USXBL "Planet Eclipse Open"

Competition proved to be too tough for PPS-SFO lines competing in the United States X-Ball League (USXBL) “Planet Eclipse Open”, April 6-7th.

Hosted at X-Factor Paintball Park in San Antonio, Texas, 58 teams battled it out against one another despite the poor weather throughout the weekend. Rostering a total of 43 players across the entire organization, PPS-SFO competed in 3 of the 4 divisions offered by the USXBL: Premiere (Division 3) X-Ball, Division 4 X-ball, and Division 5 X-Ball.

END OF TOURNAMENT STANDINGS:

PPS-SFO: 5th of 12 (Division 3 X-Ball)

PPS-SFO Dirty: 9th of 20 (Division 4 X-Ball)

PPS-SFO Riot: 18th of 20 (Division 4 X-Ball)

PPS-SFO Rumble: 15th of 16 (Division 5 X-Ball)

PPS-SFO Mayhem: 11th of 16 (Division 5 X-Ball)

Overall, players in the PPS-SFO organization were disappointed with their performance but were looking at coming back even harder at the next event. Within Division 5, lines “Rumble” and “Mayhem” were happy to get their first event under their belt despite the poor showing. Furthermore, the hard lessons resonated even more for those first starting out in tournament paintball.

PPS-SFO (Premiere Division)

In the “Premiere” X-Ball division, the main line of PPS-SFO made it through the preliminary rounds and proceeded to fall short in the quarterfinals to Texas Demolition.

In Division 4 X-Ball, both the “Dirty” and “Riot” lines had contrasting results to say the least. “Dirty” would go on to make it through the preliminary rounds only to fall to Austin Evolution, and “Riot” going 0-3 in the prelims. Though the players on “Riot” moved up from Division 5 last year, the potential seen in their play does give hope moving forward.

PPS-SFO "Riot" (Division 4)

Overall, X-Factor Paintball Park provided a quality venue despite the horrid rainfall that plagued Sunday’s competition. Along with an onsite food vendor, various tech booths and sales tents gave players the chance to spend a little extra money in their down time.

As usual, USXBL operations went smoothly, even with certain technical issues on and off the field. Moving forward, one of the biggest complaints heard from teams was the ability to see the scores and times inside the pit areas. With seconds making or breaking a team’s tournament chances, scoreboards are vital when it comes to providing teams that opportunity. Referees for the event were on par with previous events, but did show an increased presence on Sunday during Division 4 X-Ball play.

With the National X-Ball League “Texas Open” approaching fast, PPS-SFO players are looking forward to some very busy weekends in the future.