Paintball is ever-changing. Formats evolve, teams come and go, and players bounce between divisions. There is one thing that remains constant-world cup will be held in Florida. Come hell or high water, paintball players from around the globe make their epic pilgrimage to the final event of the year every year. World cup is the last chance for teams to leave their mark on the paintball world before the off season starts. The 2024 NXL world cup ushered in the return of Brimstone Smoke. Smoke was a legendary team based out the Ohio and West Virginia Area in the late 1990s and quickly went on a rise to the pro division in the early 2000s. After a long hiatus, the team grinded their way back to the pro division in the ICPL series, hosted by Major League Paintball. Eager for more paintball action, Smoke attended world cup for the first time in decades. Smoke played in both the 7 man and 10 man divisions. The mounds field featured piles of dirt for players to hide behind, set up in a somewhat symmetrical fashion. Some piles were about 4 feet tall and others stood over 15 feet tall.
Rosters were open-class, meaning anyone could play. Saturday featured a difficult bracket, world class teams like Image and Lockout appeared on the schedule. Smoke took a rare loss in the first game to open the tournament. After a quick team meeting, Smoke reevaluated their strategy and game back, going on an undefeated run to finish the preliminary games in the top spot. Unfortunately, due to daylight savings, the sun was setting early and the finals got postponed to Sunday. Upon arrival, it was clear that there was an unexpected opponent-traffic. The 2024 world cup had a record setting number of teams, spectators and vendors. Traffic was backed up so bad, that several players arrived late for the First game. Smoke had to play against NW Union 9 vs 10. To make matters worse, Matt D’Arienzo was eliminated off the break. In an 8 vs 10 scenario, things started to crumble, players got eliminated, refs shouted, paint was flying through the air. It appeared that world cup was going to end in a humiliating loss. Scotty Branham had other plans. Average players would panic in the stress of world cup playoff games, but average players don’t play for Smoke. Scotty Branham thrives in the chao. He quickly surveyed the field, found an opening in Union’s defense, and cut through the center. Scotty surprised Union and quickly eliminated their attackers. Defying the odds, Smoke clawed back from a losing situation and won. Reinforcements arrived, now at full 10 vs 10 strength, Smoke faced off against UK based pro team “Rushers.” Sadly, Rushers advanced after beating Smoke, and claimed the world cup trophy.
But there was still one game left.
Smoke faced Image for the 3rd place consolation match. This game was a long, tiring grind. Neither team was willing to throw bodies away, resulting in a no-point. Overtime was held in a 1 vs 1 format. Image put their best player on the field. Smoke took a different approach, and put their young rookie Luke Staley on the field. Luke was calm and confident, he believed in his skills, and he put them on display, quickly defeating Image and securing the 3rd place medal for smoke. Later on Sunday, the 7 man format began. Smoke rolled though, winning and stalemating every game, once again coming into the playoffs as the #1 team. Smoke faced off against historic team “Aftershock” in the semi finals. After losing several players, Smoke was in a 3 vs 6 situation with 4 minutes left. Matt Askren retreated and defended his teammates, chipping away at the clock. He knew that as long as Smoke survives, the 1 on 1 overtime would lead to a Smoke victory just like it did in the 10 man format. However, once time expired, the head ref called live players to the center to be counted. Aftershock had more survivors, and the refs called Aftershock the winner.
However, there was controversy over the rules,
because the NXL rulebook stats that if no point is scored, overtime must be played, regardless of the survivor count. The ultimate ref was called in to discuss what needed to happen. The rules state that a 1 on 1 overtime must be played, so Smoke sent out Luke Staley once again, this time facing off against pro player Ryan Hoskinson. Sadly, Luke was eliminated, and Aftershock won the final game to secure the cup.
There was one final game to play, the consolation match against Image, once again. This time, Smoke turned up the heat, and took aggressive positions. After some back and forth scrambling form both teams, Smoke dropped the hammer. Grant Speakman and Matt Askren found a weakness on the left side, and ran through the remaining players for Image, narrowly scoring within the final minute of the game.
After collecting not one, but two medals, it was a great experience for Smoke.
Additionally, Smoke player Cody Szmik won Division 2 Xball and Matt D’Arienzo won the Commanders Cup Xball exhibition matches.
The Smoke family had a great time at World cup, and this event was a great way to end the 2024 season.
The GI Sportz paintball flew straight into Smoke’s opponents and the Planet Eclipse markers performed great in the humidity. More Smoke adventures will follow.
Stay tuned and Smoke em if you got em!
