Our TF2 EU main roster has finished ETF2L Season 10 in a fantastic 3rd place. The final leg of the journey to success was the result of incredibly close games where anyone could take pole positions! They went the whole season without taking a loss from a team but despite their gallant efforts one of their final matches resulted in their first loss. They still managed to get their hands on some prizes! A community wide poll invited over 800 members to vote Crack Clan as “Most Surprisingly Good Team of the Season!” With the season restarting this month, you can follow your heroes of TF2 as they play in Premier once again with a different face complimenting cc//HarryHook. We have now said goodbye to Estanis with high hopes that he will succeed as an officer of the force! In turn we now welcome the legendary Bash who has represented Team Germany at Nations Cups in the past. He is feared by opponents for his precise aim and unique movement so our team is happy to have him on our side. Welcome cc//Bash! Remember to follow our progress in the upcoming season as many of our matches are casted through VanillaTF2.org and VODs are available at YouTube!

Though we’re an MGO, the Battlefield franchise has always received extra attention from Crack Clan, it’s just that game that we’re always willing to take our time with and get right. Toward that goal our biggest news has been that our Battlefield 3 experience grows on both sides of the Atlantic, the major announcement being that we’ve launched a Nordic team under the management of cc//Krusken who adds “I hope we will continue to have a great time together. Let’s play hard and fun together!”

cc//BF3 Nordic are:

cc//Lusse, cc//Krusken, cc//Panzercat, cc//Swaffel, cc//Foss3n, cc//Forre, cc//ninjafiskJR, cc//Phrallan, cc//JagPangarHS, cc//Snejbelsax.

Additionally, Our BF3 EU team is currently exploring the different game modes available from 4v4 Squad Rush to 12v12 Conquest. With cc//Bradders and cc//Psunfragga at the reins of this campaign they are currently recruiting new players into the team in the hopes of solidifying a flexible roster that can play every game mode possible. You will see cc//Crystal and cc//Irish ranked well in the ESL 5v5 matchmaking system trying to improve their game.

Furthermore, on the North American front we’re opening up spots for pilots and ground pounders to compliment our existing rosters so get in touch — whatever skill you are, if you’re looking for teamwork, real tactics and people passionate for the game you will find a home with us in Crack Clan.

Last but not least we have news from the Red Orchestra 2 front, long-standing member cc//Hans had this to say: “cc//RO2 was ready, willing and able to compete as it had in RO Ostfront. However, the game was too buggy and not ready for competitive play. As a result we are standing down until it is fixed, if ever… We won our only ROLadder.net match and went deep into the Scorched Earth Tournament held by Forgotten Honor and supported by Tripwire. Our guys showed a lot of dedication and competitiveness during the tournament practicing and developing strats. We fought hard and it was very fun. ” Hats off to these gentlemen, we hope future patches and mods will see a return back to the WWII genre and until then we’re looking forward to spending some time together on the modern Battlefield.

Crack Clan vs Dignitas (cp_badlands) & Crack Clan vs Dignitas (cp_obscure)

Playing against Epsilon (who were called EU’s #1 team,) Crack Clan fought hard and lost on cp_granary with a close score 4-6. In cp_obscure they showed that they had done their homework and completely dominated Epsilon with perfect play, winning 3-0. This cemented the reputation that Crack Clan are a team that is not to be taken lightly!

Whilst ETF2L may be their main focus, Crack Clan TF2′s passion for e-sports can be seen where they participated in community cups such as Alberts Cup #6 and #7, coming 1st and 2nd respectively and earning themselves some games as prizes. Congratulations! Look out for them taking part in an upcoming ESH-Roccat cup with a prize pool of £500.

Our premiership squad are not the only Crack Clan squad who are lovers of TF2 – We recently had an internal 3v3 KOTH style tournament which saw all of our squads integrating for a fantastic night of play. Check back here for a dedicated article on this shortly, but to tease you lets just say the winners were not a “pure” TF2 team – shocking results!

In the future you may spot Crack Clans highlander team over the Winter season where they will be competing in division 3. We pride ourselves creating a friendly atmosphere where everyone can play so we appreciate your support in our 9 vs 9 endeavours!

Crack Clan Blue are still yet to play a large amount of their matches in division 3 of ETF2L after having some internet issues with cc//Bucket. Now it has been resolved, check them out in the near future with some action packed games as they are a team with an abundance of potential and charisma!

Keep up the fantastic work – Crack Clan fighting strong!

We’ve got everything from our grizzled veterans laying down cover fire through to some of the hottest players that are grabbing #1s on the leaderboards; all trading bullets and hanging out on our Mumble and eagerly putting in hours upon hours of play. It’s also an interesting time in that we’ve got just a few spots open and are actually entertaining the rare process of trialing open recruits for potential addition to what we anticipate will be some really exciting rosters – this is no hype, it’s what we’ve been genuinely cultivating for nearly a decade.

Admittedly it can get a little hectic with several dozen people plugging away and doing everything from executing team maneuvers to trying to unlock the next goodie or achieving/maintaining their top global status but it’s crystal clear to old and new alike that this is a pretty seriously awesome title and best experienced in a place like ours that’s carried the Battlefield torch for nine years. With round-the-clock gaming activity from Europe to North America we’d like to also take this opportunity to give a big old high5 to all our Battlefield friends and look forward to more maps, more scrimmages, more matches and more fun.

First up we’ve got the solidification of a finalized roster that most of you have already seen out there on the higher level of EU TF2. With the return of Retsh0ck back to Psunfraggas side in competitive TF2 this new team is a formation of the giants that won ESL finals just over a month ago. They have just won the Excello Pre Season Showdown Finals and now have a spot in the Invitational cup as well as having recently placed second in Albert’s Cup (VOD 1 & VOD 2). This team truly is multicultural with 3 Spaniards, 2 Israelis and 1 UK player and with awesome sites like VanillaTF2 covering the scene it’s more easy than ever to follow your favourite team:

• cc//Psunfragga!
• cc//Retsh0ck
• cc//EstaniS
• cc//HarryHook
• cc//matnuN
• cc//Pescanova

There’s more below about Crack Clan Blue TF2 and Mojo’s cc//community team, read on!

Crack Clan Blue finished last season on a high, winning all of their games bar a close game against 9men. They are placed in division 3 for this upcoming season in ETF2L. With a long summers break there have been some roster changes with the departure of Enef and Neocortex. We wish them well in their next endeavours. Despite this long break, cc//Blue have continued playing actively and already filled their roster spaces with new additions! We would like to congratulate cc//Hostile on moving up from cc//Green and into cc//Blue. He is joined by cc//Davesan on scout as his partner. On soldier we have cc//Eledorian joining us and cc//Leftism is playing medic part time with the rejuvenated team. Connection issues currently prevent Blue teams asset cc//Jylt from playing with them so they are currently on the lookout for a new soldier.

Their scrims during the summer show some positive potential for cc//Blue and the added fresh blood has kick started their passions for the game again. They are eagerly awaiting the next season to start and aim to be stronger than ever.

Crack Clan Green have unfortunately gone inactive after placing 4th in ETF2L’s division 5. The majority of the roster is remaining in Crack Clan; look out for them in WPTF2L where Crack Clan is participating with a community team that is the brainchild of cc//Mojo and cc//LeicesterIrish.

Congratulations on your wins cc//Blue and a welcome to Crack Clan for the new recruits.

Good luck, have fun to all our TF2 teams!

We returned from our Summer Gathering in the Smoky Mountains and it ended up being better than expected! We shifted ourselves around on planes, trains and automobiles and ended up at the top of the Smokies (quite literally) in an incredible four storey wooden palace which was officially named CCHQ for the duration of that long weekend. Our rosters kicked it in offline style with everything from relaxed porch banter through to hiking the highest point in Tennessee, eating huge roasts, shooting pool, enjoying a mountain view from the hot tub and strategic discussions about future Crack Clan campaigns.  We also unveiled our new T-shirt design to attending members (in the form of, yes, a T-shirt) which really crisped up our look and will surely begin to permeate throughout some of our branding material in the future!

Many many thanks to all that attended, helped and supported; it was definitely a highlight for all of us and will be repeated again in short order: when we’re not online or at LAN these events really inspire continued performance in all areas of clan life. It turns out to be needed respite given all that’s up ahead!

Read on for a photo, more about TF2, BF3, RO2 and some MOBA action!

We’re on the cusp of announcing our new rosters across several titles — the summer TF2 shakedown is going to result in some announcements in the coming weeks but it’s not at all limited to that game alone as some of us pounded away at the BF3 Alpha and are keeping their Battlefield skills hot while excitedly planning our BF3 campaign and welcoming the return of some of our core DC/BF2 members and supporters.

Furthermore, the anticipation for RO2 this summer was further heightened by participating in the (now open, on-going) RO2 Beta which has a lot of us putting time in to the release and some awesome infrastructural activity that has our North American roster looking like it might be a bit on the large side (we are however looking to build a European squad; contact us!).

Last but certainly not least we’ve all been looking at what’s been happening with LoL, HoN and Dota2 and are evaluating/planning our entry in the MOBA genre all of which is going to, combined, surely involve an awful lot of people, activity, work and play. It’s an exciting scene that offers a real platform upon which proper chemistry and teamwork is rewarded; an area where we feel we’ve got the formula to make the right things happen.

With those days getting shorter and a little chillier we’re well-poised to take full advantage of the coming months and totally pumped up for the future. High5s and the deepest thanks and admiration to all the busy hands and minds that contribute toward building our continued legacy, we’re really grateful for your efforts and excited about what comes next!

We’ve capped yet another two European Team Fortress 2 seasons with good reason to celebrate given their impressive 1st & 2nd place ESL group standings (as well as a 2nd place ETF2L division stance), positive chemistry built up and tangible progress toward what we hope will be solid post-summer campaigns that leverage these experiences. Congratulations to all players, it’s been an honour and a pleasure to follow you!

On the Starcraft II front we are excited to announce the implementation of a ‘reboot’ having carefully observed and measured previous results and plotted out a new course – we have released the majority of our roster and would like to wish them well in their future endeavours as we assemble a new campaign that should prove as interesting as it will be entertaining!

Last but certainly not least we’re going ahead with plans to embrace what will hopefully be two upcoming successful releases in the form of Battlefield 3 and Red Orchestra 2 in typical unorthodox fashion: we’re kicking things off with what will prove to be another historical Gathering, this time we’ve got almost twenty five members making their way from all around North American to meet up in a luxurious mountain-side mansion (complete with game rooms, jacuzzis and a proper theatre!) in order to combine R&R with team-building and commencing the plotting and planning to kick off what should be two new campaigns of epic proportions. These kinds of experiences are unparalleled, no LAN or VOIP meeting can come close – we’re all looking forward to it in July!

Stay tuned, there’ll be more to knock your socks off coming your way soon.

• cc//DeTh
• cc//Karka
• cc//RedShift
• cc//Dennisthemenace
• cc//Slnt
• cc//Paintrain
• cc//The Black Scarab
• cc//Unlucky

We also anticipate the creation of an additional NA squad with EU support following shortly thereafter. We invite you to join us on our public server (brink.crackclan.com:27015) to get some games in and meet the players!

Team Captain DeTh had the following quip to share: “We are excited to bring Brink into Crack Clan Family of games, and will carry its name with respect across our campaign of matches and tournaments. See you all in game.”

We’ve never officially adopted a new game so rapidly which just might be testament to Splash Damage’s team-friendly offering and the initial community reaction. Good luck to the new squad and stay tuned for more news from the Ark!

Countless thank-yous to the dedicated, hard-working and hard-playing massive that continues to clock hours in the pursuit of fun, enlightenment and victory – none of it is even remotely possible without our die-hard members, our opponents, the lovers, the haters, the admins and the community at large. Especially deepest gratitude to those that try to better the scene, the ones that would rather lend a hand than drop the smack, those that would build with the big picture in mind not just their own intentions. Online gaming is where its at and we salute the supporters of that notion!

It was another awesome year with great placements, internal tournaments, title releases, collaborative gaming, movie nights and more. The Crack Clan horizon is again set to include exciting new competitive frontiers, gatherings and competitions, all flavoured with that overall camaraderie that is built form the sum of a groups’ parts. Thanks again and happy birthday Crack Clan!

ESEA – With the season quickly coming to a close, cc//SC2 has one more match against “Double D” to play to decide which way their current 10-4 season record will go. If victorious, cc//SC2 will be tied for 3rd with vVv!

MLG Dallas – The MLG 2011 Pro Circuit started off this weekend with its first stop at the Dallas Convention Center with Michael “cc//Jaeger” Marcin began his mission on fighting through the brackets.  Unfortunately due to performance against a strong Zerg player and technical difficulties, cc//Jaeger was eliminated from the tournament in Round 3 of the Lower Bracket to vVvRigid in a 1-2 series.

Ann Arbor Open #2 – Crack Clan’s Michigan SC2 Force consisting of Phil “cc//Lizzuma” Johnston and Justin “cc//Jroy” Roy along with the team manager and coach Eric “cc//keK” Collins competed in the Starcraft II Ann Arbor Open #2.

Coincidentally the Ann Arbor Open #2 took place on the first Saturday of April which is the annual date for the Ann Arbor Hash Bash which made cc//keK leave only one statement about the event…  “Stoners everywhere…”  cc//Lizzuma and cc//Jroy both being in opposite ends of the brackets, ended up playing each other in the Upper Bracket Finals where cc//Lizzuma took a 2-0 victory on Xel’ Naga Caverns and Metalopolis.

While the lower bracket was finishing off between a nearly two hour series between Terran player “iPSynTH” and Zerg player “Bad”.  During this break cc//Lizzuma took the time to do an impromptu cast with ICCup.TV’s prodiG to co-cast the Edmonton Starcraft 2 Tournament that took place in Canada.

But during the games, iPSynTH finally claimed victory after the long 45+ macro games to play cc//JRoy, eventually defeating him in the series 2-0.

The grand finals began around 11:00PM between cc//Lizzuma and iPSynTH in a TvT match up that would carry on throughout the night until about 1:00AM with cc//Lizzuma defending his title as reigning champ.

cc//JRoy was asked about what happened in the 0-2 series against iPSynTH and commented…

“Well, the opening game was a simple setup for my typical best of 3 series opening. Did my best with some DT Expand harass to take an early lead going into the mid-game, which he handled well with minimal loses and ended up getting an economic lead to win.

Second game I thought with the size of the map(Tal’ Adari) he would choose to go for a macro game but unfortunately a 3 barracks timing attack subdued me and finished out the series 0-2 in his favor.”