ozfortress Highlander Winter '26 (S13)


(art by core)

It's cold outside, good thing you don't do that hey!

Winter '26 Highlander (Season 13) is here, and is following up a quieter off-season with only Ultiduo 20. Our Winter '26 seasons see some changes to staff, but are otherwise your typical season.

Highlander Winter '26 Changes

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This season there will be no Whitelist changes, however, there will be maps changed in our Map Pool, and you can view our staff changes here.

Season Details
   Map Pool      Whitelist      Staff & Support      Player Restrictions
   Key Dates & Transfer Windows      Winter '26 Round Bans

 

Signups

You can sign up for Highlander Winter '26 from Saturday 6th of June 2026, up until Friday the 19th of June 2026. We aim to have the seedings out by either Monday 22nd of June, or Tuesday 23rd of June 2026. Round 1 of Winter '26 will start Wednesday 24th of June 2026.

We will allow for late signups, but we have set an early signups close date to allow us more time to confidently seed teams internally. Please reach out to us prior to signups closing so we know to expect your roster!

Please fill out the Signup Agreement template found in the dropdown below and put it in your Signup Application when signing up your team.
Signup Agreement dropdown
By signing up, you acknowledge that you may be placed in any division the administrators deem fit for your roster, and thus your entire team should be reasonable in their expectations on division placement. We will endeavour to let teams know of changes in initial seedings before the final release. Please ensure you specify the division you truly believe your team should be in, making it easier for administrators to consult with you on your seeding. Along with selecting your desired division, please also list who you expect to play, and what class/role. We have a template below, please include your completed template in your signup application OR YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. 
Scout: 
Soldier: 
Pyro: 
Demoman: 
Heavy: 
Engineer: 
Medic: 
Sniper: 
Spy: 
Sub(s):
Helpful Links & How-to Guides
   Discord      Global Ruleset      Highlander Ruleset    Newbie Guide      Book a server
   Finding a Team      Creating a Team and Signing Up
Reminders dropdown
  • During Highlander Winter '26, we are continuing to conduct random demo checks to ensure players are recording POV demos. Please ensure that you are recording all scrims and officials to avoid punishment. You can do this via the in-game demo system following our guide which you can find here.

Map Pool

⚠️ PLEASE NOTE: Map information and scheduling on this page is tentative - we are awaiting the results of our Map Survey.

Map Schedule

Week 1: pl_vigil_rc10, koth_product_final
Week 2: pl_upward_f12, koth_warmtic_f10
Week 3: pl_swiftwater_final1, koth_product_final
Week 4: cp_steel_f12, koth_proot_b6c-alt2
Week 5: pl_eruption_b15, koth_product_final
Week 6: pl_vigil_rc10, koth_warmtic_f10
Week 7: pl_swiftwater_final1, koth_proot_b6c-alt2

Please note: pl_upward_f12, pl_vigil_rc10, pl_eruption_b15, cp_steel_f12, koth_product_final, koth_ashville_final1, koth_proot_b6c-alt2 and koth_warmtic_f10 are custom maps. If you don't already have these installed, please click the links above to download them, and then move them to your ..\Team Fortress 2\tf\download\maps directory.

Highlander Winter '26 Map Pool

  • cp_steel_f12
  • koth_ashville_final1
  • koth_product_final
  • koth_proot_b6c-alt2
  • koth_warmtic_f10
  • pl_eruption_b15
  • pl_swiftwater_final1
  • pl_upward_f12
  • pl_vigil_rc10

RCON/Changing Maps

The following commands can be used to change maps to the correct version. Type or copy these commands into your console to change to that map, as long as you have the correct RCON password.

rcon changelevel pl_upward_f12

rcon changelevel koth_product_final

rcon changelevel pl_swiftwater_final1

rcon changelevel pl_eruption_b15

rcon changelevel cp_steel_f12

rcon changelevel pl_vigil_rc10

rcon changelevel koth_ashville_final1

rcon changelevel koth_proot_b6c-alt2

rcon changelevel koth_warmtic_f10

Staff & Support

Highlander Staff Team

  • Head Highlander Admin: Sylvie
  • Highlander League Admins: indy and her jones, Pulse & woozy

To see our complete list including Discord handles, see our Staff page here.

Key Dates & Transfer Windows

⚠️ PLEASE NOTE: These dates are tentative, and depend on the final division seedings.

Signups & Seedings Dates

  • Saturday 6th of June 2026: Signups Open
  • Friday 19th of June 2026: Signups Close, Rosters Locked for Seedings
  • Tuesday 23rd of June 2026: Seedings Released
  • Wednesday 24th of June 2026: Season starts

Regular Season Dates

  • Wednesday 24th June - Sunday 28th June 2026: Round 1
  • Wednesday 1st July - Sunday 5th July 2026: Round 2
  • Wednesday 8th July - Sunday 12th July 2026: Round 3
  • Wednesday 15th July - Sunday 19th July 2026: Round 4
  • Wednesday 22nd July - Sunday 26th July 2026: Round 5
  • Wednesday 29th July - Sunday 2nd August 2026: Round 6
  • Wednesday 5th August - Sunday 9th August 2026: Round 7

Playoffs Dates

Premier Division Playoffs
  • Wednesday 29th July - Sunday 2nd August 2026: Page Playoffs
  • Wednesday 5th August - Sunday 9th August 2026: Semi-Finals
  • Wednesday 12th August - Sunday 16th August 2026: Grand Finals
Intermediate / Main / Open Divisions Playoffs
  • Wednesday 12th August - Sunday 16th August 2026: Page Playoffs
  • Wednesday 19th August - Sunday 23rd August 2026: Semi Finals
  • Wednesday 26th August - Sunday 30th August 2026: Grand Finals

Transfer Windows

Transfers this season will be processed and approved on a weekly basis. Teams should note the Transfer Windows to prevent player issues with their rosters during the season. Transfers can be requested at any point during the season, however, the players in question will only be processed in between the Transfer Windows (see dates below). Furthermore, players won't be processed until their team's match has concluded for the current round.

For applicants to be eligible to play in a particular round, the transfer application must be submitted by 11:59 PM AEST time on TUESDAY before the transfer window closes.
Premier Division Windows (3 Windows)
  • Wednesday 24th June - Sunday 28th June 2026: Transfer Window 1
  • Wednesday 1st July - Sunday 5th July 2026: Transfer Window 2
  • Wednesday 8th July - Sunday 12th July 2026: Transfer Window 3
⚠️ Roster Lock applied on Tuesday 14th July 2026
Intermediate / Main / Open Divisions Windows (5 Windows)
  • Wednesday 24th June - Sunday 28th June 2026: Transfer Window 1
  • Wednesday 1st July - Sunday 5th July 2026: Transfer Window 2
  • Wednesday 8th July - Sunday 12th July 2026: Transfer Window 3
  • Wednesday 15th July - Sunday 19th July 2026: Transfer Window 4
  • Wednesday 22nd July - Sunday 26th July 2026: Transfer Window 5
⚠️ Roster Lock applied on Tuesday 28th July 2026

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