Paintball Magazine Premier Issue, May 2015 | Page 36

game that was working in France… not a lot of moves
until they were up a body or two, then they hit hard. They
beat Breakout Spa 5-2 and waiting to see which North
American Team they would face in the finals.

took the next two points making it 3-0, the surprise turned
into anticipation. Although Houston Heat made a run at
the game scoring the fourth point, they were never really
in it. Final score Toulouse TonTons 5, Houston Heat 2.

Next up would be the aforementioned North American
matchup between GI Houston Heat and Edmonton
Impact. And unfortunately this one didn’t live up to
anyone’s expectations as Houston Heat blew Edmonton
Impact up 5-0. Edmonton Impact did bounce back nicely
to win the game for third place against Breakout Spa 5-1.

In the SPL 1 (Semiprofessional Paintball League) there
were six groups, each with four teams. With Hulk Kiev
retiring and the top two teams moving up to the CPL
(Amsterdam Heat and MLKings) FiveStar Lleida comes
in as the highest ranking team in the division. And right
off the jump they looked like the team to beat, sweeping
their group in relatively easy fashion. Red storm Moscow,
Manchester Firm, Scorpions Milano, Ronhold Blast and
Stockholm Ignition each also won their three group
preliminary round games. Montreal Image who moved
up to the SPL1 this season lost their first game, but
bounced back nicely to win their next two to make the
Sunday cuts. Image features Taniss Italia (son of GI Sportz
Richmond Italia) and Brandon Rabackoff (son of Steve
“Rab” Rabackoff and brother of JRab).

The CPL (Pro) finals looked a lot like what you would hope
for in an event: Two undefeated teams squaring off for
first place in the first major European event of the season.
When the TonTons came out and took the first point of
the match there was a measurable feeling of shock in
the air. The fans in the grandstands (many from France)
applauded the point but had the look on their faces that
said, “Can this be happening?” But when the TonTons

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