(Image credit: SFM - boon and Poster - Raos)

The RGL.gg Grand Finals are on their way!

This time, Witness Gaming will face long-time Invite champions Froyotech for a $13,938 prize pool! You won't want to miss this battle! Their last match was very close! Who will win this time and be declared champions? Come find out on August 12th, at 11 PM EDT! Watch the match live on RGL.gg’s official Twitch channel.

If you're interested in attending RGL.gg's first North American LAN (announced two years ago), an update was recently posted on their website.

Are you new to the competitive scene or an experienced player wanting to come to spend a day trying new rules for RGL.gg's most popular format? Read about their One-Day Cup here.

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 players not being able to download large custom maps from servers
  
• Added check to prevent players without admin access using the dump_all_caches server command
  

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 players not being able to download large custom maps from servers
  
• Added check to prevent players without admin access using the dump_all_caches server command
  

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:

• Added the Summer 2021 Cosmetic Case
  
  
  • Contains 18 new community-contributed items
    
  • Adds 6 new community-created Unusual effects
  
  
• Numerous security and stability improvements
  
• Added a cooldown before a player can create a vote when they join a match already in-progress
  
  
  • sv_vote_late_join_time controls the grace period after the match starts before the cooldown is applied: default 90 secs
    
  • sv_vote_late_join_cooldown controls the length of the cooldown: default 5 min
  
  
• Kick votes will end early and automatically pass if the vote target leaves the match during the vote
  
• Added a ConVar to control players changing their name during a match
  
  
  • tf_allow_player_name_change: default is 1
    
  • Matchmaking servers will set this to 0
  
  
• Updated the player list in the vote-kick dialog to show the time each player has been connected to the server
  
• Removed the disconnect reason from the message when players leave the server
  
• Updated the Mann vs. Machine "inspect" command to only work for players in your party or in your Friends list
  
• Moved materials for community particle effects into the Effects/workshop sub-folder to distinguish them from Valve materials
  
• Updated/Added some tournament medals
  
• Updated the localization files
  
• Updated cp_snakewater_final1
  
  
  • Fixed clipping throughout map
    
  • Fixed explosion splash being caught by objects throughout map
    
  • Made movement smoother throughout map
    
  • Reworked some problematic areas like the kitchen
    
  • Minor visual enhancements throughout the map
  
  
• Updated cp_process
  
  
  • Fixed incorrect skin for the Red radio tower
  
  

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:

• Added the Summer 2021 Cosmetic Case
  • Contains 18 new community-contributed items
    
  • Adds 6 new community-created Unusual effects
• Numerous security and stability improvements
  
• Added a cooldown before a player can create a vote when they join a match already in-progress
  • sv_vote_late_join_time controls the grace period after the match starts before the cooldown is applied: default 90 secs
    
  • sv_vote_late_join_cooldown controls the length of the cooldown: default 5 min
• Kick votes will end early and automatically pass if the vote target leaves the match during the vote
  
• Added a ConVar to control players changing their name during a match
  • tf_allow_player_name_change: default is 1
    
  • Matchmaking servers will set this to 0
• Updated the player list in the vote-kick dialog to show the time each player has been connected to the server
  
• Removed the disconnect reason from the message when players leave the server
  
• Updated the Mann vs. Machine "inspect" command to only work for players in your party or in your Friends list
  
• Moved materials for community particle effects into the Effects/workshop sub-folder to distinguish them from Valve materials
  
• Updated/Added some tournament medals
  
• Updated the localization files
  
• Updated cp_snakewater_final1
  • Fixed clipping throughout map
    
  • Fixed explosion splash being caught by objects throughout map
    
  • Made movement smoother throughout map
    
  • Reworked some problematic areas like the kitchen
    
  • Minor visual enhancements throughout the map
• Updated cp_process
  • Fixed incorrect skin for the Red radio tower

TFConnect is back with another action-packed, content-filled charity livestream event - but this time, instead of taking place during the harsh, unforgiving months of winter, they’re coming at you during the scorching, equally as unforgiving months of summer!

The Midsummer Mashup is a weekend-long charity fundraising livestream taking place during the weekend of June 26-27th, starting at 6pm BST / 1pm EDT, and is focused around the Team Fortress 2 community in support of Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that responds to incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

They're going to have your favorite content creators playing PropHunt and Freak Fortress, as well as interviews with Item-makers, mappers, and developers! There's something for everyone to watch, and even play, in the Midsummer Mashup!

Donate towards Stop AAPI Hate here!

Catch the action live on KritzKast's Twitch channel!

Following the North American Community Clash, EssentialsTF and DreamHack are now hosting an online TF2 tournament in Europe over two weekends beginning on June 12th! Players will be competing for a $2,400 prize pool, and the tournament will feature an open bracket so all teams can get their chance at glory against the best of the best! There will also be a smaller tournament, featuring a $90 prize pool, for players who are new to competitive TF2.

The main event begins with the group stages on June 12-13th beginning at 17:00 CEST, followed by the playoffs on June 19-20th beginning at 15:00 CEST.

EssentialsTF is also partnering with TFNew in providing a Newbie Team Drive for the upcoming European DreamHack Newcomer Clash. This is for players who are new to competitive and want the chance to get on a team for the event with a mentor who will help teach them the basics of Competitive 6v6.

Signups for both the main and newcomer tournaments will end June 6th at 01:00 CEST, so be sure to get registered soon! You can watch the tournament live on the EssentialsTF Twitch channel, and you can get more information about the event, such as the full schedule, on Clash.TF.

Community Clash is coming to North America! EssentialsTF is hosting an online TF2 tournament on the 8th & 9th of May, with a prize pool of $2,400 up for grabs! Partnering with DreamHack, the tournament will feature an open bracket from which teams can progress to compete against the best teams in the world for their chance at glory.

If you're new to competitive or don't have a lot of experience, try their Newcomer Clash! The smaller newcomer tournament is solely for new players to try competitive for their chance at a $90 prize pool.

The event begins on Saturday, May 8th, at 13:00 EDT, and will feature the group stages. Sunday, May 9th, will include the elimination playoffs starting at 13:30 EDT, leading to the grand finals where a champion will be crowned!

Signups for both the main and newcomer tournaments will end on Thursday, May 6th, at 18:00 EDT. You can watch the tournament live on the EssentialsTF Twitch channel, and you can get more information about the event, such as the full schedule, on Clash.TF.

(Image credit: Tom Yamaza, kevin supermarket, and agrastiOs)

Suns out, guns out! Put on your flip-flops and fire up the grill, the Fortress Faceoffs group is here with an upcoming community event to spice up the summer season!*
*Their lawyers require them to state: This message is not applicable to mercenaries in the southern hemisphere.

The Fat Scout Shootout event is a 6v6 tournament featuring the Heavy and his wide array of firearms, food scraps, and fists! Gather your most competent comrades for this bolshevik brawl against other competing teams in order to reign supreme! Visit a variety of official and workshop maps chosen with close-quartered combat in mind, where players of any skill level may face off! Watch all the action live on the Fortress Faceoffs Twitch channel!

Make sure to sign up by May 24th to reserve a spot in the tournament bracket! Read up about the rules of the event in finer detail on the Fortress Faceoffs Discord server! The event begins June 19th, so put on your gloves and run urgently!*
*Their lawyers also requested that they apologize for this pun.

(Image credit: Frazzanator and Raos)

The Grand Finals are already on their way for RGL.gg’s Spring 2021 events. Teams have fought hard all season to earn their spot in the playoffs brackets, and only two teams now remain in the 6v6 format. Finalists Froyotech and GlobalClan Ice will be facing off for $12,000 on April 22nd at 11 PM EDT! Watch the match live on RGL.gg’s official Twitch channel!

Are you eager to know more about the competitive scene? Don't have enough time to catch up on all the news through multiple sources? RGL.gg’s video team has recently launched a new series called The Dispatch on the league’s YouTube channel. Tune in to the weekly show to learn more about league standings, community news from all across Team Fortress 2, and much more.

The Spring 2021 events might be coming to an end, but don’t worry! If you're looking to join the fun, it will resume in May for off-season cups, which are one-time events hosted by the league for testing purposes and to promote new content. Keep an eye out for an announcement on The Dispatch or through RGL.gg’s website.