if you still want to play ETQW in 2024 there's a group of active players still doing it. go to
https://etqw.org
and get the community client manager which shows all major active community servers like Freedom, BBA, Angelina's Bot Survival Server, Salty Bawls, etc.
The client manager downloads the necessary game files like mods and custom maps you need to play and connects you right into the server. It also has other nice features like letting you set a higher screen resolution than what the original game allows and has a universal personal config utility to automatically copy your player config to all mods.
They have regular American and European games several times a week and the client manager shows you who is active on the servers and common server play times with schedules and countdown timers.