Also amongst these elite squads was Sacramento DMG who came back as the DMG of old. Having struggled in the 2024 season, DMG placed into the Ochos from prelims and fought their way into the quarterfinals in an overtime nailbiter, topping Texas Demolition 7-6. In the quarterfinals, their run would be quelled by the hot team at the tournament, TPP Crew who dropped a dominant 5-0 lashing on them. But keep an eye on this squad. With Brandon Baird, a thirdgeneration professional baller, and coach Dave Bains at its core this team is always one to be contended with.
Preferred Mob, who took 2nd place at Cup and 3rd at Mid-Atlantic last season were in a tough bracket. They came out a bit flat-footed in the prelims against Texas Demolition and then dropped a match to a very hot BR Factory. They came back with a well-fought 5-0 over Jackpot, but then missed Sunday in a heartbreak OT loss to Denver Altitude.
New to the division this season is a realigned Shock, the franchise project seemingly designed as a farm system for a resurrected Chicago Aftershock. This evolution did include the likes of Thomas Taylor as a mentor. BR Factory, a team that has risen through the ranks over the past five seasons out of the rising Bear Ridge program. After last year’ s rebrand, Denver Altitude put together a solid season which included a respectable fifth-place finish at Windy City Open, and expectations for them are high this year. Armada, best known for their ICPL exploits, straddled D2 and Semipro last season, and it remains to be seen how they will ride through this year.
And one more team that we expect to hear about is Pittsburgh Mastodon. Including standout players like John Debaldo of Farside, Owen Goin of Louisville Asylum, and Corinne Baird of Dallas Vibe who also remains rostered with the Royal City Seadogs. It will be interesting to watch how much action Baird will see and what she can accomplish. The newly formed Mastodon showed dominance over Philly Corrupt to start their weekend in Tampa, and came out on top of an all out brawl with Armada, but ultimately couldn’ t keep up with TPP Crew or SUWT and missed Sunday. But, for an inaugural appearance they performed well, and if this same lineup returns for consecutive events, expect to see this name popping up throughout the season.
Photo By Matt Clayton
092 paintball. media magazine