The NXL ’ s sister “ Classic ” paintball league kicked off the season for the biggest tournament series in the world . The event took place at Tiki ’ s Paintball Park just a bit outside of Tampa , Florida . In all 80 teams jumped in the ring to take a shot at the best competition this side of … well anywhere actually . There ’ s no better woodsball competition than the ICPL and no better speedball play than the NXL , anywhere in the world . This is the major leagues of paintball .
Setting the Stage
If you remember when Tiger Woods was in his prime , the betting lines at times were so stacked in Tiger ’ s direction that picking the winner of a particular event would often come down to Tiger versus The Field . Las Vegas casinos , who set most of the betting lines in American sports , actually and sometimes rightly believed that the odds of any of the hundreds of golfers at an event combined had a less than 50-percent chance of winning the event .
If I were betting on which team would win the Pro division of the 2023 International Classic Paintball League ( ICPL ) Sunshine Classic , I ’ m not sure I would go as far as Vegas and pick Chicago Aftershock versus The Field , but it ’ d be close . Aftershock ’ s record in Florida in classic events is pretty astounding , dating back to the 1990s . Playing in the woods , classic style , Aftershock won five of the first eight NPPL World Cups , four of those held in Florida . And after years of playing Xball they left the Snake and Dorito behind and joined the ICPL in its first year in 2019 , where they won the season ’ s finale event in Florida . In 2022 Chicago Aftershock won it again and coming into this event in February of 2023 , I think most people in the know would give them a very good shot at winning this year ’ s ICPL Florida event . So , let ’ s have a look .
Photo By John McGloughlin
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