This one day game is something unique to scenario paintball. There are three rounds: a 2-hour morning session, lunch break, another 2- hour afternoon session, then a 30-minute all-out final battle. The field boundaries and flag stations do not change during the 3 total rounds; team commanders flip a coin to pick respawn sides for the morning session, then switch to the opposite side for the afternoon. One home base flag per side, each worth 2 points. Five mid-ground flags worth 1 point each. The highest red or blue flag at 20-minute intervals scores the points during the main two rounds, and then they are worth double points every 10 minutes at final battle. Think of it like a mix between a big game and a tournament. There was even live scoring on a digital scoreboard that tracked round time, break time, and point counts. No guesswork- players knew exactly how well their team was doing, and what was at stake. Now thats rare to see!
RVB 2026 was a re-match, another“ first” for this event. Once again it was me( Brandon Blu) up against Matt“ The Gym Rat.” Naturally I commanded the Blue team while Matt headed up the Red team. Both of us have solid followings in our respective worlds, so we rallied as many of our fellow paint slingers together as possible for another skirmish. With last year’ s game being a close one, and Blue team pulling out a narrow 10 point victory, everybody was hungry for a re-do. This year though, the Blue team defended thier rightful title with a decisive total score of 117 to 45.
The most difficult battle was definitely against the elements. Eleven inches of falling snow and freezing temps are tough on any type of paintball, even winterized blends. If you weren’ t keeping your balls warm and dry, they were sure to make a mess out of almost any maker set up. The more tactical participants who shot first strike rounds definitely had a better day than round ball players, but it wasn’ t fool proof. What really mattered was staying on the field, pushing up, and flipping the flags. Marker or no marker, players from both teams gave everything they had. And thankfully, no cases of frostbite were reported!
I’ d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who showed up to play this historical event. So many of you told me personally that this was one for the books and a bucket list worthy day of intensity. I am especially grateful of the Blue team players from both years for supporting me in the fight. Though next year, two new faces will take mine and Matt’ s place as commanders so that we can play alongside you. I highly suggest you join us for Red vs Blue 2027!
PbM
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