Paintball Media Magazine August 2004 | Page 94

they talk about around the proverbial campfires at night during the week-long festival that they , the players , have built this event into , is the time when the game was so complex that it was really , truly anyone ’ s game to win .
By eliminating the variables , Skirmish streamlined this game , making it simpler for the producer ’ s to manage . But it also had the unintended effect of turning the game into a trench war , where a line is established across the field , and the team that more effectively holds the line and maintains field dominance , wins the game . To keep the game interesting , everyone understood that an advantage had to be given to the Axis team . From a player ’ s perspective , this year may have marked the year that the production went a bit too far .

Between the MVPs at Final Battle

After a year of planning , two days , and more than sixteen-hours of nonstop gameplay , Skirmish IoN 2024 came down to a two-point margin and one single flag hang at the center of Gold Beach during the final battle .
Unlike many years past , it seemed that everyone on the field was well-aware of that fact .
The battle would ultimately come down to the two players who earned the Most Valuable Player Awards from their respective teams : Tokin Ronin for the Axis , and Mark “ Boss ” Kirschner for the Allies .
Ronin , captain of the team Fully Loaded Ronins , described it as “ an intense battle .”
“ We weren ’ t able to get [ the German ] flag close , but I was somehow still there , inches away from their flag ,” he said . “ I could see the Allies were right in front of me . At one point , we were literally face to face , but the grass was so high , they couldn ’ t see me . I could hear the [ m ] say ‘ 10 seconds ’, so I counted to seven .”
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