6 minute read
AA LEGION: HONG KONG
UP TO SPEED!
OUR “MAN IN HONG KONG” LARRI IS REALLY EXCITED ABOUT SHARING THE PASSION FOR AIRSOFT THERE, AND THIS TIME HE REPORTS ON A SPEEDQB PRE-MATCH THAT HE BELIEVES TAKES HONG KONG SPEEDQB COMPETITION TO THE NEXT LEVEL!
Airsoft events are coming back in Hong Kong, and as a CQB speedsofter, it was my great pleasure to witness a game event run in SpeedQB format in recently! This was the first ever “official” SpeedQB event in Hong Kong with a proper SpeedQB style layout, which brought players a great way to compete using their marksmanship, teamwork and speed in SpeedQB style!
SpeedQB, established in 2016, makes use of tactics and a venue setup very different from skirmish and MilSim games. It is a fast paced competition setting, where the gear used by players is vastly different from what we would usually take to a game; usually the gear is are colorful, comfortable to wear, and pads are used that are especially great for sliding!
According to SpeedQB.com, the official game mode consists of FIVE players per team. The objective of each match is to obtain the most points after all rounds are played (Three rounds in total and Two rounds with highest scores will be counted). Points can be earned by eliminating the opposing team’s players, capturing the flag, and touchdown with the flag on the opposing side (touching the flag to the opposing team’s breakout wall). There is definitely more regulation during the competition, and also penalties for misconduct to maintain fairness during competition.
In recent years, more SpeedQB style communities have been growing in Asia; there were SpeedQB competitions organized in Taiwan, and several community events happened in Hong Kong. The size of the SpeedQB communities is growing exponentially and younger players seem dedicated to promoting this sport, which brings a new experience and choices to airsoft players.
GAME ON!
This event took place at Landing Zone Hong Kong, organized by Speed.HKClub, which is a club formed in 2022 and includes several SpeedQB team leaders to promote SpeedQB style competition. The event were sponsored by several Airsoft Gear providers, and also supported by St. John Ambulance to provide first – aid service if needed! As this was a competition is a pre– match only limited airsoft teams were invited. Participating teams included GOS, ROA, Smile Lab, SOF & VOC with a total of 30 game matches for the championship. This pre-match also had its own house rules; for example, instead of getting a first touch flag score, any team who grabbed the flag and got hit received no points! This lead to eliminating enemies being the primary objective.
SpeedQB is definitely not just rushing and kill; as it is a “5 vs. 5” game each team member has their designated role, and their team role has different call out names, for example: Snake, Mid Player and Guard. For their strategy, usually they will rush and take over half of the arena, and when the chance comes they will rush together and clear the enemy, which requires great coordination among teammates for the attack. During the competition, venue crews took part as referees and hosts; they treated every match seriously with professionalism.
Finally, after four hours of fast and furious competition, the winners were: • Champion: GOS • 1st runner up: Smile Lab • 2nd runner up: ROA
IT’S ALL ABOUT TEAM
After the competition, I had the opportunity to speak with the team leaders, and these teenagers were very keen to promote airsoft and SpeedQB, exactly what we love to see in all areas of airsoft! They told me about their teams, so here’s a “lowdown”!
GOS
GOS sent two squads for the competition; their leader, Deep is interested in SpeedQB because of the fast paced gameplay, and he also think that there is a huge potentials in SpeedQB play style in Hong Kong. So in the near future, they are growing their community size!
ROA
ROA was formed by Ero, and the team enjoy coordinating teamwork and encountering all difficulties during gameplay. Although his personal pursuit is on speed advancement, Ero also thinks other airsoft play styles are cool and skillful, and looks forward to enjoying more styles of airsoft and making airsoft a more popular sport.
Anson is the youngest player of the event, he is only 14 years old, and the pacing of the match attracted him, although actually he is also interested in MilSim play style and hopefully he hopes to meet more airsoft players through a variety of events.
Nadia, one of the ladies in the community, thinks SpeedQB requires a different set of knowledge in gear, fitness and strategy. As the Pandemic hurt the industry a lot, she is a believer of making airsoft great again, she thinks it is important to respect all players and set good examples to promote airsoft.
SMILE LAB
Smile Lab is a recently formed team, but their players have been playing SpeedQB style for a long period of time. They believe playing airsoft, especially SpeedQB is all about having fun, in the near future they hope they can share their experience with new players and grow the community.
SOF
SOF has recently rebranded from STP, and their current team leader is Peter. He was a MilSim player, and he also enjoys MilSim, and he thinks both styles have their own challenge, and as a airsoft player, it is great to experience different game modes, make use of the benefits of each style and them to different situations.
VOC
VOC was founded in 2018, and they were the first SpeedQB team in Hong Kong. They are dedicated to providing resources to promote this sport, and also very passionate about building the community. Their founder, Deacon, believes that SpeedQB is different to other types of competitions among airsofters, a competition format that requires true teamwork and speed, but it is also a way to challenge the limit of players endurance. With this growing community, it is great to meet friends sharing the same goal to have fun and promote this sport together.
As a speedsofter myself, I always enjoy fast-paced CQB action; however, organizing an airsoft CQB competition I think there are also a lot of physical limitations and challenges like referee location, camera settings, and observation points. Luckily, with such a high roof, at Landing Zone the referee can observe all action easier. I believe their support is very positive and a great advantage for further SpeedQB competition development in Hong Kong!
For those who interested is seeing Landing Zone, you can check out my video on gameplay there on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=C83OBJ-rDms). For SpeedQB, this is definitely something I would love to try in the nearly future. Hopefully the pre-match success will give more insight and support to promote airsoft sport in different ways. AA
INFORMATION Venue: Landing Zone HK https://www.instagram.com/landingzonehk/ Organiser: Speed.HKClub https://www.instagram.com/speed.hkclub/ Teams by alphabetical order: GOS https://www.instagram.com/gosairsoft/ ROA https://www.instagram.com/roa.airsoft/ Smile Lab https://www.instagram.com/smilelab_airsoft/ SOF https://www.instagram.com/sof.airsoft/ VOC https://www.instagram.com/voc.airsoft/
GOS
ROA SMILE LAB
