On February 18 this year, Valve released an update to Source SDK Base, making the current Team Fortress 2 code publicly available. The community which has been creating its own TF2 content for nearly two decades can now make its own TF2 games (complete with Steam release). The possibilities are limitless, fitting to the tradition of the Fortress saga which started as a mod (of Quake) itself almost 30 years ago.

Major TF2 mods such as TF2 Classic and Pre-Fortress 2 that already existed off-Steam are preparing for their Steam releases * while the competitive community of TF2C has already kicked off its organization, CompTF2C, on whose soil this article is planted. These mods base their identities to the early (even pre-alpha) versions of TF2, they are searching for their places in the realm of Fortress games, and competitive TF2C is still figuring out its meta, the most viable game modes and the rules. There could be no better time to remember the early years of live TF2’s competitive scene, which were also full of chances, exploration, and innovation.

It has been five years since teamfortress.tv’s massive effort to review the previous decade of competitive TF2 (2010-2019), chronicling the era and its legacy.

This article aims to take it from its beginnings (2007-2009), with insights from a bird’s-eye view, then to the narrative of the period that followed after (2009-2011) with a depiction of its atmosphere and mentions of its milestones.

A Full Match of competitive TF2 Classic is played on August 30, demonstrating the unique game modes and how they are made viable with customized server tech.

The amount and quality of work put on strategies, map talks and map call outs in preparation of the match, and the resulting gameplay footage have exceeded our expectations; all of it contributing significantly to our collective know-how on the unique modes. Here is the complete set.

A Full Match: Viewer’s Guide
Overview of how 6v6+ format (including the VIP) and the TF2C-unique game modes play out.

A Full Match: POV Videos
Includes 🥯 koth_bagel, ⚓ vip_harbor, 🐓 td_sunnyside, ☔ vipr_drizzle
silvanFull POV
sagekoth_bagel vip_harbor vipr_drizzle
jrFull POV

A Full Test Match | August 23
Includes 🏔️ dom_sawtooth, vip_harbor, td_sunnyside (1 half)
silvan Full POV

Map talk including call outs, by Wag and silvan
Provisional positioning for vip_harbor by Wag and silvan – RED on 1st, BLU on 1st, RED on 2nd
Blank map overviews for call out image creation by Jaws – vip_harbor, vipr_drizzle, td_sunnyside, dom_sawtooth
Provisional call outs by Güven – td_sunnyside

In the last 14 days, 8 TF2 Classic teams participating in CompTF2C’s 4v4 Cup have played 17 maps in 13 official matches: 11 group matches, 1 group tie-breaker, and a consolation game between the losers of each group to determine the 7th-place team. 2 of these matches were of intercontinental nature, having teams composed of players from the three different continents involved: Europe, North America and South America (see all results in the tournament page). There were a few unfortunate default losses related with scheduling difficulties, which are to be expected given many of the players are new to competitive. Nevertheless, all the teams have experienced at least one official match.

Medic’s Rejuvenator proved itself as a viable 4v4 secondary weapon so far, while TF2 Classic Pyro has truly unleashed its potential as the Euro group winner pyro to mid is still showing us how it is done. There is yet to be revealed about competitive TF2 Classic as we go into the final week of October 6-12, where the last remaining four teams will play two Semi-Finals and a Grand Final. To stay tuned and keep up with match dates check out the Discord server, and look at the live updates below.

🔴 LIVE (last update on 15/10)

Where to watch?
EU STV: connect 140.238.103.207:27021
NA STV: connect 64.181.210.80:27021 (for the map picks of AD- Academy)
silvan POV with comms: twitch.tv/silvantf (for the matches of Brotherhood)

🏆 Grand Final
pyro to mid 2 – 0 Brotherhood of Dark Psychology | 15/10 ^{20:15 CEST}
cp_warmfrost (5-0), koth_bagel (3-0), koth_clearcut

Semi-Final #1
Geneva Suggestion 0 – 2 pyro to mid | 12/10 ^{19:00 CEST}
koth_bagel (2-3), koth_product (1-3), cp_warmfrost

Semi-Final #2
AD- Academy 0 – W Brotherhood of Dark Psychology | Default Win

From an idea onto the canvas, starting all the way from the rough sketches, the competitive TF2 Classic scene has been the artwork of a visionary community, and a true metamorphosis in itself. Its latest brush stroke, the 4v4 Cup announced in the Discord server on August 28, expected to be a 4-team single-elimination show, proved to attract 8 teams and enough commitment for a group stage to be played as well. The details are shared below and in the tournament page. Specific match dates, results, STVs, and live streams will be announced mainly on Discord along the way.

For now, we encourage all the long-timers and the dreamers to take a brief moment to appreciate TF2 Classic having organized competitive teams, scrimming with each other, and participating in its own competition.

Thank you.

Schedule
Group Stages (round-robin): September 22-28.
Group tie-breakers and Play-Offs: September 29 – October 5.
Semi-Finals and the Grand Final: October 6-12.

Participants
Signed-up teams: 5 EU (EURO GROUP), 1 NA, 1 SA, 1 intercontinental (WORLD GROUP)
Rostered players: 40

Map Pool
koth_product, koth_maple_ridge, koth_ashville, cp_warmfrost (3CP), koth_bagel, koth_clearcut, dom_lilcanyon (unofficial 2-point version of dom_oilcanyon)

After the TF2 Classic competitive scene decided to go more structured this year, the fundamental questions of rules, win conditions and game formats were raised. Like, how would one play the asymmetric Territorial Domination (TD) maps that spawns teams at random points at round start, and how many players a team would be composed of if the non-class Civilian (VIP) was involved… Not only were these formulated, but also the required server plugins and configs were developed until April to make competitive TF2 Classic possible and viable.

The pick-up games organized regularly already provided testing grounds for most of CompTF2C’s ruleset and server tech, and constant improvement followed the initial release. However, a full scale test was still due, and that is what we present today: A Full Match. In a match that will be played in the 6v6+ format, simulating the so-called sit out mechanic (of the “plus” format) for the Civilian (VIP) players, all four unique game modes of TF2 Classic will be demonstrated competitively: VIP, VIPR (VIP Race), TD and DOM (Domination).

You will be able to enjoy this show match live in the STV server (140.238.103.207:27021) on August 30, Saturday at 20:00 UTC (22:00 CET or 16:00 EST). Read the guide below for what you will witness that night.