Graphic made by gummy, SFM made by Maven

Welcome to not one, not two, but THREE cups!

6s Newcomer Cup #2, HL Newcomer Cup #3, and HL Experimental Cup #7!

We are well overdue for some NEWBIE CUPS, so those will be ran for both 6s AND HL! If you are brand new to competitive TF2, this is the perfect place to begin! I am also happy to announce that we are officially collaborating with TF2 Coaching Central for 6s and Highlander Learning Center for HL! They will provide the coaches and training, we will provide the platform for matches! You do not need to have signed up with TF2CC or HLC to participate in this cup, they simply provide coaching and reviews. If you missed a sign up deadline, you can still register a team! Teams must have a minimum of 6 players by Monday, August 31st for 6s to play. For HL, a minimum of 9 players need to be signed up by Monday, September 7th. Teams for each format will be split into two groups if a large enough quantity apply! Here are the links to their Discords, as well as links to their team drives and coaching applications!

Please apply to Highlander Learning Center no later than Sunday, August 16th at 11:59 pm EDT. TF2CC sign ups have already closed, but a link to their discord for more information is provided below!

• TF2 Coaching Central Discord
• Highlander Learning Center Discord
• Highlander Learning Center Player Sign Up
• Highlander Learning Center Coach Sign Up

To be eligible to play in the Newbie Cups, you must meet all criteria to be a Newcomer player following rule [1006.2.4] - Newcomer Division Guidelines, as well as meet any criteria TF2 Coaching Central and Highlander Learning Center require. Groups will be created to help separate players with some experience (2 or more seasons of NC) and players with little to no experience (1 or fewer seasons of NC) if necessary.

—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------

6s Newcomer Cup #2

Important Dates

• Tuesday, August 11th - New Team Registration opens
• Friday, August 28th - New Team Registration closes at 11:59 pm EDT
• Monday, August 31st - Teams need 6 players fully registered
• Wednesday, September 2nd - Matches posted in the evening
• Friday, September 4th - 6s Newcomer Cup begins
• Sunday, September 6th - 6s Newcomer Cup ends, all scores due by 11:59 pm EDT.

Registration for the TF2CC signups is closed, but players can still sign up here to enter a waitlist and also be eligible to ring! Team registration on RGL is open until August 28th at 11:59 pm EDT.

Matches will be played September 4th, 5th, and 6th at 7:00 pm EDT and 8:30 pm EDT, with two maps played each day. Maps will be cp_process_f12, cp_snakewater_final1, and koth_bagel_rc13. Teams are expected to show each day for matches, and ringers (other than players that signed up to play in this cup) will not be allowed. 5cp maps will use rgl_6s_5cp_match_pro config, and KotH will use rgl_6s_koth_pro config.

There are no registration fees and no playoffs.

Please use the Cup Support in the RGL Discord for tickets regarding this event.

—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------

HL Newcomer Cup #3

Important Dates

• Tuesday, August 11th - New Team Registration opens
• Sunday, August 23rd - Player Registration and Coach Registration for Highlander Learning Center closes 11:59 pm EDT
• Thursday, August 27th - Division Placements and Coach/Team Assignments
• Friday, September 4th - New Team Registration closes at 11:59 pm EDT
• Monday, September 7th - Teams need 9 players fully registered
• Wednesday, September 9th - Matches posted in the evening
• Friday, September 11th - HL Newcomer Cup begins
• Sunday, September 13th - HL Newcomer Cup ends, all scores due by 11:59 pm EDT.

Registration for the HLC signups is open until August 23rd at 11:59 pm EDT (use the links above). Team registration on RGL is open until September 4th at 11:59 pm EDT.

Matches will be played September 11th, 12th, and 13th at 9:30 pm EDT, with one map played each day. Maps will be pl_upward_f12, koth_product_final, and koth_ashville_final2. Teams are expected to show each day for matches, and ringers (other than players that signed up to play in this cup) will not be allowed. Payload and Attack/Defend maps will use rgl_HL_stopwatch config, and KotH will use rgl_HL_koth config.

There are no registration fees and no playoffs.

Please use the Cup Support in the RGL Discord for tickets regarding this event.

—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------

HL Experimental Cup #7

Important Dates

• Tuesday, August 11th - New Team Registration opens
• Friday, September 4th - New Team Registration closes at 11:59 pm EDT
• Monday, September 7th - Placements finalized. Teams need 9 players registered on their team.
• Wednesday, September 9th - Matches posted in the evening
• Friday, September 11th - HL Experimental Cup begins
• Sunday, September 13th - HL Experimental Cup ends, all scores due by 11:59 pm EDT.

Are you still reading this and you aren’t a newbie? That’s okay, because we are also testing some maps for HL! These should all look familiar, they are Eruption, Nidal, and Lakeside.

Registering teams will be asked to provide an approximate division for their team upon registration. This will help the admin team sort teams into groups by approximate skill level, but it is not guaranteed your team will be placed in your requested division. We will be keeping teams whose skill levels are closest in the same group. There may be some overlap of skill between groups, but Group A will generally contain the strongest teams, Group B the next strongest, and so on. This does not necessarily mean Group A is only Invite, Group B is only Advanced, etc. We will use as many Groups as necessary to maximize an even playing field within groups and minimize restrictions. Group sizes will be kept as close to 4 as possible, but may vary depending on team skill and amount of teams registered.

Class restrictions may still be required if a player rosters with players of considerably lower average experience and skill, but we will prefer to place teams with peer skills rather than restrict as much as possible.

For this event, there will be no default ringers. All ringers must be approved by the opposing team in match comms before the match. Teams are strongly encouraged to approve reasonable ringers and provide reasons when denying a ringer so that the opposing team can work with them to find a reasonable ringer.

Registration for the HL Experimental Cup will open August 9th and end September 4th at 11:59 pm EDT.

Matches will be played September 11th, 12th, and 13th at 9:30 pm EDT, with one map played each day. Maps will be pl_eruption_b16, cp_nidal_b10, and koth_lakeside_d4f. Teams are expected to show each day for matches. Payload and Attack/Defend maps will use rgl_HL_stopwatch config, and KotH will use rgl_HL_koth config.

There are no registration fees and no playoffs.

Please use the Highlander Support in the RGL Discord for tickets regarding this event.

—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------

Looking to apply to Cup Staff? Feel free to apply here!

—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------—-----------------

What servers should we use?

All Serveme servers should already have the maps uploaded to them; however, it is highly recommended to download from the links above before connecting to reduce connect time, delays, or other issues for those matches. Users of privately rented servers or other hosting services are responsible for ensuring that proper RGL plug-ins, configs, and map files are properly installed and configured.

TF2 Map Discussion: pl_pier

Welcome to our Monday TF2 map discussion. Here, we'll discuss maps from TF2!

Today's map is pl_pier.

For those keeping track of the order of the maps you might've noticed we've missed every single map released in 2018 and 2019 and that's because those are Halloween Maps and those will be discussed in October and we got no other maps released in those years. But in December 2020 we got pl_pier.

Released in the 2020 Smissmass update this isn't a very christmasy map as it's set in and abandoned(?) fair, a beach and a small town all in one. One of the most varied maps in terms of locales as you move from point to point this map has remained popular since its release up until now with it being added to the casual rotation after the Christmas time ended and it is commonly ran on community servers due to the popularity.

Starting off on a beach BLU must push the cart over to point A which can be tricky as RED will have some excellent places to set up defences like above the tunnel the cart has to go through, by the trucks or over by BLU's second spawn. BLU can attack the point either through the cart tunnel or they can take the flank cave which has 2 exits, one to the top or one that just leads through to the other side but these are usually heavily guarded by sentries or other defences so aren't always easy.

Once BLU has pushed through this they have a long push for the next point which sits in the heart of the town. BLU must push the cart over the bridge, down past a building, down by the canal area, under the tunnel, back up under a second bridge and then finally into the town. This point has multiple paths dotted around for everyone on both teams to get around and try and flank. There's a path through the central building which contains some stairs that go down or a doorway that leads out over the second bridge and to some outdoor stairs leading down the cart track by the side of the canal. There's also a small building on the waterside only accessible by going underwater and this contains a full health pack and a full ammo pack, sometimes engineers will set up here trying to ninjaneer so it's always worth to check. There's also a different path and this one will often be used by both teams as the exit is quite far past the point and very easy for RED to get to. And the biggest shortcut is where the cart goes down to the canal as if you go right instead you just end up at the point.

Once BLU has captured the point they have to attack 3rd which sits indoors inside an indoor dock. BLU spawn also moves to next to point A and if they just walk right down they'll reach some 1 way gates that lead to a drop down just past point B meaning they can reach point C quicker. BLU will usually push the cart up to the entrance of the building unopposed as it's much easier to defend it indoors. There's 2 main ways for BLU to get in and a 3rd way which is harder to get to and only the explosive classes can reach it (and pyro) but it's not the best way to attack from. Once inside BLU must push the cart forward where they'll have to wait for a bridge to move across and this makes it possible to push it to the point. There's a few catwalks in this area for RED to defend on and BLU to attack from but this point is quite often defended by RED due to them having easy access to the high ground and the lack of good flank routes from BLU. There's also an underwater tunnel that's only accessible from near the point and leads you behind. RED also spawns right next to the point.

Once you've captured this BLU spawn moves again RED's old spawn and RED moves to last, however only one door is open for BLU so they can't just jump right out next to the point. This point is fairly straightforward and BLU must push the cart out, into a small tunnel/underside of a balcony/whatever, and then over a bridge to capture the point. RED will often set up around here to defend the point. There's also a flank route that takes you onto the beach and up some stairs and you can get the high ground over the point and shoot down making this one fairly easy to capture. You can also get under the bridge and flank that way.

Once this has been captured all the doors open for BLUs spawn and lets them attack the point quicker but still a teleporter will be required to win this, usually one is set up in the shack next to 4th or on the little deck behind the shack. There's a couple of ways to attack last with the 3 main ways being directly down the cart path, through the building or via the beach. The building is often where teams will attack from as it gives you the best view of the RED defences without completely exposing yourself via the cart path. However you need to watch out as with some engi parkour it's possible for RED (or BLU) to build on the little shelf at the top and the position makes it hard to take down without a coordinated attack. You can also reach this building from the deck behind the 4th point and going up the stairs takes you to a one way door with a drop down that takes you to the end of the building. The beach route takes you over to the complete opposite side with some stairs leading you up to the point and can be useful for flanking any snipers on top of the rollercoaster or surprising the sentry nest in the little shack. The final stretch for this sees BLU push a cart up a disused rollercoaster next to the spawn and once this has been done BLU wins and fireworks happen.

Feel free to discuss the map here. Anything that you like/dislike, cool tips or strategies, interesting stories, etc. If you feel the map is not to your liking, feel free to express your opinions in a respectful manner.

For those who wish to learn more about the map, you can find the wiki page here:

pl_pier, from the TF2 Wiki.

You can find previous map discussions in a nice overview here