XTPL "Texas Cup"

Hard lessons were felt by PPS-SFO subsidiary team Fortnite Friends at the Xtreme Tournament Paintball League (XTPL) “Texas Cup” Jan. 27.

A culmination of various players throughout the PPS program, Fortnite Friends was a chance for younger PPS-SFO players to experience X-Ball in a set league format. Hosted at Paintball Fit in Waxahachie, Texas, the XTPL series provides various opportunities for lower ranked players to enjoy a competitive atmosphere.

Player Scott Crum was disappointed in the teams performance, but was happy to move into a new format of competitive paintball.

"I feel like we should have practiced together as a team more than twice," Crum said. "I understand life happens, but practice makes perfect and I wished we could have had that opportunity."

Placing 14th out of 24 teams, Fortnite Friends faced against Grit X, Texas PhalanX Red, and SUWT in the preliminary rounds of play. While the first match against Grit X went perfectly with a 3 to 0 win, the subsequent games against PhalanX and SUWT proved to be too much for the Fortnite Friends.

Line captain Michael Figiel was happy with the teams performance despite not making it out of the preliminary round.

"I do see promise, we had good moments and I think we should have gone further than we did," Figiel said. "But I am content where we ended up the event."

With the majority of teams hailing from the North Texas area, the potential for future XTPL events looks promising. Combined with support from those at Paintball Fit, the "Texas Cup" set a high standard for the remainder of the year.

First time X-Ball player Anthony Cedillo thought that this was a great opportunity moving into the next season.

"The XTPL was my first X-Ball tournament and I really enjoyed it," Cedillo said. "I'm really glad we played this tournament especially since half of us have never played X-Ball before. I feel like I now know what I need to work on to contribute more to the team."

Playing his second year with PPS-SFO, Jayce Boyd was happy that newer players were getting a chance to test a higher level of competition.

"Given the situation, we played well. The event gave us a chance to get our teammates that are new to the division an opportunity to get an early look at the change of competition level," Boyd said. "Coming from someone that has been on both sides of the win/loss spectrum, we have no reason to be disappointed in our performance."

Players from left to right: (bottom) Steven Matthews, Jayce Boyd, Scott Crum / (top) John Wunker, Brandon Mills, Anthony Cedillo, Robert White, Michael Figiel

Crum, Scott. Personal interview. 29 January 2019.

Figiel, Michael. Personal interview. 29 January 2019.

Cedillo, Anthony. Personal interview. 29 January 2019.

Boyd, Jayce. Personal interview. 29 January 2019.