Germany answered back with a disciplined point. Tristan Scheepers would attempt yet another heroic play with a snake rundown that resulted in simultaneous yellow and red flags, again causing confusion everywhere. That penalty would be assessed as a minor, seeing that no one seemed to know where Scheepers picked up the hit he was called with, so Belgium would again down one body for the 3-2. The game then turned into a mayleigh with all bodies eliminated and no point assessed, leaving the score at 3-2 with only 14 seconds remaining. The Germans made one last aggressive attempt, but it poetically ended in a red flag to stop the clock and end the match.
In the semifinals, Mexico would face off against Team USA, and the in-house rivalry amongst the Dynasty teammates turned into a grudge match that the crowds went wild for. The Mexican squad did seem to get in the head of Chris Shehr and Harrison Frye a bit, forcing some mental errors and penalties that cost Team USA some points, but ultimately not the match. On the other end of the semifinal split, France barely edged out the tight Canadian squad 1-0.
The finals were a show for the record books, and well worth the visit on GoSports if you missed it. The match against Mexico and Canada was something to behold. Mexico went up 2-0 and looked to be positioned for an easy stroll to the podium for a medal spot. But, Canada made an epic comeback to score two consecutive points in just 1:39, taking the match to overtime, and then stole the win in overtime for the Bronze. The gold medal match was a showdown between the home team, France, against the American All Star team. The French team, composed primarily of Ton Tons did have the advantage as the tight-knit squad, but they also had the crowd in their favor. Leveraging that energy, they were able to break a 2-2 tie by forcing some penalties, and to upset the Americans 4-2 in the end to win the gold.
Womens Division
Trending with the entirety of the event, the French and the American squads both went undefeated in the prelims, but make no mistake, these two teams could not have been more different in their composition. The women’ s Team USA was composed of young, standout WNXL players including Adriana and Gerkary Blanco, Alicia Valdivia, Alexis Lazer, and Lysette Barnes and Roxana Montano of Femmes Fatale. They were also joined by young Haley Koreman of Dallas Vibe. Team France, on the other hand, was made up primarily of female players from the European league, ranging from D4 to Semipro rankings in the Xball leagues, but with very little competition in all-female leagues.
In their final prelim match, Team France squared off against Great Britain and fought an absolute slugfest where the rivalry was palpable. It ended with France on top 3-2, and Great Britain’ s spirits broken.
Team USA quickly overpowered the fourseed, Norway in the semifinals, and the French met Great Britain yet again, this time dominating them 4-1.
Norway took advantage of a deflated Great Britain. The British put up no fight, allowing Norway an easy 4-0 win for the bronze medal.
In the finals, Team USA demonstrated the dominance that extensive experience brings, easily handling the French in a 4-1 win and a walk to the top of the podium.
078 paintball. media magazine