Valve has two of the biggest esports titles in the world right now: Dota 2 and CS:GO. But there is also a small pocket of a competitive community in Team Fortress 2, one of the earliest class-based FPS. While the game remains a casual romp with a comprehensive hat economy, there is a level of skill required. This inspired the community to form competitive tournaments, including LAN events.
Ready Up: Competitive Team Fortress 2 is documentary explains how competitive TF2 works and breaks down how the competitive scene grew from the grassroots and how Insomnia became the yearly premier event for competitive TF2.
But it also highlights how the scene is struggling. A lot of the issues come from little to no support from Valve- the horrible competitive update “meet your match” was universally lambasted by the interviewees- and why many of the top TF2 players have moved on to other games, such as the simlarly-class based shooter Overwatch.
Notable names that made the jump from TF2 to Overwatch including Seagull, Muma, and Clockwork makes an appearance as the many interviewees alongside various esports talents and TF2 community members speaking about TF2.
It’s a fascinating look at how a community managed to keep the rather small esports scene alive, even without direct developer support. It’s a sign that passion from the community can inspire great things. It may not be as mainstream or lucrative to, say, the Overwatch League, but these folks enjoy the game purely because of the game and the community. And it sure is skill intensive- the best players from TF2 that have migrated to Overwatch and still find success is proof of that.