This is United Fortress. Click here for CompTF2C.

Two spring season Grand Finals from two continents and two game modes on one Saturday

The last weekend of spring 2026 is bringing Team Fortress 2 fans top-tier live action for the game mode and time zone of their choice.

The first one is the ETF2L Highlander (9v9) Season 35 (Spring 2026) Grand Final between 3AM and GANJA. The backbone of 3AM is the 16 times ETF2L highlander champions SDCK, who had broken up in the near past. There was not enough written coverage on the topic at the time, and it’s never too late to learn more about it.

We broke up in 2024, but not because we wanted to, but because we felt there was no other choice – several members of our squad refused to continue participating in ETF2L for as long as people we strongly believed were cheating were allowed to continue playing in the league with us. I took up an offer to offclass for a div1 team the following season, and the season after 3AM was created by former SDCK members laiky and mezzo and they asked me to play engie for that team with the single goal of trying to beat the team that had a cheater on it, the goal we managed to achieve in our first season together. – Clark

If ETF2L Highlander AFA (All F*ckingFun Autumn) 2025 is counted, which also had solid competition, 3AM is going for its third consecutive championship. GANJA, on the other hand, is no easy bite either. After being formed three years ago and winning the league over SDCK in their first season, GANJA was disbanded after playing a second one, for reasons similar to those of SDCK. They are back this season, after almost two years of not touching the game at all. Now let’s hear the final thoughts from the members of each team.

Recently we all hopped back in for “one game” and somehow it felt like old times again. Same trash talk, same chaos, same late night sessions. We realized we never really quit because we hated the game — we quit because the game stopped being fun for a while. Now we’re back to remind people why ganja was feared in the first place.

Only difference now is there’s a new mountain to climb. Everyone keeps talking about Clark and his squad 3AM like they run the scene. They’ve been farming wins while we were gone, and apparently nobody’s been able to shut them down. So now the comeback story ain’t just about returning — it’s about proving the old kings still got it. If we want the crown back, we gotta go through Clark and 3AM first. – blank

We are looking forward to tomorrow’s match. Ganja is a good team and SDCK actually lost a final against them back in 2023, but we are as prepared as we can be and having beaten them already in the upper bracket final, we are confident we can do it again. SDCK players like myself, laiky and mezzo have a 100% winrate on Upward, a record that’s been held by SDCK for over 10 years now and we fully intend to keep that record going for longer, and Upward will be the 1st map we play tomorrow. – Clark

This great grand final will be streamed, and commentated on, live by Fireside Casts at 21:15 CET (19:15 UTC) on Saturday. 🔴

The action to be watched a few hours before that is of the main competitive game mode of TF2, 6v6, and from AsiaFortress’ Grand Final of Spring 2026 season.

Asia is one of the outlying continents of competitive TF2, with the other one being South America. Although having an independent and passionate scene, they never had the chance to compete in an inter-continental LAN, as their Oceanic neighbours often do and get good results. Asia and Oceania have always had online collaborations though, as well as showdowns, always ending with Oz victory. Still, the common belief is that multiple top division Asian teams could participate in the top OZ Fortress division and give a good fight. That alone says enough about the quality of competitive TF2 in the continent.

Both the finalists of tomorrow are teams formed mostly before this season. Powerpuff Girls have been absolutely owning the league, but the final word is not spoken yet.

Powerpuff Girls		Mabu Ravu
heria kaldoz banana n4ver cander usongi		Joe Clashe Lawliet sarkreez LeGO ALHY109

We are the underdogs, the scrim results against PPG looks grim. However we are not entering grands with the mindset that we are guaranteed to lose, for if we go in with such a mindset, we would’ve lost before the match even began. Do not give up until the very end, nothing is truly set in stone. Always go into a match with the mindset of winning this as quickly and as efficiently as possible. – ALHY109

The match will be streamed live on Fireside Casts at 21:00 GMT+8 (15:00 CET / 09:00 US Eastern Time) on Saturday. 🔴

Reactions

A cookie will be set in your browser upon reacting.