After a long year of preparation and promotion, the Aruba Paintball Federation was now set to reintroduce the world to“ paintball in paradise”. It was to be hosted at Hot Triggers Paintball Parkietenbos, only 2 miles from the main airport. This fully functional facility is the new home of the Aruban paintball community and was to be the scene of the very first X-Ball style international open to be held in the country. Twelve teams with players from Aruba, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Canada, Florida, Texas, New York, and as far away as Hawaii came to compete for $ 10,000 in cash prizes. The three day event included a practice on Friday followed by the main event on Saturday and Sunday.
The turfed tournament field saw some intense action as players from all different skill levels battled it out together. Being an open class event means that everybody plays everybody. So team rosters could consist of divisional and professional players alike. Break out stars like Jacob Johnson and Scott Stewart from Paintball Fit took to the field to face each other and big names like the Edwards brothers from Tampa Bay Damage, as well as Blake Yarber, Harrison Frye, Joe Barrett, and Arturo Andrade of San Diego Dynasty. Playing with the Pros means there is little room for error, so teams needed to bring their A-game if they wanted to take home the title.
After grinding through the preliminary match ups, six of the 12 teams were left standing. The quarterfinals saw Chronic Chaos facing off against Aruba Madness while Hawaiian Heat took on Chronic Chaos II. Seeing two of the powerhouse teams on the island: Aruba Madness and Chronic Chaos battle it out for national glory was awesome. Both teams each had a player from Paintball Fit who rallied their teammates earlier in an incredible preliminary match, then faced each other again in the quarters. Scott Stewart and Chronic Chaos would be the victor in a 5-1 scored game to move on. Meanwhile, amazingly, Hawaiian Heat came out on top of a nail biter 4-3 match up against a Chronic Chaos II team stacked with two San Diego Dynasty players.
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