diff --git a/src/game-servers/assign.test.ts b/src/game-servers/assign.test.ts
index 568ae59e5..fecfd2916 100644
--- a/src/game-servers/assign.test.ts
+++ b/src/game-servers/assign.test.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ import { staticGameServers } from '../static-game-servers'
 import { servemeTf } from '../serveme-tf'
 
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
-const fakeGame = { number: 1 } as any
+const fakeGame = { number: 1, map: 'cp_badlands' } as any
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
 const fakeServer = { id: 'srv', name: 'test', provider: 'tf2quickserver' } as any
 
@@ -58,14 +58,20 @@ describe('assign() with selected tf2QuickServer', () => {
 
   it('calls tf2QuickServer.assign with serverId when value is tf2QuickServer:{id}', async () => {
     await assign(fakeGame, 'tf2QuickServer:server-abc123')
-    expect(tf2QuickServer.assign).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ serverId: 'server-abc123' })
+    expect(tf2QuickServer.assign).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      serverId: 'server-abc123',
+      map: 'cp_badlands',
+    })
     expect(staticGameServers.assign).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     expect(servemeTf.assign).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
   })
 
   it('calls tf2QuickServer.assign with region when value is tf2QuickServer:new:{region}', async () => {
     await assign(fakeGame, 'tf2QuickServer:new:eu-frankfurt-1')
-    expect(tf2QuickServer.assign).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ region: 'eu-frankfurt-1' })
+    expect(tf2QuickServer.assign).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      region: 'eu-frankfurt-1',
+      map: 'cp_badlands',
+    })
   })
 
   it('throws for unknown game server selection', async () => {
diff --git a/src/game-servers/assign.ts b/src/game-servers/assign.ts
index bd7441208..ec6e212b3 100644
--- a/src/game-servers/assign.ts
+++ b/src/game-servers/assign.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ function assignFirstFree(game: GameModel): Promise<GameServer> {
   return staticGameServers
     .assign(game)
     .catch(() => servemeTf.assign(game))
-    .catch(() => tf2QuickServer.assign())
+    .catch(() => tf2QuickServer.assign({ map: game.map }))
     .catch((error: unknown) => {
       logger.error(error)
       throw errors.internalServerError(`no free servers available for game ${game.number}`)
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ function assignSelected(game: GameModel, selected: string): Promise<GameServer>
     const payload = selected.substring(15)
     if (payload.startsWith('new:')) {
       const region = payload.substring(4)
-      return tf2QuickServer.assign({ region })
+      return tf2QuickServer.assign({ region, map: game.map })
     }
-    return tf2QuickServer.assign({ serverId: payload })
+    return tf2QuickServer.assign({ serverId: payload, map: game.map })
   }
 
   throw errors.badRequest(`unknown game server selection: ${selected}`)
diff --git a/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.test.ts b/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.test.ts
index 565935d29..77cffae12 100644
--- a/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.test.ts
+++ b/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.test.ts
@@ -131,8 +131,8 @@ describe('assign()', () => {
     })
 
     it('should create a server in the given region without calling findFree', async () => {
-      await assign({ region: 'us-chicago-1' })
-      expect(createServer).toHaveBeenCalledWith('us-chicago-1')
+      await assign({ region: 'us-chicago-1', map: 'cp_badlands' })
+      expect(createServer).toHaveBeenCalledWith('us-chicago-1', 'cp_badlands')
       expect(findFree).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     })
   })
diff --git a/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.ts b/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.ts
index 4c8925d60..9f1fe043e 100644
--- a/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.ts
+++ b/src/tf2-quick-server/assign.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@ function stubGameServer(taskId: string): GameServer {
 export async function assign({
   serverId,
   region,
-}: { serverId?: string; region?: string } = {}): Promise<GameServer> {
+  map,
+}: { serverId?: string; region?: string; map?: string } = {}): Promise<GameServer> {
   if (!environment.TF2_QUICK_SERVER_CLIENT_ID || !environment.TF2_QUICK_SERVER_CLIENT_SECRET) {
     throw errors.badRequest('TF2 QuickServer is disabled')
   }
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ export async function assign({
     region = await configuration.get('tf2_quick_server.region')
   }
 
-  const { taskId } = await createServer(region)
+  const { taskId } = await createServer(region, map)
   logger.info({ taskId, region }, 'TF2 QuickServer creation started')
   return stubGameServer(taskId)
 }
diff --git a/src/tf2-quick-server/client.ts b/src/tf2-quick-server/client.ts
index 25ec72fff..73562642b 100644
--- a/src/tf2-quick-server/client.ts
+++ b/src/tf2-quick-server/client.ts
@@ -120,14 +120,15 @@ export async function listServers(): Promise<z.infer<typeof serverSchema>[]> {
   return z.array(serverSchema).parse(await apiFetch('/api/servers'))
 }
 
-export async function createServer(region: string): Promise<{ taskId: string }> {
-  logger.info({ region }, 'creating TF2 QuickServer server')
+export async function createServer(region: string, firstMap?: string): Promise<{ taskId: string }> {
+  logger.info({ region, firstMap }, 'creating TF2 QuickServer server')
   return taskAcceptedSchema.parse(
     await apiFetch('/api/servers', {
       method: 'POST',
       body: JSON.stringify({
         region,
         variantName: 'tf2pickup',
+        firstMap,
         extraEnvs: {
           SERVER_HOSTNAME: environment.WEBSITE_NAME,
         },