August's Cadred TF2 Top Ten

The Cadred Top Ten returns for the best in the European TF2 scene!

We are using the same regulations as other ranked games on Cadred: Fifteen votes will go into each month's rankings, ten of which are from the previous month's top ten teams, and five of which are from our panel members, who will vote every month.

The points system remains simple: a first place vote earns that team 10 points, 9 points are awarded for second place, and so on.

On page two you can read who the panel members are, and see their thoughts and opinions on this month's rankings.

Greg "slick" Champagne
Those in the know recognise the luscious locks to the left as the most suave motherfucker around, none other than Epsilon eSports’ playboy manager.

Whilst his rumoured links to the European pornography industry add a certain mystique to beautiful Belgian, it is his passion for competitive gaming and more importantly, Team Fortress 2, that has earned him a spot on our hallowed panel.

The dinosaurs amongst you will also remember that the man is a Tribes legend. Shazbot!

"I43 is finished lads, and what has been learnt? Quad is "awesome" at LAN. Stefan could be mentioned for those still existing doubters, but he had already shown his talent at Maxlan. This Epsilon team has won most of the competitions online, and finished the month off beautifully by winning the i43 LAN, conceding 1 map throughout the tournament. Probably the most deserved number one I have given since the dominance of the old Dignitas team, what seems to be a very long time ago.

Second place to Dignitas, however bad their i-Series went, I can't really hold it against them - it was a mix and people forget that. With neither Punpu nor cookye present, this wasn’t the real deal! Before that SG-1 aka new Dignitas only lost to Epsilon, but also gave Epsilon their first online loss in the Grand Final of the Multiplay i43 Online Qualifications.

Infused have been just awesome, clearly the number two spot could have been theirs, but with that humiliating loss in the Excello Bigfoot challenge to TCM in the Quarter Finals (Badlandsl 0-5 , Gullywash 2-3), it just didn’t seem right. They have had great i43, beating Dignitas (mix), TCM-Gaming and making it to the Grand Finals. This isn’t the last we have seen of them, however the question does beg to be asked - how will they cope without Boomeh in ETF2L when he is still banned for cheating? I can't see Infused not playing one of the most popular tournaments in TF2...

4th to TCM, a disappointing LAN that Byte will have nightmares about, and I think the determination of this team will get them back on the right track. With X-man tightening the leash, we could see some changes in the current roster, probably the most entertaining thing to come up this month. How will TCM TF2 react? But how do you change a roster with brilliant players? Skinnie& Coinz? Isn't the scout duo just terrifying? And surely the soldiers have not been an issue either... two of the best upcoming soldiers. Byte calls? Not a man with that experience. Anty, the protected student under byte's hardcore whip? Mmmmmmm...

K1ck, I don’t have much on them, an early loss to Infused in Dignitas Alienware cup... none the less that beating of last month is still lodged right up there between some ass cheeks. I did hope this team would not let the roster changes get to them, but it seems this is going to be the case. Very unfortunate... a great team and my number five.

What does that leave us? Well in this order: CKRAS, Team Thermaltake, idk?, Team YoYoTech, The Devils Rejects ( Yes Loco I’m gonna mention your team here). Thermaltake, is of course the missing team on the field at the moment, they are dearly missed. Hopefully with the summer ending, this team has been through it before; we will see a revival of this side - might a good opportunity to clear up some stuff?!"

Greg "Greg" Bushell

Greg is still the new kid on the block both in our panel and on the Cadred coverage team. Not to be confused with Mr Champagne above, Greg is actually good at scout, having risen through the ranks with his fellow Brits at Infused.Tt eSports.

A shining example of someone who has made the brave step from Counter-Strike Source to Team Fortress 2, the Bushmaster should be applauded, but it’s probably best to keep him at arm’s length just in case he turns again.

"TF2 comes out of the Summer Slumber with a bang, two competitive LAN events and a few cups on the side. First and foremost I have to go and give Epsilon my Top spot, and I am sure we will see them get 140 points this month, taking first place at i43 as well as first place in every online cup, they are easily the best team around and it will take something to knock Slick's Boys off the top position. I am going to have to give the team who gave them a run for their money in both the Alienware Cup and the aforementioned i-Series - Infused.Tt my 2nd spot, just snatching it out of the grip of the new Dignitas line-up in my books, however they have had a very strong month themselves, most notably winning Assembly.

Following that Top3 is TCM-Gaming, Byte will definitely be disappointed with this month’s results, not making it to any finals online or offline, its back to the drawing board for TCM, let’s see what they can pull out of the bag going into the team’s second online season. My 5th spot goes most deservingly to CKRAS, they certainly turned some heads after taking a map off Dignitas in the Assembly final, let’s see whether picking up Rulah can help push them closer towards the Top3. YoYoTech are still pushing however with a loss to CKRAS and only scraping past I Don't Know? in the ESL playoffs they still fall just outside the Top5.

Team Thermaltake take my 7th spot, with vacation taking its toll, but still being so far ahead of the teams behind that they needed to be a part of the Top 10. Following behind are the up and coming teams of I Don't Know?, NORDIC-eSport.PENTIA and Six Inch."

James J. "Admirable" McDonnell

James is the (fore)head of TF2 coverage at Cadred and he has been a long time community enthusiasist and LAN slut.

James has played in the Irish national team and much-loved coolclan in the past. He currently has no intention of playing this shit cartoon game until he graduates.

That won't stop him from throwing in his two cents at every turnaround, just don't be suckered in by his friendly nature, he will fight any man... and lose.

"The length of the panellists’ contributions is a fairly decent barometer of how much interest the scene is generating at any given point in time. Look at these keen cunts with their essays, I’ll put my feet up this month and throw you numbers instead of words.

So I'll let the money do the talking for one to five:

Epsilon eSports: £2,500 + £100 + 6 Bigfoot Network Cards

Team Dignitas: €2,100 (~£1,800) + £350 + 6 Tickets to i43

Infused.Tt eSports: £1,250 + £50

TCM-Gaming: £900

CKRAS Gaming: €1,050 (~£900)

Well, I might have smudged the conversion rate for CKRAS but roster changes mean they haven’t followed up on their Assembly results in the remainder of August. Team Thermaltake come in next despite being a dormant force this month. Team YoYoTech are hot on their heels with a sizzling scout duo in the form of Hat and TviQ; we already knew Hat was hot, but TviQ has been sicksational – this guy is either going to the hall of fame or the ban list...

I gave NORDIC-eSport.PENTIA and Quarantine the tip of my hat for 8th and 9th for attending both Assembly and Insomnia 43; much respect. I Don’t Know had a strong showing online and they'll complete my ranking, but their stay seems to have been short-lived with the players going their separate ways already.

Strange times indeed for Team Fortress 2, with the Free2Play bombshell still sending ripples far and wide with unforeseen consequences; whilst many pondered on a potential avalanche of new players, who would have thought so many old faces would return? Did the TF2 Retirement Home burn down or something? Fucking geriatrics!"

Sivert "Torden" Bakkeng

Don’t be fooled by is puppydog eyes; Sivert is a grizzled veteran when it comes to competitive TF2, having risen to fame in the revered Weapons of the Rebellion\4Kings squad that produced many of today's top players.

He has most recently captained Team Norway and the now defunct Scandinavians, Broder, playing the pivotal medic role for which he is recognised as one of the best in Europe.

"I'll admit, with the announcement of Epsilon's return, I deliberately stirred the pot to see what was in there. The exchanges of words after that were irrelevant - the real response came in the form of consistency and dedication and for that, I'll happily eat my hat.

Like the old Dignitas before, Epsilon's true strength lies with a dynamic consolation of intelligent people with the talent for innovation. The latter is what will keep them on top for the foreseeable future, and what will shape their competitors in this next chapter of our game. Along come three refreshing additions to the top scene, with every one of them suitable for the very best, regardless of their fate with the team.

After a year of hardship, dropping teams and unlock wars, we may very well be moulded and at the start of a renaissance in competitive TF2. We've got a solid top six, a promising group of challengers, and what could be a torch carrier for some time to come. I cannot wait for the new season to start.

The rest: Dignitas, Infused, TCM and CKRAS, for their LAN results...Tt played officials, but too strong PCWs to count them out...YoYoTech, still up and coming...Bertolet, surprise of the month, will they stay?...K1ck, doing a guest appearance this month...Mister, not the same as the old, but I'm happy to see the name back in action."

Jason "kaidus" Allen

Jason completes our ramshackle panel again this month.

Many of you will know him as the outspoken debate junkie from the ETF2L forums turned Cadred (non-)contributor, but he’s a nice guy really!

His biggest claim to fame is that he once played in the same team as Admirable at LAN. On a day to day basis you can now find him rocking huge airshots for Team Thermaltake.

"A clearly divided top 10 this time around that sees the hottest contest among the top 5 for as long as I can remember, whilst the lower 5 remain very stagnant due to the lack of a standard league competition withdrawing any means for them to directly compete. Hopefully the forthcoming ETF2L S10 will put an end to this.

It takes neither a genius nor a TF2 boffin to predict Epsilon taking the top spot. Disregarding the countless number of titles they've gained over the past month that we've already forgotten about, one only has to have gone near the TF2 final at i43 to understand that whoever won would be the TF2 champion of this month and many to come. They are indisputably the team to beat, and it's going to take something very special to do so.

Despite a poor showing at i43 from Team Dignitas, this can't be held against them as the last minute sponsorship opportunity came too late to secure anything close to their complete roster a passage across the North Sea. Their victory at Assembly Summer and the fact they remain the only team to have taken a cup from Epsilon in this era makes them my number two for August, and number one contender to dethrone Epsilon based on recent performances.

Infused.Tt eSports boast a number of close 2nds, however beyond their crowning glory in the form of cp_gullywash_pro they still seem to lack the mettle to pose a genuine challenge to Epsilon in a bo3 final.

TCM-Gaming remain in what I'm sure for them is a disappointing 4th place, unable to finish a competition above their fabled bronze spot across all competitions this month. They are currently undergoing dramatic roster changes and quite frankly I'm surprised their current iteration has lasted as long as it did. Despite a golden period a few months back that occurred whilst the majority of the top scene was dormant, since the alarm bells sounded of Summer LAN season it's only been downhill for TCM.

CKRAS are an unknown quantity as things stand. Off the back of an impressive display at Assembly under the garb of the now lost-to-TF2 Anexis eSports, they have been very quiet as far as competition has been concerned. However, they have replaced rumoured rage-machine Rake with the F2P wonder-child Rulah, famed for being at the top of the only scene in eSports agreed to be less competitive than TF2. Brink jokes aside, he is the most exciting player in the scene at the moment and could very well be the one to take CKRAS from the middle of the table to where they want to be given the time to come to grips with premiership level TF2."

You'll be able to catch more thoughts from our panel with Cadred's September Rankings in a few week's time!

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Originally published on Cadred.org on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:30:24 +0100 by James J. McDonnell.

Archived from August's Cadred TF2 Top Ten as part of tf2esports.com's preservation of Cadred.org's TF2 coverage. All rights remain with the original author and Cadred.org; reposted for historical reference.