Photo By Jonah Jamroz
Then there was the field layout for the event.
While most young players in the game of
tournament paintball are now used to a
“snake side” and “dorito side” layout with
random bunkers strewn throughout the
middle of the field, the league broke with
this tradition for Atlantic City and shook
things up with a large “home” bunker in the
back center of the field, “Dorito” bunkers
leading the way to a traditional snake and
not one single “Dorito” on the “D-side”
at all, opting instead for a variety of other
shapes and sizes along the opposite side and
big bunkers populating mid-field. Though
most liked the willingness of the league to
try something different, the end-result when
the horn sounded, and paint was in the air
was long, grinding points with many teams
choosing to hit the five closest bunkers to
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the start gate, stack two and often three
players at the “home” block, load up with as
many as ten to twelve pods each, and shoot
it out, controlling lanes. Many games went to
time and, especially on the divisional fields,
ended in 2-to-1 final game scores, with the
winning point often scored in overtime after
the two teams ground the clock down and
finished regulation tied at one point each.
On the pro field, while the empty pods piled
up, the cream rose to the top as great teams
and great players simply figured the field
out and had to find a way to win with gutsy
moves up the middle or a sneaky crawl down
the snake to shoot two or three players in the
side of the head.
Vendors at the Atlantic City Open were the
usual suspects. G.I. Sportz attended with a