest has arisen with his position as ESL admin, and it was, in our estimation, effecting his performance in his duties with ETF2L. We are very grateful for his hard work and wish him all the best with regards to future ventures.

Following Anakin’s removal, the anti-cheat team is seriously understaffed. We are in the final stages of approving new members, who we hope will formally join the team within the next few days.

In response to allegations against anti-cheat team

Following an internal review between the head admins, anti-cheat and league staff, we have decided to uphold the anti-cheat team’s decision regarding Quad’s ban, as detailed on February the 8th. They have fully explained their decision and they have the full support of the head admins.

Due to the seriousness of the allegations made against the anti-cheat team, we have taken the decision to make an exception in publishing details of our anti-cheat team’s report.

Ticks 3000-4000: Unusual movement, microadjustments of crosshair.
4400, 5600, 5950, 6700: Kills with unusual crosshair movements and patterns.
5100, 5800: Also potentially suspicious kills

Please keep in mind that we do not release this kind of information for a reason. While these instances may look innocuous to you, it is the judgement of our anti-cheat experts that they constitute evidence of cheating.

Considering Gryzor’s behaviour towards our league and exercising his personal vendettas against certain members of our staff in the name of “improving” our community, it’s difficult to take his word seriously. Nevertheless, be assured that we took the allegations he made against our league very seriously.

For those reasons, however, and his leak of confidential admin information that he obtained through his previous role as ETF2L staff, we have taken the decision to exclude him from our community for a year.

It’s very important to us that our admins, people in positions of trust, do not abuse their role. Any admin, past or present, caught leaking information will be subject to the same penalty.

Player bans

Gryzor – Leaking confidential admin information – 1 year ban

Hastaloe – Speedhack – 1 year ban

The live draw for Round 3 fixtures took place earlier tonight in our IRC channel. The fixtures will be input into the bracket as soon as possible, hopefully by tomorrow night. The 32 teams remaining have 2 weeks to play their matches. Good luck to all the teams involved – you’re almost half way to the final!

Dates and details
• Maps are Gravel Pit, Freight and Badlands (decider)
• Schedule deadline: Sunday the 28th of February
• Match deadline: Sunday the 7th of March
• Round 4 draw: late on Sunday the 7th of March

Week 2 of Season 7

Season 7 enters its second week with a couple of challenging maps, Turbine and Well, to test your team’s tactical and technical ability. Will Well continue to throw up surprises like we saw in Week 1 with Team Empire drawing with TCM-Gaming and The Last Resort coming back to dominate Well after losing Badlands to FakkelBrigade, just like infernal Gamers did to Mister?

Dates and details
• Maps are Turbine and Well
• Schedule deadline: Sunday the 21th of February
• Match deadline: Sunday the 28th of February

Using wildcards

We’d also like to ask teams to be considerate of their opponents regarding the use of wildcards. Even though you can take a wildcard any time up to 15 minutes before your match is due to start, that doesn’t mean you should leave your opponents in the dark about whether you’re going to use it or not. Please be considerate and let them know what’s happening in good time.

If, for example, you think that you’re going to have to use a wildcard but aren’t 100% sure, it’s best practise to just use the wildcard rather than wait until the last possible moment to decide. Remember that you have two wildcards for the season. If it happens that you actually can field a team, try and arrange the game for that night, then inform an admin that the game was played and we will give you the wildcard back for future use.

Also please keep in mind that while a wildcard grants you a generous 2 weeks to reschedule, you should make the effort to arrange the match for as soon as possible rather than leave it until the last possible day, risk clashes with other competitions or running into unforeseen circumstances, and incur default losses.

Player ban

It’s with regret that we announce another player has been banned from our competitions.

Sandik – Speedhack – 1 year ban

Due to the recent release of cp_obscure_rc2, we have decided to conduct a poll to see which version of Obscure you would like to play in the upcoming league fixtures.

As Byte has already mentioned in the Obscure thread, it was a mistake to implement such changes into a release candidate version, but he feels and the majority of players he has spoken to agree that the changes were necessary. However, having said that, we realise that many clans may have already been practising hard on cp_obscure_rc1 and may wish to play this version in Season 7. So, we’re asking you, the community, to decide which version you wish to play in the league.

Please note that any versions after cp_obscure_rc2 will purely be visual and bug fixes. So any further updates to Obscure will be cosmetic and slight tweak changes only.

If you wish to discuss this further, pop along to the cp_obscure thread.

Admin departures

It is with great sadness that we have to say goodbye to our fellow admins Chocolate, Linc0ln and Jonni due to real life commitments. We thank them for all their efforts down the months and years that they have committed to ETF2L.

We are still looking for committed admins to join our league. If you’re interested in helping to push the community forward, get in touch.

If you are interested in joining our team please send an email to d2m[at]etf2l.org with the following details:

• ETF2L Nickname

• Real name, age and nationality
• Spoken languages (average english required)
• Past admin experience (crucial for AC-admins)
• Motivation: why do you want to join our team?

Season 7 starts today and will see 350 teams do battle across 6 divisions and 35 groups. The divisions have been painstakingly crafted by the admin team and are ready for you to peruse. Make sure to get in contact with the other teams in your group as soon as possible so the scheduling process goes smoothly. Check out the league-wide Week 1 fixtures.

There have been a lot of new teams added from the waiting list, so be sure to check out if you are in the tables. If you are still on the waiting list, don’t worry, there will surely be room to replace more dropping teams. Being active and easily reachable helps your chances a lot.

We’d also like to take this chance to remind teams to use the relevant match pages to record scheduling/merc/unlocks notes and agreements. Doing so will help the admin team resolve any disputes. Make sure that your team has read and understood the rules, especially if this is your first season. They have been updated with new rules regarding hijacking teams, wildcards and unlocks. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.

We wish you and your team the very best of luck.

• Fixed maps will be scheduled as follows:
  • Week 1: Badlands and Well
    Week 2: Turbine and Well
    Week 3: Granary and Gullywash
    Week 4: Turbine and Gullywash
    Week 5: Gravel Pit and Obscure
    Week 6: Freight and Obscure
    Week 7: Granary and Gorge
    Week 8: Freight and Gorge
    Week 9: Badlands and Gravel Pit

• Dates in detail:
  • Week 1 starts: Monday the 8th of February
  • Week 1 schedule deadline: Sunday the 14th of February
  • Week 1 match deadline: Sunday the 21st of February
  • Week 2 starts: Monday the 14th of February
  • Week 2 schedule deadline:Sunday the 21st of February

5th Cup Round 2 Starts

Round 2 fixtures have been generated as the Cup moves onto its second stage. Make sure to take a look at the playoff tree!

We’re also happy to announce the following TF2 merchandise as prizes, courtesy of Valve:

• 1st place: 6 t-shirts, 6 game-rig mousemats, 6 signed posters
• 2nd place: 3 t-shirts (you’ll have to fight amongst yourselves!), 6 signed posters, 6 character keyrings
• 3rd place: 6 signed posters, 6 character keyrings

Dates in detail:

• Round 2 starts: Monday the 8th of February
• Round 2 schedule deadline: Sunday the 14th of February
• Round 2 match deadline: Sunday the 21st of February
• Round 3 live draw: Sunday the 21st of February
• Round 3 starts: Monday the 22nd of February

Two more added to the banlist

The following players have been banned for cheating:

• Levela – Aimbot (Caught by Aequitas) -1 year ban
• Quad – Aimbot – 1 year ban

Admin Applications

Today we welcome Anderson to the admin team. Thanks for all the admin applications we have received, there have been more than ever before. We will be contacting people for interviews this week for further positions.

ESH ASRock Challenge Cup needs more signups

Our joint venture with ESH has been really successful so far, but we still need you guys to take part in as many competitions as possible! The latest cup called the ASRock Challenge is still accepting signups. The cup itself will run on Monday the 15th February, starting at 20:00CET. Check the ASRock Challenge Cup page for more details and get your team added before it’s too late!

The European Team Fortress 2 League and it’s admins are glad to be able to welcome 330 participating teams to the 7th ETF2L season sponsored by Steelseries.

Below you will find a list with the teams and their divisions. If your team is not on the list, don’t worry, there is still a huge chance you will be able to replace one of the teams that will fold at the start of this season. The exact divisions and fixtures will be published along with the announcement of the prizes in a newspost next weekend. The first week will start on the 8th of February and it’s schedule deadline will be on Sunday the 14th.

Season 7 – Provisional Divisions

The provisional divisions have been sorted for Season 7 – Provisional Divisions

This has been an exhaustive task, as there were unfortunately a large number of teams that signed up for Season 7 and have subsequently got less than 5 players in their team. We have replaced any team with less than 5 players left in their line-up. The teams with 5 players – you must have 6 players in your squad by Sunday 7th February 2010 or you will be replaced by a team on the waiting list.

As usual, there will likely be some teams unhappy with the divisional level they have been placed in. If you wish to discuss this, please send me an email to: d2m [at] etf2l.org. In your email, please link us to any supporting screenshots/evidence to help with your argument to be moved divisions. I’d greatly appreciate it if you could give a link to download the screenshots, not attach them to your email. This is an invitation to discuss your team’s position with us and allow us to better place your team should we feel it is necessary. Please note that rage posting on the forum or news comments will not assist your team in any way.

Config Update

In the great updates valve has blessed us with 2 new commands drew our attention. The first one turns off the random spread pattern of weapons like the shotgun and uses  a fixed pattern instead. The second one allows the use of the ingame voice-chat for talking to your team, even while you are dead.  Both are perfect for competitive gaming. And the official ETF2L config will therefore be updated with those 2 commands. Please update your server with this new version of our config and use it in any upcoming Cup, Ladder and League matches.

-> [Official ETF2L League Config] <-

Admin search

As our league is ever expanding the ETF2L will be looking for new league and anti-cheat admins to strengthen our staff. _Ben has joined the Admin team this weekend, and we are looking for a couple more admins to assist us with a number of competitions and ideas for 2010.

If you are interested in joining our team please send an email to d2m[at]etf2l.org with the following details:

Season 6 Award Winners

As the start of a fresh new season comes closer we still have to honour the winners of the awards for season 6.  TCM-gaming’s Zerox deserves a special spotlight for being voted player and scout of the season. He is also the only non-Finnish player that won one of this seasons class votes. Our congratulations to the winners and a big thanks to everyone who voted.

Team awards:

• Most Surprising Team -  illegal! (Division 1)
• Fairplay Award -  CantFitMyN (Division 6i)
• Most Disappointing Drop -  Team CoolerMaster (Division 1 – old lineup)
• Division 3 team of the Season -  Monster Munch
• Division 4 team of the Season -  Clones-Inc
• Division 5 team of the Season -  Monkey Gamers
• Division 6 team of the Season -  Klan:fader

Player awards:

• Player of the season Zerox (TCM-Gaming)
• Most Underrated Player -  Gdk (Recapture)
• Demoman of the Season - Hymzi (illegal!)
• Medic of the Season -  Kyynel (Power Gaming)
• Scout of the Season – Zerox (TCM-Gaming)
• Soldier of the Season -  Hocz (illegal!)

Other:

• Biggest scandal –   boomeh caught cheating

As a final note, many thanks to _Ben, Racio and Anrolif who stayed up very late to finalise the divisions and get them posted for you as soon as we possibly could. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to read this news post and look at the divisions over your breakfast.

The live draw for Round 1 fixtures took place in our IRC channel tonight. The fixtures from the draw are currently being manually input into our system by our admin team and should be done by tomorrow evening.

ETF2L’s previous cups have given us some all-time classic encounters between Europe’s best and most exciting up-and-coming teams, so let’s hope we can bring some of that same magic to this edition of the series. The admin team would like to wish all participants the very best of luck.

Round 1 begins tomorrow and the schedule deadline is this coming Sunday, the 31st. All Round 1 fixtures must be completed by the end of Sunday the 7th of February.

• Map list for each round:
• Round 1: Badlands, Gullywash, Fastlane (decider)

• Round 2: Granary, Obscure, Well (decider)
• Round 3: Gravel Pit, Freight, Badlands (decider)
• Round 4: Turbine, Badlands, Granary (decider)
• Quarter Finals: Granary, Gravel Pit, Freight (decider)
• Semi Finals: Each team picks one map, Gullywash (decider)
• 3rd Place Match: Each team picks one map, Obscure (decider)
• Finals: Each team picks one map, Gravel Pit (decider)
• There can be no draws in Cup games. If a map ends as a draw, you must play a Golden Cap round to decide a winner of that map!
• The ETF2L cfg will be updated imminently. If you do play your Round 1 game before we release it, make sure you enable fixed weapon spread. It’s your responsibility to check this.
• The Force’A’Nature, Sandman, Direct Hit and Buff Banner are limited to 1 per team. All other unlocks are allowed. Teams are free to agree about limiting unlocks further, but such an agreement must be noted on the relevant match page.
• Any agreement between two teams regarding the use of mercs, wild cards or servers must be recorded on the relevant match page. We cannot help you settle any of these disputes unless the issue has been confirmed by both teams on the match page. It is your responsibility to make sure you and your opponent follow this rule.
• If an agreement can not be reached between both teams about what server your game will be played on, contact an admin as soon as possible to arrange the use of an ETF2L server.
• Any merc you use must be registered with ETF2L. Any mercs used without express written permission from the other team on the relevant match page will result in harsh penalties.

Dates in detail:

• Round 1 starts: Monday the 25th of January

• Round 1 schedule deadline: Sunday the 31st of January
• Round 1 match deadline: Sunday the 7th of February
• Round 2 fixtures generated: Monday the 8th of February
• Round 2 starts: Monday the 8th of February
• All fixtures for all rounds will be randomly generated

Anthony – banned for 1 year, using wallhack

Massi – banned for 1 year due to VAC + Aequitas ban – Admitted to cheating