QEL x Brazil Fortress 6v6 Proving Grounds 1 - Sponsored by TF2easy

Brazil Fortress and Quick Esports League are proud to announce Proving Grounds 1, a multi-regional competitive 6v6 event for North America, South America, and Europe.

The tournament features medals and a $1,500 USD prize pool, with $500 USD per region. Running from January 31st to February 1st, the tournament will include four divisions for NA, EU, and SA, and will follow a double-elimination format with Bo1 matches and Bo3 playoff rounds.

Proving Grounds 1 serves as the first installment of the Proving Grounds series, one of the several event formats planned under QEL going forward.

Signups

Signups are open from January 21st to January 30th. All signups will take place on our website. Teams will signup to the division they intend to play in. All teams will be manually approved by the QEL staff team, and QEL reserves the right to adjust team placements between divisions accordingly.

Format

Proving Grounds 1 will follow a 6v6 format, consistent with QEL's previous In-Season and Post-Season Cups. Teams will play with standard 6v6 class limits, with one offclass permitted at any given time. For example, teams may not have both a Heavy and Engineer at the same time.

The event will use a modified whitelist, similar to previous QEL 6v6 events. The following items are banned:
* Market Gardener
* Quickiebomb Launcher
* Loch-n-Load
* Wrap Assassin

The cup will be a two day double elimination event taking place on Saturday January 31st, and Sunday February 1st.

Schedule

Saturday, January 31st - Day 1

North America: 6:00 PM EST
South America: 18:00 / 6:00 PM GMT-3
Europe: 18:00 / 6:00 PM CET
The expected number of matches to be played will be announced early on Saturday once teams are finalized.

Sunday, February 1st - Day 2

North America: 5:00 PM EST
South America: 17:00 / 5:00 PM GMT-3
Europe: 17:00 / 5:00 PM CET
Played until completion.

Map Pool

The official map pool for the event is listed below. All games will follow a pick/ban system.

cp_process_f12
cp_gullywash_f9
koth_bagel_rc11
cp_sunshine
koth_clearcut_b18
cp_metalworks_f7
cp_granary_pro_rc17a3

Pick/Bans

All matches will be played using a pick/ban system from the official map pool.

Bo1 matches (regular matches): Teams will take turns banning maps until one remains.
Bo3 matches (playoffs): Teams will follow a standard pick/ban process with the home team being the first ban.

Please refer to the QEL 6v6 rulebook for detailed pick/ban procedures. [1.6.1]

A week ago, the scene shifted.
Big announcements. Sudden changes. Patterns resurfacing.
And some ideas... seem familiar.
The community's commotion is still spreading.

QEL has been watching, aware of everything happening.
Patiently. Quietly. Calculating.

We are not yet ready to share all the details, but the plans are in motion.
And they are bigger than anyone expects.

January 2026.

The stage is set.

QEL x Brazil Fortress 4v4 Halloween Cup 2025 NA

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Sign Ups

Sign ups are open from October 20th to October 31st. All sign ups will take place on our website: https://quickesportsleague.com/teams. Teams will sign up to the division they intend to play in. All teams will be manually approved by the QEL staff team, and QEL reserves the right to adjust team placements between divisions accordingly.

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Divisions

The QEL x Brazil Fortress Halloween 4v4 Cup will feature three divisions:

● Scary Invite
● Haunted Div 2
● Ghastly Div 3

These divisions will work in the same manner as past QEL events:

● Scary Invite: Invite level teams.
● Haunted Div 2: Main to Advanced level teams.
● Ghastly Div 3: Newcomer to Intermediate level teams.

Please read Rulebook Section [4.0] for more details regarding player eligibility and team placements.

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4v4 Format and Structure

The QEL x Brazil Fortress Halloween 4v4 Cup will follow a 4v4 format, which consists of one Soldier, one Scout, one Demoman, and one Medic per team as the standard team composition. Matches will be played exclusively on KOTH maps. Please see the official Map Pool and Ruleset for more information. Teams must include a minimum of four players and may have up to seven players rostered.

Teams are permitted to play with other classes; however, teams are limited to a maximum of one Soldier and one Scout at any given time. Additionally, teams are not permitted to play with both a Heavy and a Medic at the same time.

The cup will be a two day double elimination event taking place on Saturday, November 1st, and Sunday, November 2nd. The matches on Saturday will begin at 6:00 PM EST.

Regular matches will be played using a BO1 format with a pick/ban system, while playoff matches will be played using a BO3 format with a pick/ban system. The number of matches each team plays will depend on the total amount of signups. The event will continue until completion on Sunday.

Additional announcements containing thorough match schedules and expected game counts will be made in advance on both Saturday (1st) and Sunday (2nd), once signups have closed and all teams and bracket information have been confirmed.

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Saturday, November 1st - Day 1

Day 1 will start at 6:00 PM EST.
The expected number of matches to be played will be announced early on Saturday once teams are finalized.
Double elimination bracket, with regular matches being BO1 following a pick/ban format.

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Sunday, November 2nd - Day 2

Day 2 will start at 5:00 PM EST.
The cup will be played until completion on day two.
Playoff matches will be BO3 games following a pick/ban format.

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Prize Pool

The prize pool for the North American region is $500 USD. The final prize pool distribution will be determined after signups close, based on the number of participating teams within divisions.

All prize winnings will be sent via PayPal to team leaders two weeks after the event concludes. Team leaders will be required to fill out a payment form provided by QEL staff to receive their prize winnings. Further details regarding prize allocation will be announced once divisions and teams are finalized.

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Medals

With this partnership with Brazil Fortress, we are proud to offer the official Brazil Fortress Halloween Tournament Medals to participants of the QEL x Brazil Fortress Halloween 4v4 Cup.

Every participating team and player will receive a participation medal, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the QEL rulebook. Placement medals will also be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams in each division.

Please read Rulebook Section [5.1.3] for further details regarding medal eligibility.

Map Pool

All matches will be played on KOTH maps. The official map pool for the event is listed below. All games will follow a pick/ban system.

koth_bagel_rc11
koth_product_final
koth_airfield_b7
koth_maple_ridge_rc2
koth_harter_rc1
koth_highpass
koth_badlands
koth_stallone_b2
koth_undergrove_rc1

Pick/Bans

All matches will be played using a pick/ban system from the official map pool.

Bo1 matches (regular matches): Teams will take turns banning maps until one remains.
Bo3 matches (playoffs): Teams will follow a standard pick/ban process with the home team being the first ban.

Please refer to the QEL 4v4 rulebook for detailed pick/ban procedures. [1.6.2]