(Image credit: Baguettes)

We've reached the apex of the current ETF2L Highlander season! This is a Premiership Grand Final that promises to be the fiercest in recent years! Top seed, 4House, takes on the multi-season reigning champion, SDCK!, having beaten them handily earlier in the season. These two powerhouses will resume battle across three seperate maps on Thursday, September 12th, at 21:15 CEST / 12:15pm PDT!

Could this finally be the season that someone rips the ETF2L Premiership Highlander crown from the vice-like grip of SDCK!? Be sure to watch the action and find out!

Join the Twitch stream live!
Watch later on YouTube!

AsiaFortress Liquid.tf is hosting its first-ever Team Fortress 2 Highlander Grand Final this Saturday!

The land of legacies brings its very first season of Highlander! The Grand Final will feature two of the best Highlander teams in Asia, each vying for the ultimate title of the first Highlander Champions. This match is more than just a game â it's an opportunity to forge a new legacy!

Catch more Sniper, Spy and Pyro action than you've ever seen! Tune in live on the 7th of September @ 8pm SGT / 1pm CEST!

Important Links:

• Twitch
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Discord

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

• Fixed regression with some .mp3 files not playing
• Updated description for the Backpack Expander
• Updated some tournament medals
• Updated the Desk Engineer cosmetic item
  • Fixed clipping with the Gunslinger
  • Fixed clipping with Engineer's buckle
  • Fixed rotation in the paint preview
  • Fixed skin parts being tinted green from texture compression
• Updated the Daring Dell cosmetic item
  • Fixed rotation in the paint preview
  • Fixed shading artifacts on the helmet
• Updated The Big Star cosmetic item
  • Fixed rotation in the paint preview
  • Fixed various instances of clipping with the player model
  • Updated mismatched backpack icon
  • Fixed parts of the textures
• Updated koth_cachoeira
  • Players can no longer shoot through the metal fence

(Image credit: SFM - Herwork, Typesetting/Compositing/Logo/Paintover - Requim, Feedback - IVG, Lecter, Shippy, YLR)

BATTERS UP!

Fortress Faceoffs is bringing you another action-packed Bostonian beatdown for their eleventh event! Don't delay! Get yourself a ticket for the front row! Get ready to relive the excitement of the MAJOR LEAGUES in this spin on an American classic. Teams of five Scouts will face off against one another in this arena, where only ONE hit can seal their fate. Dive, duck, and weave your way across the various battlefields as baseballs zip through the sky at Mach one, but don't count yourself out just yet.

The Fortress Faceoffs team has been hard at work in the laboratory crafting a variety of special tools for your team of Boston bully-boys. POWER-UPS will change the ebb-and-flow of the battle, giving you special abilities for a limited time. Special abilities range from faster movement speed to summoning the power of your inner Scottish Cyclops by causing your baseball to EXPLODE! How will you be able to put them to use?

But thatâs not all Fortress Faceoffs has in store! For the duration of this unconventional doubleheader, they will also be raising funds to support The Trevor Project, a charity group that aims to help LGBTQ+ youth. Click here to donate!

Sign up today to secure your spot in this climactic beatdown and a bottle of overpriced water (water not included)! The games begin August 18th @ 11:59 PM / 23:59 BST for both North American and European competitors respectively! The top 8 finalists in this series will have their knocked-out teeth showcased live!

For more information about the event's rules, prizes, and more - Join the Fortress Faceoffs Discord Server and claim your spot in the MAJOR LEAGUES.

Important Links:

• Challonge Event Page (Tournament Brackets) / Donation Links
• Discord
• Twitter
• Twitch
• YouTube
• Steam Group

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

• Increased the maximum number of backpack slots to 4000 (from 3000)
• Fixed record/stop .dem file exploit that was used to reveal cloaked Spies
• Fixed Robot Destruction death notice events not properly highlighting when the local player kills a robot
• Fixed regressed self-illum setting for the Earbuds
• Fixed hearing the deflection sound when deflecting arrows that are already stuck in something (community fix from Marxvee)
• Fixed a problem with .mp3 sounds not playing if they were very short
• Fixed arrows instantly breaking when being fired by an invulnerable player with the projectile penetration upgrade in Mann vs. Machine (community fix from Marxvee)
• Updated tf_zombie_spawner entity to support setting team numbers for the zombies (defaults to the original behavior if no team is set)
• Updated Taunt: Unleashed Rage to fix incorrect outro timing
• Updated Taunt: Can It! to fix MvM bone
• Updated koth_sawmill_event
  • Removed stray spell
• Updated koth_megaton
  • Fixed rockets being able to quite literally crash the beach party (Thanks again, ficool2!)
• Updated pl_cashworks
  • Updated menu photo to match map changes
  • Removed strange texture glitch at RED spawn 1
  • Added shutter for drop exit at RED spawn 1
  • RED spawn 2 big door can't be stickied anymore
  • Removed collision on some lamps
  • Added minor visual changes in BLU spawn and final cap side route
  • Fixed minor clipping issues
• Updated koth_cachoeira
  • The sightline from the helicopter has been blocked off
  • Fixed missing door texture (Thanks Hoppkins!)
  • Various miscellaneous fixes (Thanks Midnite!)

TF2 Coaching Central is announcing the eighth iteration of their North American Newbie 6s Cup, a learning experience and friendly competition for people who are new to competitive 6v6.

Players with no to minimal competitive experience will sign up to be placed on a team of six, led by coaches who will teach the basics of how to play the 6v6 format and help you learn the maps. Teams have three weeks to learn and train together before facing off in a tournament with a prize pool of 18 keys for the winners and runners up. TF2 Coaching Central's previous Newbie Cup events have successfully prepared many players and teams to continue competitive play in RGL, the biggest North American TF2 league.

Sign-ups are open now, and the deadline to apply to be placed on a team is August 8. Team and coach assignments will be made by August 10 and tournament matches, broadcasted by Fireside Casts, will be the weekend of August 31-September 1.

Check out the Discord for more info. Whether you're looking to dip your toes in competitive TF2, a more experienced player looking to mentor newbies, or even a fresh install, feel free to join the community - all skill levels are welcome!

An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

• Updated Taunt: Can It! to fix missing flies particle effect
• Updated the backpack image for the Impact Impaler
• Updated Violent Viridian Unusual effect to fix a visual bug
• Updated/Added some tournament medals
• Updated cp_hadal
  • Fixed control point capture messages
  • Fixed door locking in RED spawn after C capture
  • Removed unintended buildable areas
  • Increased capture time on final point
  • Improved directions around the map
• Updated pl_embargo
  • Reduced respawn time on Last for RED from 34 to 22 seconds
  • Asked Botlers to speak and explode more quietly
  • Minor visual fixes
• Updated koth_megaton
  • Improved performance by up to 20%, with more significant improvements possible depending on system specs (Thanks ficool2!)
  • Fixed the grates around the capture zone allowing blast damage to pass through
  • Fixed a few cases of alpha painted displacement seams
  • Improved lighting on several models, especially on the rocks throughout the map
  • Fixed surfaceprop on BLU's metal plates
  • Fixed several pixelwalks along thatch roofing and exteriors of the team buildings
  • Improved clipping throughout
  • Fixed a support beam intersecting with spawn doors
  • Fixed a few instances of visible displacement holes in the perimeter dropoff
  • Added a unique kill icon for the end of the round
  • Fixed floating spawndoor motors
  • Plus... all you need for a beach party!
• Updated pd_atom_smash
  • Fixed the Casual Administrator overriding the Scientist
  • Fixed some floating lights
• Updated koth_sawmill_event
  • Removed the spells in the underworld since players could spawn camp with them too easily
  • Increased the time players get crits and health from the underworld after leaving
  • Added some additional effects to the secret exit from the underworld

(Image credit: PootisGod)

Attention! Attention! PASS Time Federation is looking for new sign-ups!

Calling back to their roots, PASS Time Federation is doing a 2-3 Day Cup for players in the EU region! Looking to speed things up and add a bit of spice to PASS Time, they're looking for 16 teams of 7 capable mercs (and 2 body doubles) for a 2-3 day event of back-to-back play.

The teams will take on the cramped corners of District, the large openings of Timbertown, the frozen cargo waste of Snowylake and the new and improved Proyard to take things to the next level!

Sign-ups started on July 28 and will be open for 2 weeks! They will be closed once all 16 capable teams are found. Teams will be split up and fight in a Double Elimination Challenge bracket! Winners (and the others in second and third) will take home special PASS Time Federation medals and whatever arrives in the prize pool over the course of the event!

What are you waiting for? Sign-ups are open now!

Important Links:

• Discord
• Steam Group