Pickup (sometimes called gather) channels are places where gamers meet to play more organised games together away from the hassle of public servers, usually using league/competition settings and tactics that would normally be found in clan matches. Over the years the number & variety of pickup channels available has increased considerably, from small beginnings when the concept was mainly used for Quake up to the present day where gamers of practically any discipline can find a channel where they can enjoy serious, competitive play. Although rules & practices differ from channel to channel, they're generally free from the dregs of online gaming - aliasers, newbies, cheats & exploiters. Channels are mostly run by volunteer individuals for the benefit of their scene, though some are run by gather organisations, hosting companies or clans. All channels covered in this guide are on the QuakeNet IRC network & some require you to auth with the network's Q service bot to join (channel mode +r), see this page for details on how to do so if you're unfamiliar with the procedure. Here's the 2005 rundown of popular & active pickup channels sorted by game, gametype & region.































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This list has been made as conclusive & accurate as possible, however if there are any errors, omissions or an update needed please inform me so that this can be the definitive list.

Many thanks to james, whose original concept I've updated.