The National Xball League ’ s Windy City Major , the fifth and penultimate event of the 2021 season was held at Chicago Gaelic Park , a familiar site for those regularly following or playing in the league . Located less than an hour southwest of downtown Chicago , Gaelic Park is a huge events center , sporting complex and pub , offering everything from weddings to live music to parades and cultural events .
The third major event of the season for the NXL , the Windy City Major would be a pivotal event for teams trying to work their way up the 2021 season series rankings ladder . As teams battled at this event with an eye on the prize , they are also battling the calendar . With only the NXL World Cup left on the season schedule , it ’ s now or never for the teams within arms distance of the rankings leaderboard in all divisions .
Coming into this event Edmonton Impact has a nice lead on the rest of the Professional field with a first-place win and a secondplace finish in the two previous NXL Major events . The Semipro division has a close bottleneck near the top with teams like Annapolis A-Team , New Orleans Hurricanes , Noobies and other within striking distance and two events left . Killers , KC Missouri Allstars and Auston Notorious are battling it out in Division Two Xball coming into this event .
For the Windy City Major there were seven fields used to accommodate the 189 teams spread across 14 divisions . The modest trade show wrapped around the main NXL Xball field with the six adjacent divisional fields close-by . Flat surfaces and natural grass were plentiful at Gaelic Park .
Photo By Gary Baum
086 paintball . media magazine