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Hi,

Upon request by {Goof} Lost Sock i've been asked to write about where to find out about competitive play and how to get into it. I have also been asked to write something interesting to read xD

Now the best way to get into competitive play is to join a clan of course, but in order to do this we need experience first. I have found and read a few websites over my time of play which I feel have helped me in some way to play tf2. I would recommend to any player to come away from public gaming and join the competitive side, even if you're not a serious player, or a full-time one. Competitive play, i feel, combines all the best aspects of TF2 and most of all it puts the Team in TF2, as a team needs to communicate and work together in order to win.

Now while i could sit here and describe to you all the aspects of competitive play, i'd rather just post some websites where you can find the information. This is because if i posted the information up, it would be very long, and I feel that some would simply get bored and switch off / not read. Instead i have a few websites which I feel any competitive player, experienced or no, should read / log into / get into. Here they are:

ETF2L - probably one of the most important sites in the competitive community. The European Team Fortress 2 League, where you can find a team, join a league with that team and play some serious matches. As well as this, there are many TF2 / computer experts on there, so anything you need a hand with, post on the forums and people appear to get back to you quite promptly. There are also some frag videos on there that are good

Wireplay - like ETF2L, it is also another place where you can find a clan and join a league. However I personally feel that the Wireplay league is better for new competitive players to TF2, as the standards are not as high. I have personally never played in a Wireplay league, however it is most likely that you would still get a good league game out of it

ESEA League - another league but for people in the USA, i don't personally know very much about TF2 Competitive play in the USA / Canada, but i hear of this league a lot, i also hear of the Cevo league

tf2lobby - probably the site where i spend most of my time on right now. Here, you can find and create 6v6 matches in the EU / USA / RUS. You can also join and create 9v9 Highlander matches, where each person plays one of the 9 classes in the game (usually played on Payload maps). They are fun to do once in a while. However the downside i feel with this is that some matches are unbalanced, as you have 12 random people of different skill levels. As well as this, not a lot of people communicate on tf2lobby, which is unlike a proper clan match. However games here are much better than going to a public server.

A Competitive Guide By ubercharged.net - on this website is all of the main competitive classes described, the basic set-up of competitive play and what each class is to do in a match. As boring as black and white text is to some, i recommend to any competitive player, experience or no experience, to read this guide. Even the classes you don't play..i found it very interesting and knowledgeable

Another Guide By GotFrag.com - yet another guide i found helpful in how to play competitive TF2, however i feel that this one is in much more depth, and aimed more at new competitive players. It talks about the pushing / holding theory, the miod fight etc. but i still recommend that any player reads it to refresh their knowledge, and although this is an American site, it does mention some differences in the European competitive scene.

(Part 2 Incoming)