So, its not that I have too big a problem playing against bots, its just that I find it more fun in these sort of games to play against other players. So are there any matches/ ways of joining matches that are not mainly bots? Or are all matches mainly bots due to a generally low player count?
basically, to rephrase, are all matches filled with bots?
Thanks in advance.

Server are usually populated the evenings

Server are usually populated the evenings
Awesome! I had thought this was probably true, but I hadn't tried it yet. Thanks for the answer!

I usually see 2-3 bots max with about 12-16 players in the mornings and early afternoons, weekdays, on "Original Maps USA XPSave" Some days are worse than others.
But it's pretty much filled with humans on the weekends.

ETPro mod doesn't support bots, so all players are real:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801141726
https://et.trackbase.net/server/46455/

this site sort servers by real player count:
https://et.trackbase.net/serverlist/
red number is bot count