There was a time when the Carolinas boasted not just the largest regional tournament series in the country, but one of the largest tournament series in the world. Though that time is a distant memory, no one remembers it more fondly than that league’s former promoter, Larry Motes. His return to regional tournament promotion in 2013 at OXCC Paintball’s Mid-Atlantic Paintball League in Maryland had many speculating that his return to tournament paintball in his home state of North Carolina couldn’t be far off. That speculation became fact during the 2013/2014 off-season, when it was announced that he would return to paintball event promotion in his native state with the creation of a new tournament series, the Carolina Cup.
The inaugural event of the Carolina Cup tournament series was held April 6, 2014 just outside Charlotte, at Glory Road Paintball in Monroe, North Carolina. While a five-man competition on an airball field like many others, what made this event and the league itself different is its unique take on competitive paintball with a goal of “getting the band back together” and allowing high and lower-level divisional players to compete together inside the net at the same time. Rather than promoting numerous divisions of tournament paintball at the same event and preventing players in different divisions from mixing it up, Motes and company are trying out a new concept centering around a roster points cap. Players from the professional level on down through the many divisions of tournament paintball are welcome on the same roster and inside the net at the same time, so long as the team’s combined player ranking points total doesn’t exceed a league-set cap. In simpler language, what this means is that players who compete at the highest level are no longer locked out of local and regional competition at their local fields with their friends and forced to get on a plane to compete against other professional or upper-echelon players at major events. This unique concept, combined with a mix of five-man scoring and Race-To matches, enables players from “the old days” to get back on the field and play modern paintball with an old-school twist, and this is precisely how the Carolina Cup’s first event played out. Newer divisional players battled with and against former and current professional players and some competitors who had played tournament paintball longer than many at the event had been alive.
Seventeen five-man teams entered the Carolina Cup’s first event. While this was by no means a massive number, it was more than enough to satisfy Motes and Ultimate Judge Steve Burkett who expressed excitement at the number considering it was their league’s very first event, and the first event promoted with their new format. Referees from the event were the most experienced in the Carolinas, with both current and former professional league referees along with those with years of experience at the highest levels of tournament paintball handling the officiating duties. A single air ball field was used for the entirety of the event’s games, with a grass playing surface and an unorthodox layout. “I’m tired of seeing the same old snake side, Dorito side, race bunker in the center layouts and this layout was designed with the intention of giving players something different that would reward aggression and allow teams to push wherever they were strong.” In this, Motes succeeded, as the layout saw the center “A” RaceTo bunker moved off-center, the snake broken into several individual pieces and a heavily-populated Dorito side with a fortress on the fifty yard line that proved to be the field’s critical bunker.
Numerous current and former professional players were on-hand to compete at the Carolina Cup’s inaugural event, including several players from legendary area team Baltimore Trauma, Chattanooga CEP and Trenton Topgun Union. Weather for the first event dawned chilly for registration and the sky remained mostly cloudy throughout the day, though temperatures rose to near sixty, making the weather perfect for play with no rain or other precipitation. Teams at the Carolina Cup were able to bring their own paintballs if they so-desired, but most purchased paintballs from Glory Road, who offered Empire Evil and All Star paintballs, as well as more cost-effective options. Push-button air fills were available at the field entrance and at no point during the day did air pressure at the whip drop below 4350psi.
Play throughout the day was decidedly intense, with teams pushing aggressively to the midfield fortresses in one or two bumps after going guns-up to initial bunkers. During the finals Kyle Bowen made the move of the event as he ran, gun-up all the way, up the center of the field using the large Race bunker to protect himself, then kicking out towards the Dorito side at the last moment and sliding into the large Dorito fifty fortress before wrapping around it, shooting inside and streaking down the wire to finish the game in style. Most of the action was on the Dorito side of the field, as teams battled to control the larger bunkers in the center of the field that would afford them cross shots into their opponents. The vast majority of the event’s games took less than two minutes to decide. Though the preliminary round of the tournament was scheduled to end at around 4:30, thanks to the teams willingness to turn games quickly and the hard work and dedication of the referee staff, the entire event was completed before 5pm. The large pile of Empire and JT masks, medallions and of course a pile of hundred-dollar bills were handed out to the top teams, with Trophimus Red taking top honors at the first event of the Carolina Cup, ahead of the Inglorious Blasters and Brew Crew.
The Carolina Cup will promote four more events in 2014, all hosted by Glory Road Paintball of Monroe, North Carolina. Events will be played in June, July, August and November, with cash and prizes on the line. For more information visit the league’s official website at www.Carolina-Cup.com.
Text and Photography by Joshua D. Silverman
