That's pretty much true for all teamwork-based games, really. A group of friends with organized plans and voice chat will almost always beat a group of randoms, barring massive skill gaps.

What's the major difference in the competitive matchmaking though, for someone who hasn't looked at the game itself in a while? Are there different balance changes made to the game to compensate for the idea that things are intentionally competitive and structured? An ability to queue up by preferred classes/roles?

>>552
Thus far the only thing that distinguishes it as more competitive is the ranking system and medals given out at the end of each round. It's limited to 6v6 but there are no class limits, meaning you can have 2 or 3 people running around as the same class on a single team. Unlike regular comp, there's no banned weapons.

So basically outside of the matchmaking itself and the ranking, it's no different than pubs. Since it's still in beta I'm hoping valve will add class limits or allow you to spawn in based on a list of your preferred classes.