2nd TF2C Archimedes Cup

TL;DR

• This is a 6v6 tournament for those with zero competitive TF2 experience outside of TF2center.
• There is $1,000 in cash prizes provided by Scrap.TF and 84 keys provided by TF2Center.
• You will need to register on TF2Center and meet the profile requirements to participate.
• You MAY have one player with competitive experience on your team, who may ONLY play as Medic. Their experience is limited to lower divisions and levels, such as ETF2L Open.
• You will be playing on a server provided by serveme.TF. You may not use your own server.
• Playoffs matches may be streamed live by Essentials.TF.
• The prize pool will be split across the top 3 teams. The third place team will be decided in a loser’s finals between the two losing teams of the semifinals.
• Servers will be hosted in Europe, however teams can sign up from anywhere globally and roster players from anywhere in the world.
• Teams are expected to be on time.
• We will have a Discord server for team leaders to communicate with event staff.

What is this?

In January of 2015, the first Archimedes Cup brought many new players into the Team Fortress 2 competitive scene. Now just over three years later, the 2nd Archimedes Cup looks to once again introduce many players to the world of competitive TF2 and inspire many to transition from casual to competitive play.

We are proud to present the 2nd ever Archimedes Cup hosted here on TF2Center, with $1,000 in prize money generously provided by Scrap.TF and 84 keys provided by TF2Center. Servers are provided by serveme.TF! During the event, streaming coverage will be provided by the excellent crew of Essentials.TF!

During this event, you and your team of five other players will compete against team after team as you overcome challenges, learn new tactics, and experience Team Fortress 2 like never before. You will get a feel for true competitive TF2, and work with your team as you advance towards the top, where prizes await!

How will it work?

When your team’s registration is complete and the event begins, you don’t have to worry about anything more than showing up and being ready to play. You will be assigned a specific Lobby for your specific match and given the link to the Lobby and required information so that you can join up. Simply have your team select their classes and ready up, and your match will launch and go live as soon as both teams are set to go.

Schedule and Format

The tournament will take place over the course of one week. You will need to ensure that all players are prepared to play on the given dates and times. See the “Rules” section for substitute guidelines and match rescheduling.

• Group Stage matches will be played to a round limit of 5 or time limit of 30 minutes. There will be no halftime.
• The top 16 teams after the conclusion of the group stage matches will proceed to the playoffs.
• Playoffs matches will be played with a single-elimination bracket, with the absence of a loser’s bracket, except for the third place match.
• All playoffs matches will be played best-of-three with no halftimes. Each map will be played to a score limit of 5 or a time limit of 30 minutes.
• All playoffs matches may go into overtime in the event of a tie by the 30 minute mark.
• All matches must be played using a server provided by Serveme.TF. No personal or private servers may be used.
• Teams are expected to be on time.
• The top 16 teams that will advance to the playoffs will be decided based on their total “Rounds For” count, or “RF”. This is the sum of all rounds won during the Group Stage matches. In the event of a tie, the team with the least “Rounds Against”, or “RA”, will advance.

Forfeiting will give 3 “Rounds For” to the opposing team. However, any teams that forfeit during the Group Stage matches will be given the full 5 “Rounds Against”. Any team that accumulates two forfeits during the Group Stage will be disqualified.

Friday, March 16th

• 8:00 P.M. CET: Group Stage Round 1 - cp_process
• 9:30 P.M. CET: Group Stage Round 2 - cp_badlands

Saturday, March 17th

• 8:00 P.M. CET: Group Stage Round 3 - cp_gullywash
• 9:30 P.M. CET: Group Stage Round 4 - cp_sunshine

Sunday, March 18th

• 8:00 P.M. CET: Group Stage Round 5 - koth_product
• 9:30 P.M. CET: Group Stage Round 6 - cp_snakewater

Monday, March 19th

• No Matches. Makeup day for any rescheduled matches.

Tuesday, March 20th

• No Matches. Makeup day for any rescheduled matches.

Wednesday, March 21st

• 7:30 P.M. CET: Eighth-finals - BO3: cp_gullywash, cp_sunshine, cp_badlands*.
• 10:00 P.M. CET: Quarterfinals - BO3: cp_process, cp_metalworks, cp_snakewater*

Thursday, March 22nd

• 7:30 P.M. CET: Semifinals - BO3: Map Elimination.
• 10:00 P.M. CET: 3rd Place Match - Best of Three: Map Elimination.

Friday, March 23rd

• 9:00 P.M. CET: Grand Finals - Best of Three: Map Elimination

Rules

The game rules are based on the 6v6 competitive format, utilizing the latest ETF2L tournament config and whitelist.

General Rules

• Please read the «General Rules» tab on ETF2L before proceeding.
• All players are required to have a clean account with no prior VAC bans in the last 365 days prior to the start of the event.
• Cheating will not be tolerated under any circumstance. Any players found using third party programs to gain an advantage will have their team immediately disqualified and all matches turned-over to the opposing teams.
• Exploitation of any kind will not be tolerated under any circumstance. This includes exploiting class limits and whitelists during matches, or using any form of bugs not allowed by ETF2L rules.
• Alting is not allowed under any circumstance. Teams that have rostered a player who is alting to meet the criteria of the event’s regulations will be immediately disqualified.
• Usage of VPNs and Proxies is forbidden.
• Players are required to be logged in to TF2Center and therefore must meet the requirements to use the site and service. No exceptions will be made.

Team and Roster Guidelines

• Teams must have a total of six players rostered to participate.
• Teams may have one additional person rostered on their team to act as a substitute to fill-in for any player that may be absent.
• Teams may have one player rostered with competitive experience. This player may only play Medic and cannot be a substitute and may not swap to any other class under any circumstance.
• Teams may not add or remove players from their roster after Wednesday, March 14th under any circumstance. Players already rostered however are free to change their roles and classes so long as players with prior competitive experience remain on Medic.
• Teams must establish a single person as the team captain, who will be the one communicating with event staff.
• Teams may not have more than 6 players on a server at any given time under any circumstance. If a substitute is required, please have the player being subbed out leave the server.
• All players must be free of any form of ban or suspension on TF2Center.

Match Rules

• All participating players must join their assigned Lobby and connect to the server as soon as possible following the creation of their Lobby.
• Teams will be given a maximum of 15 minutes after the scheduled match time to ready up. Any teams not ready after this point will be forced to play or forfeit the match.
• A team’s Substitute can be swapped in during matches. Once a substitute is called in, they cannot be switched back out during the match. In playoffs, they may not be switched back out until after the conclusion of the map being played.
• During finals matches, each team will be able to pause the match in the event of an issue. Each team will be given one pause per map per match maximum, and may not last more than 5 minutes.
• If your assigned server is having issues with lag or latency and is directly affecting the match, you may contact an event staff member on the discord for assistance.
• During finals matches, if a pause is needed, a team leader will need to request a pause with reason in the in-game text chat. Pauses will be issued by event staff, and may not last more than 5 minutes. The reason for the pause request must be clearly stated in chat.
• Match scores will be collected through the usage of logs.tf.

Prizes

Our good friends over at Scrap.TF have generously contributed $1,000 to support the event. In addition, TF2Center will be pledging keys to the prize pool as well. The prize pool will be broken down to the top 3 teams. How teams split the prize between each other will depend on their unanimous decision. Please note that the prizes are per team, not per person.

• 1st Prize: $600 USD + 48 Keys + 1 Year TF2Center Donator Benefits
• 2nd Prize: $300 USD + 24 Keys + 6 Months TF2Center Donator Benefits
• 3rd Prize: $100 USD + 12 Keys + 3 Months TF2Center Donator Benefits

How do I signup?

Team leaders may access the sign up form located here to register their team. They must provide profile links to all members of their team along with the alias they intend to go by for reference purposes. Single players may not sign up alone, and should seek a team or create one on their own. Teams may utilize the TF2Center Forums to recruit team members before the registration deadline.

Please ensure that you check the players that you roster for your team. Look them up on league websites (ETF2L, UGC, ESEA, etc.) and ensure that they have no recent VAC bans and meet all other requirements outlined in the rules section of this page.

Upon signing up, team leaders are expected to join our Archimedes Cup 2 Discord server to communicate with event staff and seek support. You can download Discord here. If any information changes after the sign up form is submitted, such as a roster change, please contact an event administrator through the discord server to have your information updated.

Please ensure that you have read the Team and Roster Guidelines section of the rules on this page to ensure that your roster is valid. Remember that you may only have one player with competitive experience on your roster. That player is only allowed to play Medic during the event.

If you need assistance relating to the event, please feel free to join the discord and contact a member of the event staff team who is online.

Signups close at 11:00 P.M. CET on Wednesday, March 14th!