By Cheryl Ellis, Photos By Blu Insights Media
Texas is not a place that is commonly associated with water. In fact, the word ‘Texas’ typically evokes images of tumbleweeds, cactus, and deserts for the average person. But, as the second Pro major in less than two months came to town, Texas, yet again, served up thunderstorms, and the mud bath was glorious. At least, from a photographer’s perspective, that is.
Unlike the NXL Lone Star major which was mudded out for the Pro division at the end of April, the International Classic Paintball League is intended to be played in all elements, and perhaps the water brought the environmental challenge that the fields were otherwise lacking.
As field walks commenced on Saturday morning, it became apparent that the lake adjacent to Cousins Paintball, where the event was played, had risen and flooded the banks… right where the fields were situated. The fields, which were a mix of hyper pipe and airball bunkers, quite literally became one with the lake until the water receded. For the purists who continue to argue classic paintball is played in the woods and Texas does not have great woods to offer, this may have been just enough of a challenge to overcome their criticisms for this event.
Undaunted, the players decided to not only make the best of the situation, but to embrace it with eagerness and fervor. Let’s be honest. Somewhere deep inside every one of us is that little kid who still likes to splash in muddy puddles. So, let your inner three-year-old shine, people, because we are in it to win it, even if we are going to swim it.
Pro Division
The story started very similarly for the Pro division as it did at the ProDNA Open two months ago: Farside came out strong and steady. Fight Club, Infamous, GZ, and Dark Ops struggled to find their groove. And it looked as though it was going to be a legendary weekend for Craig Baska and Emanuele Capodieci’s Misfits as they came bursting out of the gate, but lost steam as the day wore on Saturday.
acEmpire and Kapp Factory were the variables that changed the narrative in Texas.
Although they missed the Pro DNA in Tennessee, Kapp Factory came into this event hot and had a ridiculous weekend, grabbing a flag pull in every one of their prelim games, and averaging only 2.8 dead players per game. Moving into the semi-finals, their spark sputtered out. Although they edged out a win over Adrenaline, managing a pull and hang, they lost five bodies in the process. And then, they lost in a slugging fest against acEmpire.
acEmpire came into this event with a knockout roster, and they lived up to the high expectations that were laid out for them. Bringing in heavy hitters like Shane Howe, Mark and Clint Johnson of acDiesel, and Logan Dyer of Austin Notorious, this squad, clearly, took more time to adjust to the marshy conditions of the field than some of the classic teams.
To start Saturday, acEmpire eked out a win on body count in their first game against MVPS Dark Ops, then played to a stalemate against Louisville Asylum on the swamp of a hyperball field. Enemy gave them a run for their money, dropping six of their ten players, and denying them a flag hang. They then squared up against two out-gunned squads in Team Smoke and a ragtag Fight Club, which they won handily. But on the hybrid field, Farside issued them an embarrassing 96-8 ‘L’.
Whether it was a shock to the ego, an adjustment for jet lag, or the fields firming up as the water receded, something shifted for acEmpire after the Farside game. After that, they found their footing, dropped the hammer, and never looked back.
The heartbreak award for the weekend certainly goes to Farside.
Coming into Texas with a number one ranking, Farside played an astounding tournament, winning all eight of their prelim games with pull-and-hangs, and averaging only 4 dead players per game. They had the momentum behind them going into the semi finals on Sunday. There, they watched Team Smoke defeat Chicago Aftershock in a drawn out battle – Smoke was whittled down to only two alive before they managed to make their move for the flag.
‘Shock bounced back hard from their loss to Smoke. For the last semifinal match, Aftershock surprised the always patient Farside 95-8 to take the second seed into the finals, and knocked Farside out of their first place rank in the league.
In the finals, Image put together a pair of nail biters. First, they toppled Aftershock 22-13. “Shock would take third place on the podium, but accumulate enough points to move ahead of Farside and reclaim first place in the overall rankings.
Image then held on tight for a near-stalemate against acEmpire, losing by a heartbreaking single one body standing.
As for acEmpire, they stood atop the podium for this one. But we will see if this force returns to the legendary Pittsburgh Open Classic.
In the 5-Man, several teams would drop out prior to the event start, and the competition was honed down to five teams. Chicago Aftershock was on top coming out of the prelims by a long shot, but slowed down going into finals taking a third place spot to match their 10-man medal. The Florida Annihilators and Louisville Asylum would actually tie for gold.
Amateur Division
As for the amateur division, international representation was alive, several teams are growing, and the competition is heating up.
The boys from Minnesota must have been itching to get out after a long winter, because the Air Assault Factory team (or AAF) from St. Paul showed up in force. They split the line for two five-man squads to run the 5-man am, just as a warmup of sorts, and took home gold jewelry.
They then entered in the Amateur 10-man, where they earned a matching set of gold medals, topping legacy teams like Lockout and Dirty.
Valhalla FSU, Dirty, and the Omaha Bulls were surprising first seeds coming out of the prelims beating out established teams like Lockout and APE Guerillas. Valhalla ended up taking a beating from Dirty and didn’t earn enough points in their win over Lockout Canada to move forward. Heading into the finals, all of the established teams were left out, and it was Dirty, AAF, and the Bulls who remained. The finals were explosive to say the least. AAF and Dirty fought a nail biter that came down to bodies with Dirty on top. The Bulls then trounced Dirty to earn a second place spot, and AAF issued a beating of the same magnitude back to the Bulls to take home gold
