GRIP Nº7 - English Version by GRIP - Paintball Magazine

N.Âş 07 September 2013

Nicky Cuba interview

BASildon millennium

Filipa Monteiro miss grip

Euro Big Game scenario

Bear Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Egidio interview

16-39 Millennium

80-97 Interview

14-15 Profile

Nicky Cuba

48-56 Interview

72-78 IPBS

Bear D’Egidio

index 06–07 Team

Editorial

10–11

Highlight We are Sport!

12-13 News

11 Revie 14–15

48–56

16–39

58–70

40–42

72-78

Profile Adrien Moison Millennium Basildon Rules Domingos Leitão

44–46

Project K Axel Gaudin 02

index

Interview Bear D’Egidio Gallery Infamous IPBS

80-97

Interview Nicky Cuba

98-105

Miss GRIP Filipa Monteiro

7 112-117 Scenario - Tippmann Chalenge UK

106-111

Scenario - Euro Big Game

18-121 ew - DROM 98-105

Miss GRIP Filipa Monteiro

106-111

Scenario Euro Big Game

112-117

122-126

Review Greg Hastings Paintball

128-130

Review MacDev Clone GTI

Scenario Tippmann Challenge UK

132-135

118-121

138

Review DROM

128-130 Review - MacDev Clone GTI

Backstage Thanks

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RITA PEREIRA GRIP Magazine’s Art Director. She works as a professional graphic designer.

PEDRO SIMÕES GRIP Magazine’s photography editor. He’s also an accredited photojournalist.

DANIEL TEIXEIRA GRIP Magazine’s kid. He’s responsible for all of the news from the “world of paint”.

ANDRÉ FARIA The scenario man. If we’re talking about camouflage, gun replicas and lots of fun, then that’s where he is.

AXEL GAUDIN Doesn´t need introductions. Who better to teach you tactics than one of the Project K Masters?

DOMINGOS LEITÃO Head Marshal at the Millennium and Portuguese League. He explains you the basic rules.

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HANDY TIMS Who better to help out than one of the RSH designers? Any subject related to image, he’s your man!

ZANE KJ MAÑASCO If he is not shooting, he is pulling some serious magic on the computer. the Design madmen and genius together in a unique guy!

DUARTE GOMES The mechanic in charge. Very few understand paintball markers and accessories as well as he does.

RITA RISCADO Our «Irishwoman» translates and puts up with us and all our doubts. Without her, you simply wouldn’t understand us!

ANDRÉ GOMES One of the “kids” of the team. Dominates the English language. and helps us translate a few thousand words per issue.

GIL BELFORD With such a name he could only be a translator… or the owner of a waffle shop.

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Property of André Filipe Sobreira Garrido NIF: 227215290 Legal address: Rua General Taborda Nº3 - 1º 1070-137 Lisboa ERC Registration Nº 126231 Frequency: Quarterly

DIRECTOR EDITOR MARKETING ADVERTISEMENT PHOTOGRAPHY

André Garrido (mail@grippaintball.com) André Garrido (mail@grippaintball.com) Carla Peixoto (carla.peixoto@grippaintball.com) GRIP - Photo Services Axel Gaudin by Jani Andersson

GRIP – Paintball Magazine or André Filipe Sobreira Garrido are not responsible for the content of the ads nor for the accuracy of the characteristics and features of the products and/or goods advertised. Their veracity and accordance with reality are fully and exclusively the responsibility of the advertisers and advertising agencies or companies.

IT IS STRICLY FORBIDEN TO COPY TEXTS AND IMAGES BY ALL MEANS

editorial By André Garrido Director GRIP

e could have launched this issue earlier, it’s a fact! However we prefer to let everyone enjoy their vacations first, in the beach, in the snow, with the family and friends or simply alone. Although paintball is our addiction, sometimes we need a break to stop for a while, to enjoy it better when we return. Now that everyone is focused again, you will have time to read the amazing interview to Nicky Cuba, just a few hours before his first Millennium title with Infamous, or get to know Bear D’Egidio, an extravagant player who’s always ready to eliminate whoever appears in front of him. In the competition section, we always report on the last Millennium event, a warm weekend in the UK. We were also at the Italian league, where paintball is only the motif to celebrate with pizzas, strip shows and swimming pools. At Scenario we didn’t want to leave the longest European game – The Euro Big Game – in the dark; we also went to the Tippmann Challenge UK, where the terrain injured our correspondent’s foot. We really had to review the most interesting gear of the moment. This time, it was the new MacDev Clone GTI marker and the DROM shoes, completely dedicated to our sport. We spent some hours playing the IPad too, to let you know all about the new Greg Hasting Paintball videogame. As always our «teachers» teach you some new tricks and details of our sport. To finish up, we have our beautiful Miss GRIP completely dressed up with the last DYE’s ultra-light equipment. The season is almost at the end – but the paintballs aren’t!

editorial

We are Sport! Jay Ford left us one year ago. We could not forget, ignore or despise the date; all the community joined many initiatives to remember one of the most humble players European paintball has had. Probably the most outstanding was the bow shaped stickers with Jayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initials and his number on the team. Of course sport is competition, but above all it is union. Thanks to Jay we now can say we are a true sport! Thank you and may your soul rest in peace!

highlight

HK Army Air System It’s confirmed, HK Army has released its first air system which will be available in two colours: Retro and Static. With 48ci or 68ci of 4500 psi, the company states the regulator will allow for ultraconsistency and precision when it comes to providing high pressure air.

Fight against cancer As a way to honour Jay Ford, prizes are being raffled as a way to raise funds for the fight against cancer. Among these prizes there are jerseys from the best players in the world, places in Millennium’s Div.3, photographic coverage, markers, among others. To help and to win, all you have to do is log on to the WEBSITE.

Changes in Millennium JT PRoFlex – The return The new JT ProFlex version has reached the market and it was considered by many to be the world’s most comfortable mask. The new version tries to further improving the comfort by adding a new ear protection and don’t forget that it is available in two colours: Sky Blue/Grey and Orange/Grey. The price will be around 60 euros.

news

Millennium Series’ organization has promised that Chantilly will mark a new stage in European paintball. For now, the significant changes are the following: Div.1 and Div.2 teams shall play their finals on the CPL field and the traditional greeting between teams shall be done on the field after the match.

Millennium charges tickets The same way it happens with the northamerican league - PSP -, the major paintball European league will start to charge tickets for the main grandstand. There will be three day and one day tickets. The price is 20€ for three days. Those who don´t have a ticket can watch the games in the new lateral stands. After many complaints from the players the organization said that this was the way to bring him more visitors, especially those that bring their families. The organization also says they were forced to find new ways to get more profit.

Paintball on TV Portugal has been one of the countries that have done more to publicize paintball. GRIP has learned that a television show totally dedicated to our sport will be broadcast. Behind this project is this country’s paintball Federation. Undoubtedly it’s excellent news for the dissemination of our sport. More news, soon on our WEBSITE. advertisement

notícias

Adrien Moison

Text: AndrĂŠ Garrido

drien started playing paintball in 1994 with his brother, in any place they could fire their pump. Slowly they began to evolve and to compete in tournaments, to enhance their paintball skills. Internationally he always played in the Millennium and was recently seen in CPS, but he has said that his dream is to go and play in the United States, where he has only been as a tourist.

profile

He has been French Champion three times in different formats, ranging from 5Man to Race-To-4. He has no doubts whatsoever when he states that his first tournament was the highlight of his and his teamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; paintball career, as they realised then that they could achieve great distances in the sport. Adrien says that Outrage represents more than just a team, but all the sacrifices, all different friends and players

NICKNAME Adri

DATE OF BIRTH 05/03/1979

OCCUPATION Design & Engineering Technical Director for an office of Nuclear Plants

STARTED PLAYING IN 1994

PLAYS FOR Outrage Valence

INTERNATIONAL EVENT Millennium Series, Champions Paintball Series (CPS)

EVENTS WON French Champion in 2005, 2009 and 2011; 3rd in Millennium Series in 2010 at SPL and 2nd on the overall ranking in 2011.

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PAINTBALL: The first victory in the French National League in 2005 and the CPL division promotion in 2011.

profile

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We pa s of the sed throug h bigges t Euro Basildon fo r p Heat, ice cr ean paintba the third st ea ag ll result s were m and man competitio e n. y the m otto o unexpected f this event . Text: A

ndrĂŠ G

arrido

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Basildon is the event Millennium likes to escapes this rule a bit. This flaw is fixed say it’s situated in London. The Bas-Vegas with the possibility of camping on a green zone, right next to the parking lot. event, as many like to call it, is located 40 kilometers from England’s capital, Just like last year, the event was meaning that anyone landing held on Barleylands’s farm, an in the busiest airport of the out of sight space, with many country, still is a little further excellent options to assemble The rain away and will have to make an event of the magnitude God took a an hour and half trip. Those of the largest European vacation during coming by car from their paintball event. the first days own country will have to Grip knew there was a of July. cross the channel and head to concern from the organization town. of assembling the entire Few are the events that escape structure in a different manner, the Millennium’s policy of having players unlike the one of previous years. It’s and staff sleeping immediately alongside interesting to recall that this was exactly the match fields. However, Basildon one of our criticisms last year, in relation

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to having the CPL and SPL fields distant from each other. This year, the two main fields were side by side, while the remaining fields were on one of the sides, just like in all other events. The garbage bins were one of the most interesting features, enormous wooden boxes received all unwanted rubbish. It’s an attitude to have in the future, because our sport normally produces many cardboard boxes, many plastic bags, many loose balls that,

when abandoned in areas where players prepare to play, make our sport one of the most disorganized, at first glance. The main concern regarding this event is the weather. Even looking at all forecasts and seeing icons of a radiant sun lined up on the monitor, it’s known it’s likely to rain. But if there is a rain God, it took a vacation during the first days of July, as we felt heat worthy of Southern Europe countries. The field’s layout was one of the

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most aggressive seen in Millennium this divisions. Of all the teams, 18 made their debut in Basildon, 15 of them hailing year. Despite the snake’s side often being from the United Kingdom. one of the most decisive, it was common The favourites in this division were the to see attacks either by the M or by Belgians Apocalypse Brussels, who already doritos. In spite of this aggressiveness, it was common for matches to be stuck on had two first places and didn’t want to miss out on winning all events. Their the first phase of the game, especially direct rivals were Toulouse’s Evil Men, who with more experienced teams. achieved two fourth places. It was exactly one year ago that we In the preliminaries no team succeed lost one of the most humble players in European paintball. We’re talking in winning all their matches, and the best results counted with a defeat. The about Jay Ford, a Nexus player. It was Assalas provoked some furor, after doing interesting to notice that no one forgot the preliminaries in great style, but Jay and some tributes were they soon lost in the following made, through murals or other stage, against the newcomers initiatives. The best one was It’s Middlesbrough Lethal Bizzle. launched by Steven Wilson, a important The two teams at the top of Merv’s photographer, who is that female the table didn’t have much raising funds through raffling and young difficulty overcoming their off many valuable prizes, teams thrive. rivals to reach the semifinals. while handing out stickers It was at this stage that Evil with the famous bow of the Men were also defeated, by the fight against cancer and with JF21 same English team. The Apocalypse written inside. Brussels beat the London Fearless, also Division 3 is the one that brings more a newcomer team that was relegated to teams to Millennium. In this event fight for third place. there were 36 teams present and, as In the only stage where the raceusual, they only played on Saturday. It’s to-4 is disputed, Evil Men were superior typically a division for local teams and to London Fearless, winning by 4:2. for teams who wish to experiment the European championship. As usual, the In the match for the first place, this division’s sensation team – Middlesbrough quality of the match was the weakest of Lethal Bizzle – defeated the favourite the event, much due to the scoring being Apocalypse Brussel, in a hard fought race-to-2, which made the matches less match finished 4:3. exciting. The fact that new teams enter every event turns the overall ranking into It would be arrogant to think that the Belgian team had already won the a real roller coaster; you can never have championship, but they will hardly leave a favourite like it happens in other closed

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the first place, if they maintain the level sharks. This time, luck did not smile to they’ve been demonstrated, especially the Norwegians; they finished in tenth when they have an advantage of 38 points place and this event may have been a over Evil Men. The French team would harsh blow to conquering this division’s have to be first and Apocalypse a terrible gold. The big favorites are Lucky 15s ninth place. whom, with a very solid game, show Division 2, like all others, a desire to be amongst other except Division 3, began divisions. Tontons right on Friday. Poison Ivy 24 teams played in this hammer their weren´t favourites but have division, in the first stage. opponents when they been this division’s The only one with three they are at a sensation team. It’s not easy victories was the Lucky disadvantage for a team to show its value 15s, while all others lost at point. in this European event. It’s least one match. This shows certain that the fact the team’s the rivalry existent at this level, markers are controlled by women makes which makes it very difficult to impose an them much more conspicuous. What is overwhelming result. uncommon is an all-female team having In the following stage, the so much success amongst Division 2’s three all-female teams – Poison

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Ivy, Fat Ladies and Lady Carnage – all lost. Although paintball is literally a sport where «may the best win», it’s important that all-female teams and young teams are able to thrive and thus bringing in more players of various age groups and genders. Until the final stage, Lucky 15s were racking up victories and they were only stopped by this event’s champions, Mamba Libreville, in a match fought until the very last second of the clock. The other semifinal also took the clock to zero, dictating Manchester Firm 2’s victory, that left Durham DV8 behind. The fight for third place turned into a

real final between English teams, much due to the overall ranking pitting the first placed team – Lucky 15s – against its direct rival – DV8. «Luck» fell on the more experienced Lucky 15s who won by 4:0. In the fight for gold, Mamba, owners of one of the most attractive jerseys in the event, won against Manchester Firm 2 by 4:1 with no major difficulties. The biggest surprise, on the negative side, was the Italian Idols who, after two fifth places, finished in a modest fifteenth place. Division 1 was also constituted by 24 teams, with the big difference being that this is a locked division. There are no

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new teams to muddle up the sums. In this division, the error margin is very limited and only those who are constantly at the top can think of winning at the end of the year. Simultaneously, it’s common to see teams placing at the bottom half of the table in one event and be first in the following. Further evidence of this division’s difficulty is visible in the group stage, where nobody has guaranteed victories. Even the favourites London Defiance struggled to win some of the matches. Another example is the case of Scorpion Milano, who passed to the next stage in second place. This ranking meant the two favourite teams would face each other in the quarter finals,

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with the first place overall at stake. As fate would have it, the Italians beat the English, who placed seventh in this event and thus lost first place overall, after two events winning the top place in the podium. After this victory, Scorpion Milano had a clear path to get as many points as possible and they crushed Bad Boy Oss by 4:0. Bad Boys are a very young team; some of the players are authentic kids, the youngest being 14 years old. If they remain together, they promise to be one of the teams to take into account in the European scene, not only by the experience they’re accumulating at such a young age, but also by the combativeness they already demonstrate. In the other semifinals’ match, Ronholt Blast lost against Vision PPC by 3:4. In the fight for bronze, Ronholt fought until the last second against the Kinds, setting the score at 3:2. In the final, it was expected

that Scorpion Milano would dilate their follow in the Chantilly event. advantage over London Defiance, but In the SPL, there were the usual 32 they were surprised by Vision PPC. This teams, for this division is also closed. team had never finished above As we’ve already said in other twelfth place, but they showed Millennium chronicles, this to be very strong, controlling division is probably the most Damian Ryan, the Italians’ game from the unbalanced of all.There are living up to his first minute and scoring an clearly two distinct groups: mask, brought impressive 4:0. the ones at the top of the death to his The fight in this division table, with many places on adversaries. is red-hot, with a four point the podium, and all the rest. difference between first and Once in a while, there are some second places. Paris will be a test brazen ones that can come between of nerves for these two teams, who will this division’s sharks, as Dogs D Amour have to give everything to keep their did. This Greek team, who achieved a ranking. Certainly, it will be a division to third place in Bitburg, was the event’s

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surprise. They had Oliver Lang’s help, the fight for third place. but they finished in a modest twentyThe final had the division’s two best ninth place. This goes against the trend teams. The final went as well as possible for the French Hellwood. They won by 4:2 which states that teams who hire famous paintball names constantly achieve and are only 18 points off London Tigers, better standings. What is certain is that which gives them hope that they’ll be one player alone doesn’t always mean a able to overcome the English in the next guaranteed victory. event. The big favourites are London Tigers, In the CPL, many were cheering for the who came to Basildon with a first and a French Tontons. After two consecutive third place finishes and were thirsty to victories in this division, they became repeat the prowess and achieve another authentic legends of the European podium. Hellwood Paris are their main paintball. Although they are a team with rivals, although, to date, they’ve missed an enviable history, due to their years out on the podiums by very little. as a professional team and to the In the preliminaries, Drammn various paintball personalities Solid gave no chance to other that have passed through teams, winning all their there, what is certain is Fedorov shoots matches by 4:0. In fact, all that – excluding last year above the matches of this team’s group in London –, they had never base and hits were won by 4:0 or 4:1, such won any Millennium event. the Impact was the disparity between the The only great achievement player. various teams. of this team goes back to Until the semifinals, London 2006, when they won Millennium Tigers didn’t feel great difficulties, without any first place finish and while Hellwood had to fight until the very due to a disastrous first stage from Joy. end, right from the round of 16, and they Winning two events in a row, in a year did not succeed in achieving a maximum they’re also competing in the biggest score. In turn, Comin At Ya didn’t have it North-American event, and above al,l easy against Paris Triade and won with the in the most competitive year that minimum score of 4:3. Millennium has seen recently, elevated The German team faced the English them to the same level as the biggest London Tigers, losing by 2:4. In the other World superstars. Hiring the Samuelsson match, Drammen Solid, who had been brothers was undoubtedly this team’s doing an excellent event, lost by the best bet. Will the French be able to win same score. Drammen Solid seemed to one more event and finally to have a have lost the impetus after this defeat, team winning all Millennium events? since they lost 4:0 against Comin At Ya in In the preliminaries phase, Group

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A brought some surprises. Right from the start, the fact that Tontons lost 5:1 against Syndicate, a team who hadn’t gone beyond a tenth place finish this year. The Germans were also responsible for this group’s second surprise, passing through in first place, leaving Tontons in second and Houston Heat and Instinct out of the final stages. In Group B, first place was virtually assured by Impact and achieved without great difficulties. They won two matches by 5:0 and the third by 5:1. Breakout Spa passed through in second and were only

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defeated by the Canadians. In Group C everything was possible, since three of the teams present had always passed to the final. If before the event all bets were on Nexus as the group’s favourites, they certainly had a disastrous event and lost the first two matches by 5:2 and 5:4. They only managed a 5:0 victory over the Ducks. Infamous came in first, showing they were concentrated and had a well planned out game. Icon were second, they only lost against Infamous. For Art Chaos, Group D couldn’t be

better. Bearing in mind the lack of through the final stages, but they have consistency they have been showing, endangered their performance in 2013, many have wondered whether the as they are having a dream performance, Russians still have gas to keep playing at since they were promoted from SPL last the level they’ve accustomed us. year. They were placed in one of this In the quarter-finals, division’s easiest groups, if Syndicate continued with Syndicate it’s even possible to have an a fantastic performance reminded easy group. Art Chaos had and beat Carnage by 5:1. us of a pitbull some difficulty beating their Impact and Infamous got that bites and countrymen Polar Bears, the same scores, beating never lets go. by 4:3 and they won the easily Icon and Breakout Spa, remaining matches by 5:1 and respectively. 5:2, against Carnage and Vision, The big quarter-final match was respectively.Carnage, who hadn’t gone between Tonton and Art Chaos; Art Chaos past the group stage in six events, came wouldn’t have great difficulty winning in second place. Polar Bears did not pass this match last year. This year, they

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had to put in a lot of effort to beat the this French team. One thing is sure, at French by 4:3. One thing is certain, you the very least. They have to finish fourth, to ensure Impact don’t become European do not want the Tontons on the other side, if they are in disadvantage champions. pointwise. It’s almost In the semifinals, Syndicate humiliating for top teams continued to shine when to get beaten up in split they faced Infamous. They There’s no seconds. Unfortunately for didn’t finish as winners, patience this team, they were unable but they forced the northfor so many to beat the Russians and had Americans to control the anthems! to face fifth place overall. match, so as not to let the This will force them to up their Germans score more points. efforts for the next event, if they The result was 4:3. Infamous wish to win the championship. continued to show a very typical game: With only one event to decide who Calm, very controlling and with a lot of the champion will be, the maths are communication inside the field. Damian impossible, there is no ideal scenario for Ryan, living up to his mask, seems to

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bring death to his adversaries. If we had to elect a MVP for this event, Damian would be amongst the top three. He has A soberb game vision, he’s capable of understanding the adversaries’ line shot as few can and he tears the opponents’ field, taking out various adversaries. Writing what we saw would be unfair to Damian, we would always fall short. In the other semifinal match, Art Chaos wanted to silence those who still doubted them and showed they’re still here to win and by a large margin. Not every

team can boast about beating Impact by 5:1. For posterity it remains a moment of genius, within the reach of very few players. Fedorov, playing in the snake base, tries to hit one of opponents by jumping and shooting over the obstacle. After a great jump and missing the shot, he realizes that the crowd loved the move and he repeats it. This time, he hits the Impact player squarely, leading an entire stand to ecstasy, and being reciprocated by gestures of appreciation from the player. We’ve said it on

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innumerous occasions; Fedorov is probably the most creative player in the history of paintball. He can find solutions where they don’t seem to exist or where they’ve yet to be explored. In the fight for third place, Syndicate reminded us of a pitbull that bites and never lets go. A short result of 3:2 demonstrates precisely the difficulty Impact had in overcoming the Germans, finishing third once again. The final pitted Infamous and Art Chaos. Based on experience and

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history, we’d say the Russians were the favourites, but we couldn´t have been further from the truth. The slow, calculated and meticulous match was, at times, almost boring. The first minutes of each point were to see who could eliminate one or two players of the opposing team, and only then would they dare to advance. It’s amazing to think that this is Art Chaos’ typical game, more calculated and with a lot of balls in the air, alongside Fedorov’s strokes of genius. Regarding Infamous, it´s clear

it’s a game tailored for the adversary. control of the match, but they were simply waiting for death, they never In this event, the north-American team had matches where they barely stopped had a real opportunity. The last point was scored by Thomas Taylor, who – at their obstacles and others where they may as well have brought a alongside Damian Ryan –, was stool. The problem of teams responsible for this conquest. Taylor is far from being the with an adapted game is that Chantilly they’re always mending the player he was during his will be XSV time, when he was an damage. This means that a nerve if their opponent is more authentic assassin playing wrecking experienced and has the the snake, but he’s still at an event. ability to play outsid their extremely high level, within comfort zone, they will bring the reach of few players. When he scored that point, Taylor couldn’t big problems to those teams. In the match in question, everything happened believe this victory would be possible. He as Infamous would have wished. Initially, jumped, waved his arms around, knelt it could seem that Art Chaos were in down and thanked God, joined his team

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and made them thank all the fans who Kingdom or France. supported them. In the end, now alone in In the preliminaries, United Kingdom the field, he knelt down and thanked this felt some difficulties overcoming their group stage, but they won the first victory with a longer prayer. This time, the «marginal» event was two matches by 3:2 against Austria and the European Champ Men, where nations Belgium. They also won 4:0 against the fought for the title of European Champion. Greeks, who quit after their first match, Despite being something all players desire supposedly due to the impossibility of to participate in, there’s some resilience acquiring more balls. All remaining teams in relation to these tournaments. In went through without great difficulty, and some way, it seems to be a way for the there were considerably different results. organization to get thousands of euros In Group D, that task was also facilitated more in the accounts of the players or by the fact that Turkey failed to attend. federations. It’s hard to understand why is In the quarter-finals, the results went there a competition in each stage of as expected; Russia beat Norway the event and what its purpose by 4:1, France got the same is. Players feel overloaded by result against Austria. United Thomas the schedules at the end of Kingdom trashed Ukraine Taylor, alone the day, especially when by 4:0 while Germany beat on the field, they have to play early the Latvia by 4:1. knelt down following day. And honestly, In the following stage and prayed for there’s no patience for so things got harder. A triage of this victory. many anthems. We mentioned the best European teams was this last year and there were literally done to get to this stage improvements, but it’s still difficult and each match was a possible final. In to endure eight straight anthems, with the first semifinal, Russia beat France by the teams singing their own on a field 4:2, although they had some difficulties where they won’t even play. Wouldn’t it in some moments of the match. In the be enough to play each nation’s anthems other match, Germany forced United when they play their first match and play Kingdom into using all the time to only the anthems of the three winners? achieve victory. Despite all these adversities, there isn’t In the fight for third place, France beat a player who doesn’t want to win wearing Germany 4:2. Thus the final pitted the defending their nation’s colours, even if they know they aren’t one of the favourites. The champion against the 2011 champions. perennial favourites were Russia, last Everyone wanted to win this match, even year’s winners, but they always have in the stands the desire was noticeable. strong adversaries, such as the United It’s still interesting to see teammates

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helping nations that aren’t their own, as in Marcello Margott’s case, the Nexus player was at the nets, coaching the United Kingdom team. If we hadn’t seen the entire event and if we didn’t know it was a final, after seeing the game style on the field, you would quickly realize how important the match was. Paintball finals are increasingly becoming a real chess match, with several emotionless minutes, with ten players firing an endless amount of balls, waiting for a mistake from the opponent to take some advantage. For this reason alone can we understand how such final ended 2:1. The fair winner was Russia, thus becoming two-times European champions.

Another stage of the biggest European event has ended, but no one left the venue without eating one of the delicious ice creams from Mr. Whippy’s van, as they already are one of the biggest attractions in Basildon. One final event remains, on a new «stage» that promises to be a blockbuster. One should recall that, for several years, there have been rumours of Millennium leaving the Disney’s grounds and that finally happened this year. Skepticism is rampant, as it’s difficult to replace an event with that location. However, the organization assures Chantilly’s palace will be a new stage in the paintball World. We’ll be there to tell you what we see! • advertisement

communication and signaling By Domingos Leitão

Today we will focus on the importance of a timely manner, so as not to harm the communication in a refereeing team. natural flow of the games. Therefore, only I think it’s common knowledge, but for in case of extreme necessity will the heada matter of context, we’ll understand marshal address one or more referees communication as all means a person has orally, to obtain more precise informations to use to get a certain information or regarding a particular event that may have message to one or more recipients. caused doubts to the players or even to In paintball and in a refereeing the head marshal. team, that message can be transmitted The referees are mainly interested in several ways. The most frequently in communicating with three groups used is signaling by short The referees are interested in and precise gestures. This statement is relatively easy communicating with the players, other to understand, considering referees and with the head marshal. that much of the referees’ communication occurs during the match itself and that there are during a game. The players (giving basic several external noises, from the sound information such as «clean», «out», of the markers, the paint hitting the «time», signaling a penalty or indicating targets or even the audience interacting the final 60 seconds of the game), with the players from the outside of the other referees in their line of visual fence. communication (E.g., giving accessory In the periods when there are no games, information, such as indicating whether it’s possible to use oral communication, a certain spot derives from the obstacle but we all know the short amount of time and not from the impact of an opponent available in these periods to transmit that didn’t have the time to remove the information to eight or ten referees in stain without interfering with the natural

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course of the game) and his head-marshal (keeping him aware of all situations that may affect the game, from the application of the rules within the field to security requirements of the field and the existence of holes in the nets that may endanger spectators and/or players, among others). The communication becomes even more

fundamental when the referees donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak the same language or English (in a group of referees the same base language is not spoken nor a more common language such as English). Then gestural communication becomes even more vital and needs to be adjusted before the tournament or the matches begin, thus ensuring the consistency and coherence

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not only of the decisions taken, but also that the signage used doesn’t provoke wrong decisions. The signage used by the referees can be divided into conventional (all those gestures that any player or referee knows and are normal – «clean», «out», «time», among others) and unconventional (gestures that a refereeing team must stipulate before or during the tournament, to ensure that

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the information gets to the head-marshal quickly and accurately, so that he may transmit it not only to his scorekeeper but also to the teams’ captains whenever appropriate). To sum up, the language used by a referee must be clear, direct and with the minimum confusion. Only in this way it’s possible to avoid big distractions as well as to pass the most reliable message possible.•

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getting the info By Axel Gaudin

To move from the basic technics a bit, information. I decided to approach a different notion The difference between these two this time. This is a major concept for me. groups, the players and the spectators, It is common to every sport and it’s also is simply the quantity of information one of the most important standards to available to decide what to do on the evaluate the quality of a player. Let’s talk field. about getting the info! At the highest level of play, the main If we analyse sports, we quickly realise «war» is about getting and managing that winning is not only a question of information. We try to hide what’s going technics; we talk a lot about «placement» on in our side from our opponents and we on the field. In football, you don’t position try to get all the information possible to yourself randomly. It’s the same It may be a myth, but the world’s in paintball, and positioning is especially important for us, because top 10 teams don’t start a game not all our attention is focused on trying to shoot someone. the paintballs. I imagine that everyone has already watched paintball from the react correctly. ground stand, or on TV, and the reaction It’s maybe a myth, but I can assure you is obvious. We are all the best in front that the world’s top 10 teams don’t start of our screen, and we clearly know what a game trying to shoot someone, first they we would have done, if we were in the look for a good position in the field. player’s place. Thanks to Paintballaccess.com, we can The choices made from the ground now watch live PSP matches on the web, stand are clearly simpler than the ones and this is an incredible tool. We realise on the low part of the field. You can games are long, calm, and fighting is only see everything, and you have all the used to tuck in the opponents, to bump

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forward and play a second target or to get information and let the team know what’s going on. If you really pay attention, there aren’t many G’s made from a direct gunfight. It’s more common to see a player bumping forward and making a cross shot. That’s how the high level is; we don’t gunfight to shoot someone, but to tuck him in, to dominate him and then make a move, or to get more information to

improve your position. This notion of getting information is important at every moment: - Before the game, you must look at the players, basically to see what they’re doing. - Before the points, you must look at which players are on the field, and look at the placement on the start base. - During the points, you try to have the most complete report of the situation to

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make the best decision. information to play: It seems that the less information you - Messi is not looking at his feet when have, the more you have to rely on your he is dribbling; his opponents are. technics and tactics to win a game, so you - Federer looks at where his opponent risk shots from moving or is, before he shoots the gun fighting. When you ball, he’s not looking for OTHER TIPS: have all the information the killer shot but for the Project K – Axel Gaudin you need, you can stop perfect technical shot to Facebook – Axel Gaudin your gun fighting, instead be directed to the worst of betting in a luck game place for the opponent. for the next gun fight. - In the champion’s league finale, I cannot emphasise enough how you Zidane looked at where the goal keeper should play with your head instead of was, before he framed him with his your marker. Take the example of the famous kick. best players in the world in other sports Let’s work hard and pay close attention and you will see that all of them need to our opponents! •

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Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;E

fo Talking with Bear is like taking three energy drinks one after the other. A very small question is always the subject to have a great time with him. Please meet Mr. World Wide. Text: AndrĂŠ Garrido

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was born in the US. I’m trying to get the Italian National citizenship, so I can try the National team. I want to Help Italy a little bit, because I go to Italy a lot for the events. I’m 100% Italian, my mom is from Sicily. We eat pasta and pizza on Sundays.

Bear

Egidio

«I’m perfect or paintball.» GRIP: In your Millennium profile, your nationality and name are clearly Italian, but you were born in the USA. Where does the connection come from? Bear D’Egidio: My family was born in Italy and around… (Stop to think) not sure what year, they came to America; My dad

GRIP: You father is one of the biggest names of the paintball industry in the world. How did this influence you to become a paintball player? Bear D’Egidio: Since I was little, my dad has taken me to the fields. I grew up playing at SC Village, with all the biggest pro teams: the old school Iron Man, the old school Aftershock, the old school Avalanche. I was real little when Chris Lasoya was just getting started, you know? So I’ve been around the game my whole life; I´ve always known all the players, I’ve seen different players come and go and I just have been brought up in paintball. In the last couple of years, I’ve helped to run the parks, through marketing or events and we own Giantz Sports. We do a lot for paintball. It’s because of all this I’ve just said that I’ve always been connected to paintball. I did a little bit of wrestling, some MMA, but my focus has always been paintball, since I was little. So now I travel around the World to play paintball. GRIP: You’re probably the player who’s started playing the youngest, with only eight years old. How does a boy of such young age start playing this game? Bear D’Egidio: At eight years old, I

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in paintball; I played every weekend and because I was younger and played with more teams, I started travelling more throughout the World. Now I play during the week, because I work on a paintball park. So I get to teach little kids and I get to do the clinics. On weekends, I always have practice or I travel around the World playing.

«I’m 100% Italian. I eat pasta and pizza on Sundays.» actually played on the Bob Long 1on1 Championship at SC Village. It was 1999 and I played with guys like Oliver (Lang), David Williamson, Billy Ceranski, Bob Long… some of the biggest names that have ever played the game, and I was like eight. Didn’t win one game but it was really funny. From then on I always stayed

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GRIP: Currently you play with Philadelphia Energy, a young and promising team. However the results haven´t been the best. What is happening? Bear: Basically it is a team comprised of a guy from Dynasty, Ian Trainer, I played in some of the best teams in the World, Russian Legion, Dynasty, Entourage. From that we took two kids from Dynasty and we put this team together and it has very young talents. I’m probably the oldest guy on the team, maybe there is one guy older than me… I’m 22, I’m still young and there is one guy with 24, he is the oldest. We know how to play good paintball, but as a team, putting it together in the field can be frustrating sometimes. Or maybe sometimes it doesn’t click because we lack experience in pro level, but we do have a great team. At practices we always do well. I mean we have a lot, a lot of great talent. If we stay together, we could be one of the best teams in the World. There’s no doubt in my mind. But it’s going to take time of playing together as a unit. At NPPL, we always come down to 2:1, 3:2, games are very tight, but it’s the

extra experience that wins those games and that’s what we were missing. But we are clicking and by the end of the year, I hope to be top4 with these kids. GRIP: You are playing in Europe too. How did this chance appear? Bear: I started playing in Europe two years ago. I jumped into the Italian Idols last year for the CPS; we were top3 every event and we won the series. I started playing Millennium with them too. On the last event we were fifth, and on the event before the same. I go to Italy once a month and I do a clinic, or play with the

Italians and from there I transfer it over to playing the CPS, playing the Italian Paintball Championship. I try to play in as many European events as I can and I try to always play them with Italian Idols, because it’s my team in Europe. GRIP: You play Millennium and CPS, the most important European circuits. Besides the huge structure of Millennium, what differences do you find between them? Bear: The Millennium has a bigger structure that enables teams to practice there and that allows for all the

« I was eight and played with guys like Oliver, David Williamson, Billy Ceranski, Bob Long… Didn’t win one game it but was real fun.»

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«We could be one of the best teams in the World. Not a doubt in my mind.» talented to go over. Millennium has a great ranking system, ID system, and the referees. It’s just a division above CPS. They do have everything CPS does and CPS kind of does everything Millennium does, but Millennium does it better, because they have been around for so long. So they have a little bit more experience in putting a bigger event together. There are more vendors and more media. GRIP: You play with Italian Idols and you are the major responsible for the

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excellent results of this team. What do you try to teach when you play with them? Bear: The biggest thing with Italian Idols is experience. At the end of the game, they don’t have what it takes to close a two on two. So my job on this team and the reason why I think I play such a big role is I stay alive. , I don’t care if I’m in the fifty dorito, the fifty snake or the back center. I need to stay alive in every point; I need to do the talking; then we have great kids on the team, like Andrea,

or Enrico; these kids play really good paintball, but they need guidance. They are learning and now they are starting to do on their own. So my role on this team is to stay alive and be kind of the voice on the team. Keep the team moving forward and putting the game plans together for them. So the best thing I can teach them, while I’m out there is: «You guys have to talk, you have got to communicate and, as a team, you need to work together to close the game. Don’t try to be a superstar, because teams win tournaments, not superstars.» GRIP: How is you training and practice schedule with this team? Bear: I come to Italy probably once a month to play with Italian Idols. I usually teach a clinic in Italy or in Europe. So we practice, then we play in the morning and at night at the All Star Paintball Park, in Padova. From there on we try to focus on drills. I like to fine tune the players; we set up the layout and try to go over it. We teach them the layout and focus on what we want to accomplish, what we’re going to work on, what side we want to push. That’s what I like to do, when I come to Italy and I come to Italy a lot. The parties are fun, the girls are great, paintball is even better. GRIP: Why do you play with a Div.2 team and not with a SPL or CPL team? Bear: I have been playing pro my whole life and whether is on a top rank team, a middle or bottom rank team I always

«Millennium is a division above CPS. Millennium does it much better, because they have been around for so long.» interview

tried to play pro. I have been playing pro since I was little. I was playing «Ten Man Pro» at 14 years old, most people doesn’t even know what that is today. Now I feel that I’m a paintball ambassador to the World, I run paintball parks. I kind of

«I was playing «Ten Man Pro» at 14 years old; most people don’t even know what that is today.» 54

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understand where the industry is going, so I like to take myself out of that position of playing in a pro team and I want to actually help building paintball around the world. That has been my focus for these last two years. Yes, I can go and jump on a CPL team but that’s not my focus. My focus is going to these countries, to help these kids’ growth, playing on these teams, building up these countries… In Italy, they started with one park and now they have like 50. We are building the talent, we come here and we do it well so that makes Italian paintball look professional. Now they go to events and people fear them, people think they are good paintball players. So we help to develop paintball worldwide. That’s the focus! GRIP: For you, what are the major differences between the European and American events? Bear: American events are a little bit more intense. When I say intense, I mean in Europe I feel everybody is always having fun, the events are everybody coming together to play paintball. The Millennium Series is a great series, they do a great job in putting on a great event. I think PSP and NPPL do it better, the rivalries between teams makes it more intense. There is more camaraderie in and out of the field, but there is more competition, because in the US we all know each other. I’m out with these guys every weekend. We party from Monday to Friday, we are on the gym Monday to

«In Italy parties are fun, girls are great, paintball is even better.» Friday and on the weekend we play. So when we go to a tournament, there is nothing different except they are staying in a different hotel room. So my job is to make sure we go out there and we win, because I don’t want to go home and spend the next two months listening to him picking on me because they beat me! So the intensity is a lot different and competition level is a lot different too. These teams are money driven, there are big people funding these teams and they want to see them winning. It is a little bit more a professional sport in US. In Europe they do a great job in bringing out great teams and having a lot of teams, but maybe they are not that driven by

«Hey we are a pro team, we are being paid to play. We need to win, we need to go to the gym». I think these are the differences. GRIP: You are a stout guy, known for spending a lot of time in the gym. Do you think that nowadays it’s possible for a pro player to play at his top without being physically prepared? Bear: I don’t! If you want to be a professional paintball player, if you want to take your game to the next level, to go out there and be able to play 20 points in a row, and to be able to win, and to run as fast as you can, then you have to go to the gym. You have to get stamina; you

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«I don’t want go home and listen for two months how they just beat me.» have to treat it like a professional sport. I think next year, the guys that are a little bit bigger, out of shape, that don’t focus too much on the gym, they won’t be able to compete at the same level, because paintball is turning into a professional sport, like football or baseball. You need to fine tune your body, you have to be ready, and you have to eat properly. Going to an event and ordering McDonalds for dinner is something from the past. You need to pack your own food or eat healthy, because you are going to need that energy. It’s all about getting the atmosphere of the gym. The gym plays a huge part in paintball! GRIP: Don’t you think you are too big for paintball?

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Bear: No! I think I’m perfect for paintball. I’m big enough, so if I’m in an airport by myself, I can take three or four people down. I don’t worry much about nothing when I travel. I’m Mr. World Wide, baby! Wooooow (laughs) GRIP: Will we see you in Europe next year? Bear: I already told Italian Idols that if they come to Millennium, I will play with them again. Hopefully we will win a Div.1 spot and I will help them moving all the way up. If not, I have been offered some CPL and SPL teams to come play with already next year. Either way I have options, but I’m always looking around. I don’t really do this for the money; I do this because I love the sport. •

Media Photos: RSH

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dy Tims

Design: Han

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ipbs

IPBS Good infrastructures and some good teams created one of the newest paintball tournaments. Italy is definitely growing in terms of paintball. Text: Juan Nevado Photos: Tommaso Meneghin

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We have to say that in Italy paintball is already a respected sport for more than a year. A country with 60 million people, almost like France, but having half the territory, nice weather and good structures is called to be one of the main ÂŤactorsÂť of paintball in Europe. A group of distributors decided to create an organization, the IPBS, which is able to offer support to the Italian paintball federation by organizing the events of the National League. They offer experience, excellent media coverage and anything the players need. IPBS was born to support the league

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with the nicest fields in Italy. They organised four events: 7th April in Rome, 19th May in Milan, 23rd June in Padova and the next one will be on the 8th September in Naples. The last event took place at the Bloom Padova All Stars paintball field. The field was located in a summer village with pizzeria, restaurant, swimming pool and nightclub. That location allowed for the event to have spectators not related to the paintball or its players, who were surprised about this new sport and shocked by the reality of it having an

Italian league in front of their eyes. Polybus Effect - Rome. On Saturday night, the players were The Black Sharks were having a great enjoying a nice pizza all together and season, with a new DYE sponsorship suddenly there was a girls’ wet t-shirt and they included one Spanish player, contest! Francisco Rios and a Venezuelan The two division games started early in experienced old fox – Derwin Casado in the morning, with no clouds in the horizon their rooster. These two players were and a nice swimming pool as a background. Also the teams had The field was located in a summer a nice chill out white tent as the village with pizzeria, restaurant, players’ area. The day started with seven swimming pool and nightclub. teams in the first division – Serie A – and six in the second division – Serie B providing consistency to the way of –, two teams announced two days before the team and, at the same time, they the event they were not going to be able improved the level of the players by to attend. teaching them. That is because the owner The teams missing were the Black of Black Sharks, Luis, is involved in making Sharks - Torino, ranked 4th overall and the paintball growing in his area, being also

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a member of the federation. However, we have to say the referees In Padova after a few games, the did a great job headed by the Italian Head organization decided to change to two Marshall Alessandra Berretta and a team groups in each division, having then a final of Croatian refs who carried out an active for the first place. That decision was made and smart reffing under a hard sun. They after some teams realized the expenses even took the time to explain and teach were going to be very high and they were the teams of division two. going to run out of paint. The second division, Serie B, started In fact, Scorpions Milano´s second with a very nice match because of the team, placed third in the classification rivalry between Extreme Neapolis 2 and after two events, decided to leave the Scorpions Kids. The latter were not able tournament, as they ran out of paint. to dominate the game, losing the game by The organization, along with the other 3:0 for the Neapolis boys. In this second brands’ distributor, offered them various division, there were two teams showing a possibilities of using other paint brands, great level of playing and they are for sure but they rejected and finally they left. the revelation of the tournament: Riddlers That decision will make the team throw Padova and Alchemists. This last team was away any possibility of winning the championship and probably • Referees did a great job, led by the they will not go to the final Italian Euro Ref Alessandra Berretta. event in Naples, which is the furthest from their city. hit hard by the first team’s rooster, which In division two the same happened were more experienced. After, Hallucinate with the second team of Scorpions; they was able to win over Oblivion, a new team weren´t placed very well in the ranking in the league. and they still have a lot to learn. After the launch break, again, due to After the second event in Milano, there the lack of organization of the Scorpions, was a discussion between the IPBS and their second team announced they were the Italian Federation, that resulted in a leaving the tournament because they had separation between both organizations. finished the paint. The direct effect of that was the The finals started after the break EuroRefs’ organization was no longer and Extreme 2 won against Oblivion involved in the tournament as before. and Hallucinate Grosseto won against They were supporting IPBS as a member of Alchemist. Riddlers were in the finals as the federation and from this moment on, the Scorpions Kids. they did not send any of their experienced Even if Hallucinate are a strong team, marshals to the tournament as head ref, they lost their game and finished 4th. The like they did before. final was between Extreme Neapolis 2,

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Next event will be held in Neapolis. that were dominating the games, and the Riddlers. The 3:0 victory of the Extreme boys confirmed them as the strongest team of the day and of the general classification although there was still one event to come. They were on the top of the podium for the second time. This shows that after their poor results in the MilanoÂ´s event, they have been traing

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hard to improve and to be more complete as a team. For the last event, in Napoles, home of the IPBS president Paolo Russo, the organization is getting a venue all Europe should have an eye on: a chill-out resort in the beach, with two swimming pools, restaurant, disco. A great end of the season! â&#x20AC;˘

Hours before Infamous’ conquest of the first title of Millennium, we talked with Nicky Cuba, famous by his fierce, beard and by his «big mouth». Get the chance to know everything about one of the legends of our sport. Text: André Garrido

GRIP: You started playing paintball in New York. How were times when you were at that little paintball shop next to your place? Nicky Cuba: I was ten years old when I started playing but I hang out in the shop probably from eight years old. It was just fun, it caught my attention. I just wanted to be around the sport because my older brother had actually started playing and kids around the neighbourhood too so it interested me. It was just a different kind of sport. Running with our gun, shooting people, having fun but not killing people, we are just playing a big game attack. GRIP: Do you think that shop got some kids out of the street, far from bad

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« I went there We want to b

Nicky companies and bad ways? NC: 100%. It definitely kept me out of trouble. I surrounded myself with good people in the sport. I met so many good people that have enlightened me and showed me the world. I have been on fifteen different countries and it has just

e to win. be number one!»

y Cuba been a life turning experience. GRIP: You are now 32. More than 20 years have passed. How much more time do you think you will continue as a pro player? NC: I haven’t really given that much

thought to it. Time and life will tell. I have a family now so that’s my priority but I love the sport more than anything. I think I can play at least ten or twelve years more but will I? I don’t know but I will be involved with the sport one way or another.

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really just loving it like I do. GRIP: What obligations do you have with the brands that sponsor you? NC: Every brand that has ever sponsored me, I only represent them because they take care of me. Right now, Empire, Kee Action and JT Splat Master: they have been the best companies taking care of me. They are the top; they are great for the players, for building the sport and really geared towards bringing the sport out in the world. Se we can be recognized as a real sport rather than just a novelty.

GRIP: Is being a professional player your only profession? NC: Well, I work for Kee Action Sports. I’m one of the guys who represents JT Splat Master, our new product. We built and geared it towards bringing in the younger generation, because our sport is not like any other sport. It’s very intimidating to moms, dads and kids. If they come out and play at our level – where a ball can reach 300 feet per second – and they get bunkered or shoot real close, they might never play the game again. But now we have made this product – JT Splat Master –; it’s geared towards the kids having fun, having the experience of paintball and

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GRIP: You talked about your family. You are married and have a beautiful daughter. How do you manage to spend so many weekends away from the family? NC: It’s hard! Very hard! I miss them more than anything, but luckily enough

«I’m from New York, what do you expect?» on this day and age we have Skype and Facetime, so I’m still able to talk and see them. That really helps me to deal with being away from them for so long because I love them so much. It’s definitely hard being away because we have practices and tournaments, then we have events for JT Splat Master or I have clinics… I was

gone every weekend from January to the end of May. Then I had one weekend off in May. June started up with practices for Chicago, then I went to Chicago and now I’m here. It’s non-stop! GRIP: Some time ago you posted a picture of your daughter, when she was very little, with a JT Splat Master in her hands. Would you like if she became a paintball player? NC: She doesn’t necessarily have to be a paintball player but if she wants to shoot the guns and have fun because she knows that is what I love, that’s cool! But if she wants to try it out and become someone

in the sport, she can. She has many opportunities coming towards her and she can do whatever she wants. Whatever makes her happy! GRIP: Matt Marshall said that you are as quick with your mouth as you are with your moves. What do you say about this?

«Vanquish is the Rolls Royce, the top dog.» NC: (Laughs a lot) He is one of my best friends. I’m from New York, what do you expect? (Laughs) GRIP: Even yesterday you were picking

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on Marcello Margott from Nexus all the time… NC: He is like my little brother. I have been playing with him since he is 15 years old. I play with him and against him now. That is just me and him. If he shoots me, he will slag me and he doesn’t do that with many people, though most people would avenge themselves given the chance. (Laughs)

players should go to schools to share experiences with the kids, to promote the sport and seek for younger players. Have you done this already? NC: I tried to go to my High School and Junior High and stuff where I grew up… and it’s definitely very hard to break the barrier, because all they see is a gun to what we call a paintball marker. It’s a tough avenue to break but we are slowly breaking that. We are playing in colleges now and hopefully we will tear down into High School and maybe even in Junior High, because we designed the JT Splat Master now. It won’t be as

GRIP: In many videos and interviews your love for the little kids in the clinics is visible and, at the same time, you are connected with some social causes, like fundraising for the victims «We have been promised tons of of Sandy Hurricane. This attitude is not very common money and we haven’t received any.» in paintball players. What drives you to be involved in these intimidating when they see a plastic piece causes? of equipment, rather than a metal piece NC: It was something that happened. looking like a gun. It’s up to the players It was a natural disaster in my to really let everyone know about it and neighbourhood, right around the corner. bring the knowledge and safety is first, Lots of people were affected in Long that’s what everyone has to realize. We Island, where I’m from. Lots of people are safe when we are here. We have from New York, New Jersey and a little goggles on, we use the barrel condoms up the coast in Connecticut. I just felt if I and stuff like that and when we are out, had the opportunity to help out and give people do get black and blues but every back, I should do that. I shouldn’t just be sport does that. thinking about myself, I had to think about other people. I need to think of ways to GRIP: Going back to the past: You were use my name, what I get in the sport. And one of the players on the first X-Ball that was one of the ways. Just keep on game ever made. How do you remember doing stuff like that because you got to be that day? a good person. NC: I believe that was one of my greatest achievements, because that was for team GRIP: Some years ago you said USA. I was surrounded by all the people

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I look up to. Bob Long was the coach and he hand-picked the team, so to be chosen by him was an honour and to be playing alongside John Richardson, Chris Lasoya, one of my best friends Oliver Lang, Alex Fraige, Rich Telford, my buddy Moonerâ&#x20AC;Ś a lot of people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know who he is but he

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is one of the best players ever. It was just awesome to be surrounded by all these great people. GRIP: Did It occur to you that that would be the day to change the sport? NC: I have seen it! I was praying and

hoping that it would! Hoping that it was the thing that catapulted us into ESPN, to be televised and welcomed around the world. In many countries, it is very hard to go and teach and even bring the sport up because there are so many laws that are against it. It is something that we are still working on, but we have been on ESPN many times. , we are still televised now for the National College Paintball Championship, on national TV. We are being more and more recognized and we just need to keep unplugging away and keep on showing people what the sport is and how much everyone cares about it, so we get people who never played it to try it and realize that it is such a great sport. GRIP: You got to be known by your fierce in Ground Zero. After some time, you moved to AfterShock, a team that had your style of play, but things didn’t run very well. What happened? NC: I was with them for a season. It was the first year of X-Ball. It was a great team, I was surrounded by, once again, awesome players like Todd Adamson, who was one of the greatest back players ever and Billy Ceransky, one of the greatest mid players ever. We also had Mike Bruno and Richie Maliszewesk who made runthroughs what they are. I was playing with some of the best guys in the World and things didn’t pan out. We had to call it quit and move on. GRIP: Then you went to XSV. Have you ever thought that XSV would become

that big? NC: When I was deciding what to do, when I was moving out to California, I sat out with Matty Marshall and we had a conversation on what I should do. He was on his path of organizing a new team with Rich Telford, Thomas Taylor, Neil Eberlie, but right before that I had told Matty that I was going play with Dynasty. He was like: «Do you want to go the best team or do you want to beat the best team?». I love taking someone down. They are all my good friends on that team, but it was definitely a though road we battled

«Infamous style is fast and in-your-face. We can adapt,we are Chameleons.» through, to get where we did. We became one of the hottest teams out there. We were finally winning tournaments, after a rough first season. The first tournament was like a 16th place, a horrible show. And then we slowly started to get in the semi and the finals and then we were in second place, second place… (pauses) second place. It was constant. Just being the bride’s maid for Dynasty, sort of speak. We kept on training harder, we got personal trainers, and we put in extra time during the week. On the weekends we went up to Richie’s field and grinded all day, Saturday and Sunday. And when I got home I would go to local fields in San Diego, with some people or by myself and run drills. Just go out there and play

interview

and try to perfect my craft so I can be top player in the World. GRIP: XSV became huge media craziness everywhere. Did you ever think that would be possible? NC: In my idea that’s why I went there! I went there to win. I went there to take the long line of victories from Dynasty. We wanted to be number one. Everyone on that team wanted to be the most talked about team and be the best players. So, yeah, I was expecting that! GRIP: Out of the blue, all of you became Worldwide famous. How did you manage this exposure? NC: I mean… It’s awesome! I just want to thank everyone who made it possible: my mom, my family, my fiancé and daughter that support me. (Start mumbling) It’s just like, I can’t believe it! It doesn’t mean anything if you don’t do anything with it. That’s why I try to teach kids and try to bring up kids and build the sport, because without the sport I wouldn’t be where I am. GRIP: On your last year in XSV, the team had some money issues and you jumped to Ironmen. At that time, you justified yourself a lot, that you had to take care of your family and of yourself. Do you think people don’t see it in a good way when a player changes because of money? NC: Yeah because people are ignorant. People don’t think about the great

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scheme of things. They just think that they love that team or that player and he should play on that team forever because they love that team. They don’t realize

take vacations and stuff like that. XSV wasn’t working out, he had been promised tons of money we didn’t get. At that time my mom was getting sick, she needed help; I have to do what is best for my family. GRIP: In Ironmen you played with Oliver Lang, one of your best friends, and a bunch of legendary players. Was it easy to manage all the egos? NC: Yeah because we all shared a common goal, we wanted to win, we wanted to take people down. That’s another thing, when I was making the decision of going to Ironmen, once again I thought about going to Dynasty. Then Oliver and Mr U call me up and we had a talk and I met with David Youngblood. It was the right fit, at the right time and they had the right direction. They had the right backing from Dave; he was all about the team, like he always is. He actually purchased a ranch and put a field on it, so we were practicing non-stop. We had a lot of young players, Brandon Short, Marcello Margott, Alex Goldman and then Mr. U, Paxson, Oliver. We won our first event in our first event, we won it! I made the right decision and this team is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

the back story; don’t realize that we have lives outside of it. We want to be something; we want to have a family, a house and a car and do cool things like

GRIP: It seems that you had plenty of opportunities to go to Dynasty. At the same time, it appears to be the only team lacking in you curriculum. Do you think it’s possible we’ll see you in Dynasty in the future?

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NC: Right now I’m thinking on building Infamous up. I have a bunch of hungry young players that are in their twenty and mid twenty and they are focused, putting in the time and the effort. That’s what I’m doing, putting in the time and effort with them and I want to bring the best out of them. GRIP: Why did you change from Ironmen to Infamous? NC: It was a great thing with Ironmen. Dave Youngblood was very good to me, took care of me and once again it was a time of recession around the world. Everybody was getting hit and things didn’t work out. GRIP: From your point of view how have been these years with Infamous? NC: Crazy! (Laughs) We have been through a bunch of different players on this team, we have gone through the roster every year with new players and every year there were the same core players like myself, Travis, Bobby, Kevin Rudolph and from there it was pretty much it. Those are the guys, they have been around. I hope I’m not forgetting anyone, I’m sorry if I am. And we had a good coach –, Todd (Martinez) was coaching us. It’s the same thing, hungry individuals who want to win. We have been fully supported by our sponsors, like Empire, Evil paint; they have been backing up and promoting us to the fullest. We got such a good talented group of individuals and I’m very

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excited to see what we can do this year. GRIP: At the same time, it seems there is always a little step missing to be the number one team. What is missing? NC: Mental focus. This season we had the win in a bag in the semi-finals against Dynasty and we let them come back on, with a minute and twenty seconds and score three points. I still think that some people run around with hits. It is what it is. But we still have the drive and the passion to keep on playing and you can see it when you go out there. We just need that little hick up to not take the weaker teams lightly. We have to stop going in there confident, thinking we are going to smash them and then end up losing those games. And then we go against Damage or Ironmen and we beat them. That’s just on us! GRIP: Infamous has changed from LA to Chicago. How does this affect life on the team? NC: The change was for the better because all our core new guys: Damian Ryan, Drew Templeton, Chris Sosine, Brad GRIP: One though question. Last year Mc Curley, Zack Patient- all these players your good friend Todd Martinez… live there and Travis (Lemanski) moved NC: Yes, a very good friend! back to Detroit, it’s only «What do you think about the taboo a three hour drive. I was in New York and it was an of wiping?» «What’s so taboo about it?» hour and half flight, so it was the smart move, because we can go all grind right there at CPX Paintball. It GRIP: He quitted Infamous as coach. Was was just how it worked out. Worked out he to blame for the bad results at that good! time?

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It’s just a field. Infamous style is fast and in-your-face. People think we only have one speed; we don’t, we have many speeds, we can adapt, we are like Chameleons. This team has such talent with Damian Ryan, Bobby Aviles and all the other guys… We can play a slow game, like Damage and sit there and just shoot lanes, but if we have the opportunity, we are coming to get you.

NC: No! It wasn’t about the results of our team. He wanted to fulfill the dream of improving his company – Raza – and, at the same, he got offered some stuff to go to Vicious. He did what was right for him. But that goes back to one of those questions that you asked me about, how people judge you. GRIP: Socialpaintball.com says a bad and slow field helps the game of infamous. Do you agree? NC: Bad? They call it bad? Maybe they don’t know what they are talking about.

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GRIP: Infamous quitted NPPL this year. What was the reason? NC: we just wanted to focus on PSP, winning X-Ball, and then we would be coming over to Millennium, so it was going to be a lot in our plate. NPPL isn’t what it was. It’s not the same and all the best players in the World play at PSP. They might say differently, but everyone who’s a real professional knows, and the real guys, they know. GRIP: In all ends of season there are rumours about NPPL ending or merging with PSP. What do you think about this? NC: Those rumours have been there for many years. They are just rumours. PSP is just the best league out there! GRIP: How did the opportunity to come to Millennium appear? NC: We wanted to come out here and promote and show off our equipment. We all love the travel. Millennium is fun. I’ve been coming over here since I’m sixteen

years old. It’s exciting, especially if you are a first timer and if you never travel outside the US to come to see the world. It just gave us the opportunity to show the kids on our team a different side of the World and different styles of paintball. Millennium always does a good job, always has exciting fans. It’s awesome!

«XSV’s GRIP: You talked about a different style of play. American teams usually have some difficulty to adapt to the European style. How has your adaption been? CN: Really? I don’t think there is much of a difference, because when we came

over when Millennium first started, we were just smashing teams down and they were not good at all (smiles). It would always be USA teams in the finals and semi-finals. It would be the four top USA teams winning it. That’s how it was for many years. Oliver, Mr U, David Williamson, myself, we travelled over

first tournament was like a 16th place, a horrible show.» here and teach clinics. The Russians were teaching clinics and they were trying to adapt the US style, so I think the Europeans have taken our style rather than us taken theirs. We didn’t

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have to adapt to anything, Europeans adapted to us. GRIP: And how about the reffings? Many American players complain that Eurorefs are very, very strict… NC: All refs are strict. A ref is a ref, a zebra is a zebra! They are going to make the calls, some people might not get the call they want. They are only human, people make

mistakes. Lots of people say it’s because they don’t like Americans or something like that. You got that everywhere and you got that in every sport. They got to make the call, either they make the right call or the wrong one, it’s still the call on the field. It might make you win or lose the tournament, but you just got to deal with it. GRIP: Why do you have Portuguese nationality on your Millennium profile? NC: They messed it up! (Laughs) I think that’s because I played with Benfica from Portugal, back in the day, with a bunch of friends of mine and with Hugo and Tiago. They just had it on the records and they never changed it. GRIP: What differences do you find between the beginning of Millennium and nowadays? NC: There are more teams, there are more shows going on. They have the trailers, tents and trade shows, like we do in the US. A lot of Europeans are very happy to see us and they are just here having fun. If

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they lose, they are still there having fun and going crazy in the stands. They still want to meet us, because we are not over here all the time. It’s fun, I love it over here! GRIP: You have been in most of the best teams in the World. If «The you had to choose only one, which would it be? NC: That’s a tough question! (Laughs) My favourite team that I have played on? I still have to go back… There are so many good things about all my teams, everyone has a special place in my heart. I can´t really say which team I would have played if I could turn back

time. It will be all of them. (Laughs) GRIP: And if you have to choose one moment in your career? NC: Wooww! It has to be the first World Cup and the Championship with Ironmen, winning it two years in a row. That is

paintball store next to my house kept me out of trouble.» just too sweet! That was one of the best moments, because the world cup has so many teams, everyone wants to win it and so many players have played for so many years and have never won one of them. To win a World Cup and a Championship in

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the same day, that was awesome! GRIP: How do you see the biggest taboo of paintball, that is wiping a shoot? NC: What is so taboo about it? (Laughs) That’s like in every other sport; there is this little thing you do in every sport. In soccer, in what you call football, people get away with tripping. In American football, people get away with holding. That is why we have refs. People play the grey line and if you get caught, you cheated. If you didn’t, it was not a hit! (Laughs) GRIP: In Infamous you play with the new Vanquish. Without the usual sponsored player speech, what do you think about this new marker? NC: Everyone is going to think it is the usual speech. It’s the best gun on the market. I’ve used all guns, played for all the companies. It’s the Rolls Royce. It’s the top dog. We have taken the gun to another level. GRIP: Some years ago, in Ironmen, you were injured. What were your thoughts in that particular moment that you were injured? NC: Hoooo! The worst thoughts… You immediately think if you will be able to play at the level you were. Are you going to play again? Luckily enough, I just ripped and torned all the ligaments and tendons of my ankle. With the right doctors and the right mind set, training and waiting to

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get back on top and putting the time on who comes to your clinic; they don’t know the gym, it was all it took. To be focused anything or maybe they know, but they on wanting to be the best. are doing it totally the wrong way. Then GRIP: You have a paintball school – you get them doing it the right way, by the Nuskool. How is the project going? end of the clinic and they have adapted to NC: Yeah! The Nuskool Paintball Academy. your style and they have taken everything It’s going well and it’s me going around you taught them and they put it to use. and teaching clinics. I get kids «If the kids get bunkered, they from any age to adults of any age. We´ve started a long time ago, I might never play the game again.» was probably 21 years old, with Oliver, Mr. U, travelling around teaching It’s another great moment, every time! clinics. It is awesome. I love teaching people the sport. I love giving them the GRIP: Is your beard a matter of branding? knowledge that I have acquired over so NC: (Laughs) No! Ever since I was little, I many years of playing this great sport. It’s just wanted a beard (Laughs). I like it. I very fulfilling to be able to teach someone was finally able to grow it. • advertisement

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EuroBigGame In May, we decide to visit the longest game in Europe. GRIP tells you all about it. Text: AndrĂŠ Faria

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The EuroBigGame (EBG) is a very wellknown event that takes place in the north of Germany for four consecutive days of paintball… for sure, the longest event in Europe! It all started in 1996 in Bockange, France, with only a handful of players. After outgrowing Bockange and Veckring in France, the EuroBigGame moved to Mahlwinkel, in Germany, a small village a few kilometers north of Magdeburg. This former military site was turned into an adrenaline paradise with the end of the cold war. The audience goes from the scenario players, recball and tournament players, with quite a number of female players. It takes place twice a year, on four consecutive days. During these eight days, the borderline that divides paintball into Airball and Woodsball does not exist. Here they all get along fine; they all play and party together! The result is a unique atmosphere, just like a massive open-air festival. There are more players there than at a Millennium Series event! To achieve this, five people have to plan for three months, and 30 others have to prepare the site for three days. We have to thank them for setting up such a great venue. Here the players can touch, try and buy the newest paintball gadgets, get some food, German beer or listened to a band! This place is always buzzing with activity. There were also two screens showing on- and off-field action recorded during the event. By Thursday morning, the crew had

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grown to 150, including reff’s, security and many others. Everything was ready to go, the paintball action starts, the players have 32 hours of paintball ahead and games end around 9pm!!! As for improvements, EBG changed the field a bit, including two new buildings, dug out new bunkers, set up new obstacles and the size has been increased to some 40 hectares! This results in a large variety of fields including forest, houses and bunkers, speedball areas and lots of sneaky places. We cannot forget the roads, and the kings of the roads: two tanks regularly patrolled the site and often helped the weaker team. It’s a challenge trying to disable those tanks, when a player has to

It all started in 1996 with only a handful of players. jump to the back and shoot or press the hit plate that disables the vehicle. But life in such a tank is not easy either, when the windows get covered with a thick layer of paint and it’s hard to see anything out there. The EuroBigGame is intense, on and off the field. There was a Sup’Air tournament free of charge, a scenario element called SEG in one of the buildings, and other attractions as live-bands or a strip show. There was a fundraising for a children’s hospice that collected over 6700 Euros in cash. Players willingly donated for sick children and made it once more one of the highlights of the nightlife in the EBG

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event. As is common in most events there was a great atmosphere in the camping area, with the reunion of players from all over Europe. To keep the comfort high, there are showers and porcelain toilets frequently cleaned. There is also electricity available and many tents run their own fridge or coffee machine.

The EuroBigGame offered variety, size, quality and a proper organization. Even with a bit of rain, 1500 players from at least 12 countries were there. The next EuroBigGame will take place in September 5th-8th 2013 and the players can expect some serious action, as it will be as intense and big as it ever was! â&#x20AC;˘

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Tippmann Challenge UK One change of scenario at the very last minute meant everything needed to be adjusted in record time to support a game with over 300 players. As usual, GRIP keeps you in the loop and lets you know all about it! Text: AndrĂŠ Faria

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The fourth and final edition of the Tippmann Challenge UK was played throughout three days, on the weekend of the 19th to 21st of July 2013 and it was organised by Shoreline. The event was to be held at the Sennybridge Military Urban Training complex in South Wales, but a last minute cancellation by the M.O.D, â&#x20AC;&#x201C; due to a major military exercise â&#x20AC;&#x201C;, made the organization set up a new venue and games, two weeks before the date it was. A true nightmare that put the Shoreline staff to the test. When buying the tickets, the players had to accept the venue is an active military training venue and so there was

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a risk the event could be rescheduled or relocated in short notice. Shoreline had consulted the Faction Leaders and team captains of major teams. The feedback was unanimous. They all preferred the event to be relocated and run on the same dates at a new

The score table was wild during the nine games held, in a total of ten hours of pure Paintball. venue, as opposed to being rescheduled for Sennybridge. All team captains said their players would struggle to attend a re-arranged event, because they had

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already bought their plane tickets, booked ferries and had taken time off work that would be difficult to reschedule in short notice. Therefore, the 2013 TCUK was relocated to the Holmbush Paintball Centre, an outstanding paintball facility and home of TCUK for the first two years. About 300 players from all over the world gathered there for 3 days of gun fighting and partying, in one of the most wanted euro games of the year. The gathering of old and new friends started on Thursday, at the campsite located about 15 minutes from the game venue. There you could see the field divided in the eight faction areas, where

the players would live and party together. Flags and banners, barbecues and festivities gave colour to that previously dull space. The games itself were diverse; the factions did not know who would they play with and against. There were several objectives scoring for the separate factions or the group of factions (four blue factions vs. four red factions). No tactical plans could be premade, the difference would be made in the field, depending on how the factions faced the many challenges. The usage of pyro was widely appreciated by the players, either with smoke grenades or flashbangs,

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complemented sometimes by the own organization pyro effects. The war ambiance was setup, for the joy of the knights. The eight factions were led by well known euro teams: Sons of the Lion Heard - Bad Moji (UK), The Holy Order of Ni - SPS (UK), The Knights Templar - Team UNIT (France), The Knights Hospitaller KAOS Malta (Malta), The Teutonic Order - Team Tactics (Germany), The Reconquista Brotherhood â&#x20AC;&#x201C; C.E.P. Paintugal (Portugal), Papal Thunder Commonwealth Expeditionary Force (CEF - Global) and The Swords of Christ - Madball Legionaires (Holland). Points were awarded by completing group or solo faction objectives, and the score table was wild during the nine games held, in a total of ten hours of pure Paintball. In the end game, a fabulous pyro show pushed the adrenaline to the peaks, and with faction solo objectives worth many more points than in the previous games, everyone gave their best! The victory smiled to The Knights Hospitaller, after 3 very challenging days, in all aspects! â&#x20AC;˘

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DROM We were challenged to test the new Drom by someone who spends most of his time with a pair of runners, on the field – one of Millennium’s best referees. Text: Pedro Batista Photos: DROM

Before travelling to London for the Millennium Series’ third event, I saw on Facebook that my French friends were promoting new shoes, designed especially for paintball practice. When I arrived, I saw them live, since many players, particularly French, were already using them. But I also saw them on the feet of some players from the states, and I liked their aspect. So, I challenged GRIP’s director and the Drom’s representative: I wanted to use them during the weekend on the CPL field where I refereed. The challenge was accepted, even though the shoes were designed for players and not for referees, as they’ve got different requirements. At first sight, Drom 1.0 look a bit plastic, due to the materials used, and they also look comfortable because of the wider

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shape. When I put them on, I immediately felt that their format was ample; I was the same size number of my daily shoes, so the Drom were a bit loose – which won’t make a difference with sports socks players use. The comfort is outstanding, the spongy material and the insole/outsole set are remarkable; you can´t even feel the cleats’ support, as it happens in other brands´ shoes. Regarding this outsole, it’s presented with small adherence cleats dispersed throughout the shoe, reinforced with ten screwed-on cleats. Despite knowing that one should never use new shoes on a competition, much less christen them on a 12 hours day of refereeing, I took a chance. During the day, I confirmed their comfort and found them slightly warm, but nothing unusual,

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considering the high temperatures during the tournament. The important is that I got through the day without swollen feet or blisters. Their adherence proved to be quite high; my feet never skid during those starts and stops so specific of our sport. At the end of the first day, I looked at the shoes and drew several conclusions: • Cleaning: Very easy. With a damp cloth you can easily make them look as new. • White laces: They’re very beautiful in the collection of the shoes’ colours, but after five minutes on the field, they get that grimy look that will not come off. • Outsole: Haven’t lost any of the cleats, but lost the teeth in almost all of them, particularly in the heel zone. Took a lot of grass home. This fact, regarding the sole, was mentioned to the brand’s representative right on Sunday morning. He noted the same had happened to everyone who has used them. The brand had foreseen this, as they already are in the process of manufacturing three more cleats types, in addition to the ones that come in the basic offer: ones in spike, ones similar to the football shoes, for natural grass; ones similar to the standard ones, but much

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more durable, suitable for synthetic turf; and some covers to simply cover the screw hole, for those who don’t want to use additional cleats. On Sunday, despite having fewer teeth to grip the ground, I didn´t feel any adherence problem. Overall, the shoes appear to be the most well produced shoes in our sport. They effectively protect the foot, whilst being quite comfortable. Although the adherence is not a problem, the new cleats will bring bigger durability to the shoe. The price is high, a little above one hundred euros, the average for this type of shoe. The bar has been raised in professional paintball footwear! •

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GREG HASTING While some rushed to show off the novelty, we at GRIP waited, played, played and played until we finished this game. Greg Hastings remains the best paintball game ever! Text: André Garrido Photos: GRIP

The name Greg Hastings is no longer indifferent to anyone. There are several products that come from the hands of this great player, but undoubtedly the product that has had more success and has done more for paintball at a world level is his videogames series dedicated to our sport. After releasing several titles for consoles, this time in a stroke of genius, he decided to take advantage of the new features of mobile devices such as cellphones and tablets. I say it’s a stroke of genius, because increasingly more people are abandoning consoles in favour of these gadgets. Even though they lag behind in terms of processing and graphics, they offer the possibility of playing anywhere, from the bedroom to the bathroom, or when in a long waiting

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line in the doctor’s office. I’ll be very sincere, so that you´re warned. It’s difficult for someone like me, a self-confessed paintball addict, to make a complete unbiased analysis and to have the necessary distance to see if the theme is interesting for the majority of people who have downloaded this game. However GRIP is a paintball magazine, so how many of you are as addicted to this sport as I am or even more? The game’s first advantage is that the download is free. And unlike many games, typical of these gadgets, there is no pressure or need to buy extra items to keep playing. Obviously if anyone wants to spend a few extra euros, they will progress faster and be able to seriously improve their game style.

GS PAINTBALL

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Within the game there are two types of coins. The silver ones, the most used, intended to buy the entrances for the games; and the gold ones, that you can only get if you spend some precious euros. I can tell you I spent a little over 500 gold coins, about eight euros, only because I wanted to reach the top as quickly as possible, in order to write this review. The entire process of acquiring items, paying entrance to the game and purchasing balls can only be done with silver coins, with some exceptions. Basically, those who are patient and thrifty can play this game forever, without spending a single euro. Regarding the gameplay, Greg Hastings Paintball – Fields of Battle is probably one of the best games I’ve ever played. I confess I was left in awe both with how we interact with the tablet, and with how the game reacts to our movements. I’m old school and for me there’s nothing better than having a good controller in my hands, without vibration, without any unnecessary buttons or touch screens. When I started to play, I felt a bit like an idiot twisting my body around in the living room, or tilting the tablet to be able to hit someone. I had a feeling

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that it wouldn’t be long before a 500€ expense would be flying out the window. What is certain is that at the end of the day, not only was I used to it, but I also felt the whole way of playing made sense. It’s even possible to imitate some movements we do in real life. On the bottom left side is the steering virtual stick, while on the right side, in an intelligent manner, we can zoom in with only a touch, launch grenades, or shoot. When we’re in stressful situations, the right side is a bit «short» for large hands, and there goes a grenade flying. But in normal situations, everything is very well thought out. Also at gameplay level, sometimes there are obstacles so low we cannot visualize them and they lock our movements. It’s particularly annoying when we’re trying to flee to avoid being hit. At graphic level, it couldn’t be a masterpiece of art, due to the platform for which the game was developed, but it is notable the concern for things to run smoothly without jumps or flaws. The major innovation lies with the fact that this game is completely online. It’s an entrance requirement, disappointing some players who would love to be able

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to play anywhere, even without internet. However, fighting to stay at the top of the score board against players from the other side of the World is worth every moment we play. I consider it to be the game’s best attraction. It’s a shame the ranking is only by game instead of a real world leaderboard. Another strong point of the game is the level of scenarios. They are real

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scenarios, the majority of the fields in the United States of America, divided between competition and recreation. In these scenarios we play against bots, while many other players do the same. They aren’t all available at the same time and once in a while new fields appear, or other field where the ball is offered. At the end, the best three players receive silver coins as a reward. Regarding the bots, they aren’t very bright, but that doesn’t mean victory is guaranteed or that it’s easy to eliminate them. The Android version will come out in September, which will make the game reach new heights, while promoting our sport. Ever since I installed this game on the tablet, I haven’t played any other game. It can combine short plays that turn into an afternoon of digital paintball, with a lot of fun. Sometimes it feels as if we’re in a real paintball match, where we apply all we know on that small rectangle. It’s undoubtedly the game of the year for any paintball player, while showing everyone else why we love this sport so much. •

e t i l a r p u s Fuel Super light, Super Sa

f e!

0 6G5 r am liGht

1 Bottle liner made of high quality stainless steel. Super safe!

2 23 cm length at 1,1 liter filling volume.

3 Super steady and shockresistant shell.

Now available at

www.maxs-sport.com

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The championship, in terms of beauty, has already been won. But will this marker be wort hthe money? We have no doubts! Text: Duarte Gomes Photos: MAXS

Russion Legion plays with MacDev Clone GTI but will that be synonymous of quality? It could be an important factor but the marker has enough quality to speak for itself. The brand has been around for some time and became famous for its air regulators. The next step was the creation of a line of markers that had even greater success. Recently, the Clone GTI – an upgrade of the Clone – was launched.

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The marker was well received and showed to be an excellent option, very smooth, precise and of easy use. Clone’s evolution follows the principles that «if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it» and all innovations introduced, although minimal, are well-thought and welcomed. We rely on a multi-colour oled board; the same board that contains information helping us to better understand how to handle the marker and how to set it up.

We can also realise what the marker’s internal pressure level is, as it possesses a sensor allowing us to know if we have too much or too little pressure, so we no longer need the old pressure gauge. The board has a USB connector for future upgrades and will allow a Bluetooth module for wireless connection. The bolt system had a slight improvement to have a smoother marker functioning and increased autonomy.

It’s something insignificant, but it’s still an improvement. The handle is more ergonomic and of a softer material, which is always welcomed in the improvement of comfort and manner of holding the marker. This has been a concern the brand has had from the beginning. It’s undoubtedly one of the most ergonomics markers we’ve felt. It adapts very well to our hands, no matter how we hold it. The barrel is pretty good, quite

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PROS · Oled board with pressure gauge · Barrel CONS · Quantity of o-rings

precise and functional; technically it’s composed by two pieces, but some like to say it’s a three piece barrel, as the insert – in addition to being longer than normal –, screws in the back and the front. This detail albeit small is once again very important, because the ease to remove the barrel is greater and the gain of a few more centimetres allows for better precision. All this excellent functioning has a cost, something brands have been trying to reduce. We talk about the quantity of o-rings used, as Clone GTI’s bolt system has maybe too many o-rings. It’s difficult, or even impossible, to achieve perfection

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and there’s always a downside, but its excellent functioning makes up for this detail, although it doesn’t appear to affect the marker’s complexity. The bolt can easily be removed without tools – only a small pull of the cap and it seamlessly comes out. While in use, as it is under pressure, there’s no danger of it coming out. Once again we can count on a marker of excellent quality and very well designed. It’s undoubtedly one of the most beautiful markers on the market, with several options available in terms of colours. Its functioning is quite accurate. Overall it’s a very well assembled machine. •

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backstage

backstage We were in Basildon and wanted to meet some of the people responsible for this event. We were received with warmth, professionalism and a little concern regarding the weather. 1 – What is your function? 2 – What are the main difficulties of your job? 3 – Tell us an amazing story that you have experienced in Millennium.

ANDY KENNEDY General Manager 1 –My job is to bring all the equipment, set it up, run the tournament, clean it all, pack it up and take it on to the next event. 2 – The weather! The sun doesn’t bother us but the wind… Hooo dear, the wind causes a lot of

problems. If we could get rid of the wind, we could have a much better time. 3 – Malaga, I think it was our second year there. We had a flush flood in the mountains, all the water came down. In one point, we had 52 meters of shore and within two hours we only had 25 meters. All the bunkers were floating away!

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WENDY AUTON Teams manager 1 – My role is to welcome the teams to the Millennium. They come to me to obtain schedules, draws and of course, regarding the new teams, I’m responsible for introducing them to the Millennium paintball… because it’s so exciting. And I love it, it´s the best job in the Millennium and I have a wonderful team that makes it easier for me. 2 – Hauuuhgff… The weather! Truthfully! It’s always the weather. 3 – Oh my god! It was an event in Fuengirola, when the weather was so bad and lightning and thunder were coming down. The roof of tent of the organizations lifted up; I know it doesn´t sound funny but all players were coming to me, because Ulrich (at this point Wendy said: «Sorry Ulrich») was telling the players they had to go to the field and they were screaming and begging me: «There is lightning! He wants us to run around in the field with our guns, we are going to get killed! What are we going to do?». And I was like: «Go to the field!» (laughing)

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JEAN SEBASTIAN Series Manager 1 –I work on the setup and the functioning of the crew for the event. 2 – To work with the weather! It’s strange, but it’s hard to work and enjoy the job when it’s very hot or when it’s too cold or rainy. We need to manage the weather and the location every time. It’s not easy! 3 – It’s when you have to be on site at 6am with -3ºC and in the afternoon you have 25 degrees. It’s incredible to have this difference. You start the day with lots of clothes on and end it only in a shirt.

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THANKS

Guilherme Pires Jo達o Ramos Pedro Batista Ricardo Catarino Rui Pereira

Thank you!

/GripPaintball

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thanks

the ne w

i t g e n o l c 3 1 20 NOWive

exclus at

Features: id 2013 Soleno in lr e D w e n alve new 2013 V oated Steel C m iu d a n a tV new Tool Se OLeD Board i T G e n lo C ne w p p Around Gri ra w h c u o T new Soft

m ort.co p s 139 s x a .m www

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