In a celebration of international paintball, 60 teams representing 21 nations around the globe turned up in Dreux, France to play in honor of their countries in the UPBF Nation’ s Cup. As a statement to the growth of the sport everywhere, the competition revealed a respectable amount of parody developing around the globe, the crowds were engaged, and the spectacle did not disappoint.
Mens Pro Division
The United Paintball Federation brings out the best of the best for their international competitions, and this year was no exception.
Eighteen teams entered this year’ s Pro Division, representing their countries from around the globe. Notably missing was the Russian contingent, but that did not deteriorate the level of competition.
The host team, Team France, had the advantage of locality on their side and put together a hit squad that included members of Breakout Spa, Scalp, Paris Camp Carnage, and the Ton Tons including legends Fabrice Colombo and Axel Gaudin. Expectations were high for them, and they didn’ t disappoint.
Team USA was a collaboration of San Diego Dynasty players, both current and ex-pats, including Ryan Greenspan, Marcello Margott, Harrison Frye, Chris Shehr, Kyle Barry, and Conner Kelly. The crowds were blessed to see some of the greatest paintball on earth brought to their doorstep by these powerhouses.
Team Mexico was led by Dynasty’ s own Arturo Andrade, and Team Canada was a sleeper squad composed of members of the Royal City Seadogs accompanied by Thomas Guest of the Iron Men and Cody Chong of Aftermath. This group would not only hold their own, but they put in respectable work.
While these heavy-hitting squads brought the spectacle, there were many great match ups in between. The match between South Africa and Brazil, for example, was an absolute back-and-forth slugfest. Tied 3-3 with 3:37 remaining, Brazil was able to stay disciplined enough to slow down, run off the clock, and take the win. Their blend of patience, aggressive play style, and gun skills outshone the competition in their bracket and gave them a respectable finish above established clubs like Poland and Spain.
The Germany versus Belgium was a brutally intense rivalry match for the ages with laundry flying everywhere. In the first game, Belgium applied the pressure to Germany, but up 3 bodies to 1, when a red flag would stop play. Upon review, the officiating crew determined that the penalty was actually a minor, and the point was awarded to Belgium. A four-pack for Tristan Scheepers would then immediately put Belgium up 2-0. The Germans answered the aggressive attack in the next game, picking Belgium apart in less than 45 seconds and leaving the one remaining Belgian in a three-on-one. An ambitious center run would lead to an actual red flag on the Belgians, this time costing them the point, plus two bodies. The penalty assessed in the next game left Belgium facing a 5-on-3, but the Belgians did not back down. Staying alive, Heylen David picked up a storybook comeback three-pack to wrap up a point to put Belgium up 3-1. www. paintball. media
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