1. Girls, Guns, Gear & Glory
ISSUE 20
FEBRUARY '10
EXCLUSIVE!!!
SPLAT OF 2009
BEST
Awards
Player of the Year - Team of the Year - Event of the Year and MORE!!
4. Editors Deadbox
Best of the Best and the
best of the rest. Cast of Characters
v Chris "IQ" Iaquinta Editor In Chief
You would think that the
editor of a paintball maga-
zine would actually try to
find the time to get his butt
out on to the field from
time to time. Unfortunate-
ly, his air hockey addiction
cannot be cracked.
v Don Saavedra West Coast Editor
When he's not creating
Blu-ray menu's for Holly-
wood's biggest movies (no,
seriously), Don the Magic
Wand can be found tearing
it up at So. California's top
fields, where he punishes
newbies without mercy.
v Alex Cadalso Managing Editor
Proud wearer of the
world's worst moustache,
........................................................................................................................WTF? our managing editor is cur-
rently hard at work putting
I apologize up front for the use of the above photo, I have his college degree to good
no frackin' clue of who that dude is, but when our buddy and use, as a rag to wipe the
famed paintball photographer Gary Baum sent it to me, I knew I paint off his goggles in-be-
had to work it in this issue somewhere. It looks like an outtake tween games.
from a paintball-based remake of "Predator" or something. Ok,
seriously now, who the heck is this guy? v Fernando Blando Hispanic Relations
Maybe he's just some juiced-up paintballer, but he might as Que diablo! Hola Juan,
well be the mascot for our third annual SPLAT Awards issue, donde esta el gato? Maria
where we hand out acknowledgements in a number of different es en el bano verde. No
categories from top player, team, event, etc. We've expanded me gusta las papas fritas.
the number of categories this year from last year, allowing us to Hace muy calor! Aye, que
recognize an even greater amount of talent that was on display lastima! Mucho gusto!
throughout the 2009 season. Estoy hablando espanol!
Who is the player of the year? Guess what, his first name isn't
Oliver, meaning for the first time ever since forming the awards
issue, we've named someone other than O-Lang as our choice v Pro Paintball Columnists
for greatest on the planet. Oh, and Dynasty isn't top team ei-
ther. Blame it on the big guy up top.
Dig deeper into this issue and you'll find an interview with
Junior Brown from XSV, complete coverage from the first UWL
event of the season, and an in-depth interview with our mystery
player of the year. Now we'll give you until the count of three
before we let our mascot loose. Todd Nicky Sonny
Martinez Cuba Lopez
- Chris IQ v Expert Columnists/Deities
We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our discretion
without explanation. All manuscripts, art, or other submissions must
be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Send submissions to SPLAT, 310 South Jefferson St., Suite 4-E,
Placentia, CA 92870. We are not responsible for unsolicited material. Writers and photographers
should send for our Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions. SPLAT is an open forum.
We also reserve the right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see fit, and photos submitted
have an implied waiver of copyright.Use the information published in SPLAT at your own risk.
SPLAT Internet Addresses
Web site: www.splatmagazine.com Chris Aaron Alberto
Alberto
Raehl Karsh D'Egidio
D'Egidio
E-mail: Editors@splatmagazine.com
www.splatxd.com XD XD Page
www.splatxd.com Pub
5.
6. abackoff
Player of the Year sin R
Ju t
Justin Rabackoff
J-Rab Himself: While he may not receive the same amount of media at-
tention as players like Oliver Lang, Alex Fraige or Rich Telford, Justin
Rabackoff enjoyed a 2009 season that could rival that of literally any tour-
nament player in the last decade. He helped lead DC Arsenal to three
straight USPL pro victories, while at the same time picking up point after
point in X-Ball with the Red Legion, a season ending with a World Cup
win. The spawn of legendary pro player "Scuba" Steve Rabackoff, Jus-
tin has been training and playing with the best of the best with multiple
generations of ballers, all of which has accumulated into him becoming
the most well-rounded young pro player on the field today.
Runners-Up: Steve Dabilis, Oliver Lang, Tim Montressor
7. splat Awards
BEST OF 2009
SPLAT Awards
The Third Annual SPLAT Magazine Awards recognizes
the best of the best in the paintball world from
tournament, scenario, industry and more.
by IQ Photography by Mike Neveux, Mike Adelmann, Gary Baum, Brandon Showers, Josh Bauder
2009 was a rough year for paintball. The recession hit hard, resulting
in the closure of numerous stores, fields and manufacturers, leaving many
players and teams without a place to play or sponsor support. Despite all the
setbacks however, many of paintball's superstars were still able to shine in
a season filled with stiff competition and shortened schedules. Salaries and
big endorsements are all but completely gone from the professional ranks,
but that didn't stop some of our favorite ambassadors from making the most
of one of the hardest years in paintball history. This year's choices for the
SPLAT Awards are filled with familar faces as well as a few newcomers who
aren't in the spotlight as often as they should be. We'll be looking towards
these players for the leadership to get our sport through what is expected
to be another rough year, so without further ado, we present to you the
2009 SPLAT Magazine Awards.........presented by GoDaddy (<---lie).
8. Top 25 Players
Top 25 Players
#1 #4 Best of the Best:
There is definitely no short-
age of amazing pro paint-
ballers stretched across the
globe. However, few players
can say they make the same
contributions to the game as
our Top 25 Players of 2009.
From living legends to Russian
imports, these individuals are
Justin Rabackoff Oliver Lang keeping the world of pro paint-
ball in the spotlight.
#7 #11 1. Justin Rabackoff
2. Tim Montressor
3. Steve Dabilis
4. Oliver Lang
5. Konstantin Fedorov
6. Alex Fraige
7. Brandon Short
Brandon Short Billy Bernacchia 8. Kirill Prikhidni
9. Chad Busiere
#14 #17 10. Dave Bains
11. Billy Bernacchia
12. Bobby Aviles
13. Josh Davey
14. JC Wittington
15. Travis Lemanski
16. Mike Paxson
JC Wittington Ryan Greenspan 17. Ryan Greenspan
18. Frank Connell
#21 #25 19. Matt Blonski
20. Colt Roberts
21. Justin Cornell
22. Todd Martinez
23. Greg Siewers
24. Nicky Cuba
25. Thomas Taylor
Justin Cornell Thomas Taylor
9.
10. Top Ten Teams
Top Ten Teams
1. Red Legion
2. Oakland Blast
3. DC Arsenal
Boston Red Legion
4. Philly Americans
5. Dynasty
6. Ironmen
7. TB Damage
8. Avalanche
San Antonio X-Factor
9. Impact
10. X-Factor
The A-Teams: Head online and
check out the rankings for both the
PSP and USPL for 2009 and you'll
notice one thing in common; the same
squads dominated event after event
all year long. We even had to remove
"Best New Pro Team" as a category
this year since none of the newly-
Edmonton Impact pro rosters managed to do anything
against each league's powerhouses.
Arsenal swept three of four USPL
events, while the PSP X-Ball pro divi-
sion saw the same four teams in the
finals almost every tournament. Why
can't the new teams compete? Be-
cause all of the top pro squads have
developed the Dynasty-mentality
when it comes to keeping together a
core roster year after year. As a result,
2010 may very well end up being one
Tampa Bay Damage of the toughest pro seasons ever.
11.
12. Boston Redt Red
on
osLegion Lego
i
B
Team of the Year
Splat Awards 2008
Team of the Year
Behind the Iron Curtain: Don't let the "Boston" tag confuse you, the Red Legion is still a
Union vodka. Heavily considered to be the greatest non-US team in the history of paint
forced all major pro teams to rethink their training methods after the Russians came to t
entire world championship squads off the break. They redefined the level of seriousnes
the top levels of the game, and to this day they still practice more than any other team o
Runners-Up: Philly Americans, Dynasty, DC Arsenal
13. on
as Russian as Soviet
tball, the Red Legion
the PSP and started laning
ss required to compete at
on the planet.
14. Front Player of the Year Brandon ort
ndon ShShort Bra
I Am Iron Man: As the current all-star front player for the LA Ironmen,
B-Short is only committed to playing the major PSP events. However, his
reputation as one of the most overpowering individuals on the field keeps his
dance card full all year long as he has become a favorite pick-up player for
teams both in the U.S. as well as around the world. His clinics sell out the
second they're announced, and foreign teams spend thousands of dollars to
get him overseas to play in international tournaments. Simply put, he stands
out on a team that also includes Nicky Cuba, Oliver Lang and Mike Paxson.
Runners-Up: Justin Cornell, Alex Friage, Thomas Taylor
15. Mid-Player of the Year
B ry Smith h
Bryanan Smit
Mr. Smith: When we do these annual award issues, we compile a list of
nominees for each category and then ask a number of industry profession-
als and paintball pros for their votes. Most of the time, voting runs extremely
tight, with just one player barely edging out the other. Not this time. Bryan
Smith was the only player this year to be unanimously chosen as the winner
for the category he was nominated for. The Florida native cut his teeth in the
pro ranks on the Miami Raiders before joining up with Tampa Bay Damage,
where he has become the most feared mid/insert player in the game today.
And at only 24 years old, we don't expect that to change anytime soon.
Runners-Up: Josh Davey, Bobby Aviles, Oliver Lang
16. Back Player of the Year DaveBains
ve Bains Da
Mark of the Beast: Back players in paintball don't get the kind of credit they
used to. Back in the day, the guys carrying a case of paint onto the field
Splat Awards 2008
were highly respected as the players that were able to lock down a game
and let their mid/front teammates do their thing. Dave Bains is solely keep-
ing this tradition alive. The only player this year to win both the PSP (Red
Legion) and USPL (Oakland Blast) pro championships, Bains has cemented
himself as not only the greatest back player of the last decade, but one of
the strongest individual players overall.
Runners-Up: Mike Paxson, JC Wittington, Frank Connell
17. RodneyeSquires re
s
Coach of the Year R odn y Squi
Put Me In, Coach: Paintball has been around for roughly 30 years. Rodney
Squires has been playing for 25 of those years. You would be hard pressed
to use more than one hand to count up the number of still-playing paint-
ballers that have racked up more experience points than Squires, who has
been maintaining a stable of up and coming pro all-stars that weren't even
born the first time he picked up a paintball gun. His main team, Dynasty
Entourage, won all four USPL semi-pro events in 2009. He'll now be taking
the squad into the pro division for 2010, where many expect them to be a
top five contender right out of the gate for both the NPPL and PSP.
Runners-Up: Glenn Forster, Ron Kilbourne, Mike Hinman
18. LylayDeeD ee
la
SPLAT Girl of the Year
L
The Import Model Takes Over Paintball: We were first introduced to Lyla a couple years b
most popular models in the world of Import cars. Since then, requests from readers to
of SPLAT have been at least double that of the next girl. When we told our advertisers
the 2009 edition of the "Girls of Paintball" issue, they sent twice as much gear as the pr
us to send them photos of Miss Dee wearing their products. And yes guys, she actuall
Runners-Up: Shay Lyn, Katarina Van Derham
19. back when she was one of the
have her appear in more issues
that Lyla would be appearing in
revious shoot and pleaded with
ly does play paintball.
20. Konstantinn Federov
ti
onsantFederov
K
Import of the Year
Import of the Year
Remember, No Russian: When Konstantin first appeared on the profes-
sional tournament scene years ago, almost every major pro player at the
time agreed that he was likely the best in the world. Since then, Federov has
been referred to as the "Russian Oliver Lang" countless times, where over
the course of his 11-year career he has helped the Boston Red Legion and
now the Philly Americans dominate the highest levels of X-Ball competition.
Runner-Up: Mikko Huttunen, Justin Cornell, Kirill Prikhidni
21.
22. Paintball Website of the Year Pro ro Pain ball
P t
Paintball.com
Free Mason Society: In a time where many parts of the paintball media
have all but died off completely, ProPaintball.com took the opportunity to
provide the sport with the daily updates and investigative reporting it needs.
Few other sites have the guts to talk about the controversial issues the way
that Pro Paintball owners Justin and Brandon Mason do, which is why hard-
core tournament fans have listed this site permanently in their "Favorites".
Runners-Up: PBNation, View from the Deadbox, Ballers Cafe
23.
24. y an Collet te
R
Semi-Pro Player of the Year
Semi-Pro Player of the Year Ryan Collette
Collette
World Famous: Ryan Collette is probably the greatest paintball player
you've never heard of. His abilities helped make Entourage (USPL) and Af-
termath II (PSP) two of the most unstoppable semi-pro teams of 2009. The
other semi-pro teams were thrilled to hear that he'll be stepping up to the
pro ranks for 2010, while existing pro teams have already earmarked him as
potentially the biggest new threat coming into their division. He'll be playing
with Entourage exclusively across both leagues, which is not just exciting
news, it's WORLD FAMOUS news.
Runner-Up: Tyler Shelton
25. THE FIRST AND STILL THE BEST!!
Thousands of Photos FREE HIGH-RES DOWNLOADS
PaintballPhotography.com
The Web’s #1 Paintball Photo Site
26. Crossover Player of the Year Bob Long ong
Bob L
The Deer Hunter: If you don't know who this guy is, quit paintball. Bob
Long has single-handedly done more for the game than almost any other in-
dividual, ever. From captaining legendary teams, producing industry-chang-
ing products, and being involved in every aspect of the sport since its incep-
tion, Bob has seen and done it all. Now that he's retired from professional
tournaments, he's once again making an on-field name for himself playing in
a wide-range of different paintball events, from scenario games to woodball
leagues like the UWL. You can argue that no one has played more week-
ends of paintball then Bob, nor has the same love of the game. How do we
know that? He once didn't want to have a major heart procedure done on
himself because he was worried it would keep him off the field for too long.
Runners-Up: Kat Gong, Chuck Hendsch
27.
28. Wo ld C
PSP WorldrCup
up
Event of the Year
P SP
We Are The World: Everywhere you look, you can see signs of the terrible Paintball econ
Despite field attendance being down to record-setting levels and paintball stores closing
aged to be the light at the end of the tunnel for 2009. Lane Wright and his crew manag
flagship tournament, building good momentum leading into the upcoming season. No
matching those numbers, with many believing that World Cup will continue to be the to
Runners-Up: USPL Commanders Cup, Paintball Extravaganza
29. nomic downturn, except at World Cup.
g all over the country, World Cup still man-
ged to draw over 300 teams to the PSP's
other tournament came even close to
op finale event for years to come.
30. Matt Marshallhall
at Mars
t
M
Best Paintball Personality
You're On The Air: As the only repeat winner from our 2008 awards issue,
Matty Marshall continues to prove why he is still the most important person-
ality in all of paintball. The hands-down top choice for on-air tournament
commentary, Matty has set the bar when it comes to paintball presentation,
bringing a level of professionalism that no one else has been able to match.
We're not sure if paintball will ever make it to the mainstream sports media,
but if it does, this is the only guy that should be talking about it.
31. Obataket e
Derrickck Oba ak
i
D err
Best Pump Player
Pumped Up: Thanks to the recession, pump guns are making a big comeback in
paintball, with pump tournaments popping up all over the country, including major na-
tional leagues. Many current and former pro players are taking the pump resurgence
as an opportunity to get back to their roots and enjoy a different side of paintball.
However, when they want to win these pump events, there's one player at the top of
their contact list, Derrick Obatake. At a spry 51-years old, Derrick is undoubtably the
most feared pump player in the country, having won over a dozen major pump titles in
the last year alone, often against teams stacked with pro players. He's proof positive
that you can still get the job done with just one ball at a time.
32. iv ing Leg e
L
Scenario/Big Game of the Year Living Legen
The Legend Continues: Many years ago, promoters used to throw events designed to l
names in the game. As tournament paintball became more popular though, these type
time, until the invention of the Living Legends big game. Living Legends brings togethe
er in one location for a weekend of fun with the regular walk-on players. It provides an u
meet their paintball heroes, but also gets a glimpse at what paintball events should reall
Runners-Up: D-Day, ION, Decay of Nations
33. gnds
e
nds
let average paintball players meet and play with the biggest
es of get-togethers completely disappeared for a long period of
er many of the biggest names in the history of paintball togeth-
unforgetable experience for the attendees, who not only get to
ly be about, community.
34. H hend and T
Lifetime Achievement Award Chuck Hendschsc To
uck Ch
The Gods of Tournament Paintball: The NPPL makes its official return as a series this year, where i
one but two NPPL presidents. Tom Cole, current bigwig over at Kingman and operator of the Ult
the first-ever head of the NPPL when the organization made its debut almost two decades ago, w
leadership responsibilities years later. Together, the two have held more top industry positions tha
having started out as professional players on legendary teams including Bad Company and All Am
ally, Chuck and Tom have had a hand in nearly every major decision that has shaped the past, pre
paintball. Without their contributions, paintball would likely still be stuck permanently in the woods
35. om Cole
T Cole
om
it will be spearheaded by not
timate Woodsball League, was
with Chuck Hendsch assuming
an any other paintball pairing, both
mericans. Together and individu-
esent and future of tournament
s.
36.
37. 2
February '10
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Justin
Rabackoff
With eight victories in 2009 and a legendary
former pro player as his father, J-Rab
heads into 2010 as the top player in the world.
by Don Saavedra Photos by Joshua Bauder - www.BauderExtreme.com
1. You had one hell of a 2009 Season. But, before we get to your total dominance, I
want to know more about how you got started. First off, give me a run-down on who
your Dad is.
Ahhh, my Dad! Well, he was one of the biggest names in paintball (Steve Rabackoff) and still
is, and without him I really wouldn't be here talking with you right now! He has been there for
me in my career from start to finish. He played for Avalanche when they were dominating ev-
ery tournament series (before Dynasty had their reign), and then helped build me a team so I
could start playing tournament paintball. He coached us for two seasons before I went pro.
2. When did you start playing paintball and how involved was your Dad? Did you start
out immediately on the tournament fields, or did you play in the woods for fun?
Well I'm not sure exactly when I started, I've been around paintball for a long time because my
Dad was always playing or working for a paintball company. When I was little I played a little of
both, but honestly I wouldn't even call it starting out 'cause I was so off and on and didn't even
really like to play. I would say that I started playing paintball in '04. That's when I started playing
3-man in my Dad's PTS tournament series. So to answer the question; I started out playing
on tournament fields but I loved playing in the woods as well. I like to be sneaky! My Dad was
super involved with me and paintball since the start, so I picked it up really quick because I had
someone there always giving me criticism. Two other people that were big influences on my
www.splatxd.com XD Interview
38. SPLATXD Interview
"It took me a couple
years to come out
of my shell and tell
myself that I CAN
play with these
guys and that I'm
right on the same
level as them."
- Justin Rabackoff
paintball career are Rusty Glaze and right off the bat, they were expecting so much from
Jon Richardson. me because of who my Dad was. It took me a couple
years to come out of my shell and tell myself that I
3. Did you feel that you had a lot CAN play with these guys and that I'm right on the
to live up to? same level as them. I think I played a little timid at
times because I was still new to the pro level and it's
Yes, I felt like I had a lot to live up a little scary at first. As soon as I pushed all that out of
to. Not with the fans but with all the my head is when I started to become the player I am
other pro players because I thought, now, with some help from the Russians!
JUNE 2008 www.splatmagazine.com
39. February '10
4. When you played for Infamous, you were
playing along side several of your Dad's former
teammates. Were they easier or extra hard on
you because of the relationship?
They were extra hard on me for several reasons; I
am Steve Rab's son and because they knew the po-
tential that I had, so it was not easy playing for that
team. But I can say that was the most fun I ever
had playing paintball and I love all of those guys on
that team.
5. Let's talk about the 2009 season. You won a
World Championship and almost had a perfect
season in 7-man. Tell us all of the tournaments
you won.
The 2009 season was my coming out and I did
win a lot of tournaments last year. I won the World
Championship with Red Legion at PSP World Cup,
the most amazing feeling I could have ever imag-
ined. I used to dream about that day all the time. I
won the Chicago Open with Red Legion as well.
I played with Dynasty Arsenal in the Millennium
Series and we won Germany and later on I won
a 3-on-1 to take the Turkish Cup. I went over to
Australia and won a Super 7 tournament. And yes,
a perfect season was ripped from us because of a
gun penalty in the USPL with Arsenal. It happens,
and I have no regrets from my season with them.
We won Huntington Beach, the Corona event,
and DC Challenge all in a row, and everything that
could have gone wrong in Vegas, did!
6. We are naming you The Player of the Year for
2009, an honor previously only held by Oliver
Lang. You were easily the winningest player of
the year. What does this mean for you and for
your career?
Wow! This is quite an accomplishment for me
personally because I've always looked up to Oliver
because he is "The Name of Paintball" and has done
so much for the sport! This is a huge step for me
www.splatmagazine.com JUNE 2008
www.splatxd.com XD Interview
40. February '10
SPLATXD Interview
to win this because I do work hard to be the best player I can be
and I hope to only get better because I know I have not reached
my limit. Thank you for the honor.
7. 2009 was also quite a break-out year for you, but you've
been playing at the highest level for a while. What would
you say made the difference for you this year?
I think it was just going out there and playing, not worrying about
anything else, not a care in the world but to just play paintball. I
think the experience I've got from this year finally meshed with
the skill I have on the field and when I put the two together I got
fantastic results. For the "hopefuls," I would like to say keep play-
ing and that nothing comes to you overnight. You have to work
hard to be the best, and don't ever quit.
8. How do you top yourself in 2010?
Repeat! Repeat! Repeat! There are a lot of things that I am not good at still and I will continue to work
on them as long as I am playing paintball!
9. Last, but not least, tell us who your sponsors are and give one last message to your Dad.
KEE Action Sports, Virtue, MacDev, SLY, Vents, Empire, Paintball Photography.com, Bauder Designs,
ProPaintball.com, Clone, Guerrilla Air, KM. Dad, you were one of the great ones to play paintball but
you still will never beat me 1-on-1!
JUNE 2008 www.splatmagazine.com
www.splatxd.com XD Interview
41.
42. SPLATXD Photo Feature
DAVIS
CAPTA IN: JAMES
Team
www.splatxd.com XD Photo Feature
43. eXSo. Cal Ghosts
February '10
Scenario
The
Posed
By IQ - Photos by Michael Adelmann
christian barnes
rnes
Jason Ba
cDaniel
Aaron M
John ballew sr.
www.splatxd.com XD
Impact
44. SPLATXD Photo Feature
s: 15 Top Secret
Active Member
es: OCMI
kn own associat s
So. Cal Ghost
cartel
Posse
psycho Clown
dog soldiers
hers
Bandless Brot
ear
Suppliers: ANS G
Save phace
ll
giant paintba
orts park
hollywood sp
ww.socalgh osts.com
Last Know n Location: w
104 June 2003 www.splatmagazine.com
www.splatxd.com XD Photo Feature
45. February '10
Members Not Shown
1. Steve Janetzke
2. Scott Barber
Travel Route
3. Rob Hulton - Decay of Nations
4. Dale Christison
5. Andrew Christison - Blood Diamond
6. Rick Krug
7. Chris Carello - Castle Conquest West
8. Adam Endicott - King of the Hill
9. Tom Dragonetti
10. Kevin Bender
11. Ricky Krug
Deidra Davis
ockery
Justin D
allew Jr.
John Bwww.splatmagazine.com June 2003 105
Andy Butler
www.splatxd.com XD
47. 2
February '10
PRO PLAYER Q&A
Stephen
"Junior"
Brown
Known as one of the most experienced players on
the field today, Stephen Brown has moved
to the world of pball media with BallersCafe.com.
by IQ Photos by Brandon Showers - www.brandonshowers.com
1. Even though most of the paintball industry is in the tank, there still isn’t a massive
shortage of online outlets covering the pball world. What was the motivation behind
starting Ballers Café and competing with what is already out there?
Well I actually took over an existing site that was called SacPaintball. It was a really popular site
in Nor-Cal and my goal was, and is, expanding it to become the premier West Coast Paintball
community for world news, west coast used sales forums, store and field reviews, store and
field forums, plus much more. A one stop hub for paintball.
2. Is there a creative team behind the site or are you running a one-man operation?
I guess you could call it a one man show, although I have some great Mods and someone that
helps me with some of the tech type stuff. If the site keeps going well over this next year you
will see a creative team form.
3. Putting up daily updates, which is something you’ve done a great job at keeping
up with, can get really tedious. How are you coping with the demands of running the
www.splatxd.com XD Interview
48. SPLATXD Interview
"My goal is to help
promote paintball
and West Coast
stores and fields
the best way I can,
right now I have a
lot of things in the
works and only
time will tell. "
- Junior Brown
website, especially since it’s not things I have to get done. That is one of the benefits
your only job? of having a website, I can work on it at 2 in the morn-
ing or 2 in the afternoon. Rarely is there something
First of all thank you! I try hard to that must be done in particular instant so I can work
keep people talking about paintball. around my other ‘jobs’.
This is how I feel I can help our sport.
But I must say that some days it really 4. Is the plan to keep it mainly a news-driven
does catch up to me. I have found paintball source or do you have some secret
that the key for me is to prioritize plans to grow it into much more?
JUNE 2008 www.splatmagazine.com
49. February '10
I plan on it being much more than just Paintball
news. My goal is to help promote paintball and
West Coast stores and fields the best way I can,
right now I have a lot of things in the works and
only time will tell.
5. Most of the other paintball news sites try to
stand out among the crowd with controversial
articles and/or topics, will Ballers Café be do-
ing something similar?
I don’t plan to go out of my way to find ‘contro-
versial’ topics or articles. But if I find something
relevant that is true/accurate it will definitely go up.
A benefit of being in my position is that I do often
know of some great paintball news before others.
I like to visit a lot of paintball news sites so I will
report to the Ballers Café readers some cool things
I find as I’m surfing the net. 90% of the time I try to
credit the site and even link it back to them. We are
all trying to do the same thing! Tell people what’s
going on and keep people talking about paintball.
6. What’s the hardest thing about being a part
of the paintball media?
Well having a lot of friends in the industry is hard,
especially if you are posting something about them!
7. On the XSV side, is 2010 shaping up to be a
good year for the team?
We surely hope so. We have made some big
changes for 2010 and like all teams in this tough
economy, we are happy to actually still BE a team! I
have high hopes for XSV for 2010.
8. With a number of paintball teams either go-
ing under or forced into mergers to stay alive,
what steps is XSV taking to ensure the longev-
ity of the squad?
We are working hard to keep promoting our spon-
sors and paintball. We are working with the RPL to
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50. February '10
SPLATXD Interview
help the league get new players into the game and
this will help everyone in paintball. But you just never
know what will go down at the end of 2010. Who
could have called the All-Americans going under or
Aftermath merging?!?! So I will say this, if you have a
lot of money and would like to invest in Sacramento
XSV please feel free to email me.
9. What’s your own take of the current state of
the paintball industry?
Well it’s tough, really tough. Having a business that is
a ‘recreational sport’ during a recession is very chal-
lenging to say the least. But we have to keep pushing
and promoting the game of paintball and I think we
will be okay.
10. If you were paintball’s commissioner and all
the leagues and companies had to listen to what
you say, what changes would you make to the
sport?
Haha, what a question! One thing I would like to
see from the leagues would be for them to come
together as one but keep two formats for the differ-
ent player types. Run six big events and have two of
them at the same time as two of the big games so
we put even more paintballers in one place. Then
the big thing I would like to see from the companies
would be them working more margins into products
for paintball stores. We are seeing a lot of stores go-
ing out of business and this makes it hard for the new
players to have a place to go and ask questions about
our sport. But that’s just my first thoughts!
11. Various reports show that the number of paintball players in the U.S. has dropped by as
much as four million participants in recent years. Will the sport ever be able to return to its
peak strength and beyond?
Wow that is a large number that I haven’t seen before. I think as with most ‘recreational sports’ it’s very
cyclical. People come and go, then come back again. I have recently seen so many people that have
said, I used to play x number of years ago, and I’m getting back into it. Their tanks are expired, their
guns are leaking and they don’t have much money. But they know how much fun paintball is, how
much of a release it is, and they want to get back out there! So let’s all hope we see it come back.
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51.
52. SPLATXD Event Coverage
Ultimate Woo The famed woodsball series returns to SC Villag
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53. February '10
odsball League
ge for the first stop of its 2010 season.
by IQ Photography by Chris Dilts & Gary Baum
www.splatxd.com XD UWL
54. SPLATXD Event Coverage
The Ultimate Woodsball League become the most popular woodsball tourna-
returned to SC Village for the ment series in the country, netting interest
first stop of the series’ 2010 from both walk-on, scenario and tournament
season, once again utilizing the players, including a number of high profile
world’s most popular paintball pros like Todd Martinez, Nicky Cuba, Bob
park as a home for its unique Long and Matty Marshall.
woods-based format. Although The UWL is ran by former NPPL President
this is only the second season Tom Cole, who started the series in an effort
of the UWL, the league has
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55. February '10
to try and return paintball to its 10min periods, with players attempting to
roots, and as he says it, “Make capture flags and hold strategic points on the
paintball fun again”. The for- field to acquire points.
mat is 10-man with points This year a third division, Tactical, was added
scored by capturing on-field ob- on to the existing Open and Skills division.
jectives and bases (think “Dom- No pro or semi-pro players are allowed to
ination” from Modern Warfare). enter in the Tactical division, an important
Games are played with a 30min addition to the series to avoid the beat downs
time limit divided into three
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58. SPLATXD Event Coverage
from the first season when unable to make the trek out to the season
relatively inexperienced squads opener this time around, giving teams in the
were thrown in against the San Open division a better chance of victory, that
Diego Daggers, a team com- is at least until Bob Long showed up. That’s
prised almost completely of right, the most famous player in the history of
existing and former pro players, the game returned once again to play in the
captained by Matty Marshall. UWL, bringing along an impressive roster of
The Daggers, however, were players that included his son Zach Long and
former Dynasty player Johnny Perchak, all
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59. February '10
playing under the “Assassins” that in no way represented what tourna-
team name. Bob’s team was ment players have become accustomed to in
the early favorite going into the recent years with airball. The terrain posed
event, and they did not disap- little trouble for the Assassins though, as they
point. easily won all three of their Saturday games
Games were played on one of with wins against the Heretics, Entourage
the more heavily-wooded fields and Henchmen. Bob and company continued
SC Village has to offer, a field their roll on through Sunday, though they
ended up dropping a game to Desert Edge
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60. SPLATXD Event Coverage
in the process. The two teams another 2nd place finish in the Skills division
would meet again in the finals, as well, with team Gat winning that bracket.
were the Assassins' veteran Luckily, Desert Edge was finally able to pick up
squad was able to keep up on 1st place honors in the Tactical division, where
the pressure for the 30min fina- they ended up besting the Psycho Clown
le, taking home 1st place in the Posse.
Open division. Thousands of dollars in prizes were awarded
Desert Edge was able to grab to the winning teams, with each squad prom-
110 June 2003 www.splatmagazine.com
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61. February '10
ising to come back
for another stop CLICK THIS
BUTTON TO
along the tour. The VISIT THE UWL
next UWL will take OFFICIAL WEBSITE
place at the Oasis AND SIGN UP
Paintball Park in FOR THE NEXT
EVENT!
Florida on February
20th – 21st. Learn
more over at www.PlayUWL.com
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