ASIA Paintball Magazine - Issue 01
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Photo credit to Zul Photography<br />
Page 1
Contents<br />
Page 3<br />
Editorial Notes<br />
Interview with Duckside<br />
<strong>Paintball</strong> Media<br />
Singapore <strong>Paintball</strong> Series 2<strong>01</strong>8 Calendar of Events<br />
<strong>Paintball</strong> Store<br />
Page 8-9<br />
Page 21<br />
Page 22<br />
Page 23<br />
Page 24-25 Interview with Outlaws Singapore<br />
Page 26-27 Events to look out for in 2<strong>01</strong>8<br />
Page 28-29 GI Sportz Imperial Sponsorship Program<br />
Page 30-31 In a league of its own article<br />
Page 32 2<strong>01</strong>8 Calendar of Events<br />
Editorial<br />
Notes<br />
Greetings! On behalf of the team, have a great 2<strong>01</strong>8!<br />
Early last year, we made a commitment to produce a Tri-series online paintball magazine<br />
for the Asia paintball scene but little did we know that this is harder said than done! Kudos<br />
to all existing publishers, we “feel” you... If anyone out there is even thinking of producing<br />
an online magazine, our advice is to seriously reconsider this again. Trust us, this is not<br />
the easiest job but one with tons of coordination, editing but most importantly finding the<br />
right resources. We will be the first to admit that we have fallen short of expectations but<br />
being a non-profit publication for Asia paintball, we hope that this is the very first step<br />
to many so that we can bring you closer to the sport that we all love. We are looking for<br />
contributors such as writers, photographers, advertisers and sponsors to come on board<br />
with us in making this wholesome. This publication would not have been possible if not for<br />
the awesome photographs contributed by the media team and Dominic Foo for laying out<br />
everything in the right order. Dominic had to stay awake till 3am to ensure the publication<br />
is in time for the new year! So thanks for that!<br />
A brand new year, a brand new start. For the unknown, 2<strong>01</strong>8 for Asia paintball seems to<br />
be gloomy filled with hovering dark clouds but all remain to be seen as there are multiple<br />
new initiatives awaiting to be unfold. 2<strong>01</strong>8 might have some edgy start to the season but<br />
we are pretty sure that it will end off with a pretty good bang and build a strong foundation<br />
for the Asia paintball community moving into 2<strong>01</strong>9! While the season is slowly picking<br />
up its pace with the new year, we certainly like to be ahead of any upcoming news that<br />
can spur interests along the way so if you have heard any chirping by the little birds, do<br />
remember to send them our way.<br />
For more information about Asia <strong>Paintball</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, please email to sales@<br />
paintballersworld.com<br />
Asia <strong>Paintball</strong> Editorial Team<br />
All photos used in this magazine is contributed with permission sought from the respective photographers. All<br />
content in this magazine is solely based on the perspectives of the respective contributors and does not represent<br />
any individual, team or organization.<br />
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Page 7
INTERVIEW WITH<br />
DUCKSIDE<br />
At the point of this interview, Duckside has just won the World <strong>Paintball</strong><br />
Championship 2<strong>01</strong>7 held in Pattana, Thailand. This interview was done<br />
in May 2<strong>01</strong>7 when we got a chance to interview, Eric Tai, the Captain<br />
and team owner of Duckside who had swept many paintball titles in<br />
recent years and always ready to improve and progress with their<br />
excellent sportsmanship and attitude both on and off the field.<br />
Team captain: Eric Tai<br />
Photo by: King Ang and Palti Siregar<br />
Q. Duckside... Duckside, your first<br />
ever 2<strong>01</strong>6 World Cup Asia Champion!<br />
What a fantastic job and well done.<br />
This puts the team into the league of<br />
Division 1 Champion for Asia along<br />
the likes of Aisawan (Thailand - 2<strong>01</strong>5<br />
& 2<strong>01</strong>4), Dynamics (South Africa -<br />
2<strong>01</strong>3), , Infernal (Thailand - 2008 &<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2), Datis (Iran - 2<strong>01</strong>1 & 2<strong>01</strong>0),<br />
Hostile Intentions (Australia - 2009).<br />
They all say winning is easy, defending<br />
is usually tougher, what is your take<br />
for the team in 2<strong>01</strong>7?<br />
A. I totally agree, retaining the title<br />
is tough. When we were underdog<br />
we must chase the game with no<br />
pressure. Now we have to keep up<br />
to the pressure hahaha.. I must give<br />
credit to the boys who really put in all<br />
the effort and time to commit into what<br />
we wanted to achieve, WCA2<strong>01</strong>6<br />
Division 1 Champion is always been<br />
a dream for us. But when you want<br />
something badly, you will find ways...<br />
there is no excuse... you just do it.<br />
Q. Was the recruitment of Tim<br />
and King (former players of Raskal<br />
Malaysia) the final pieces to forming<br />
the jigsaw?<br />
A. Definitely YES! It has strengthened<br />
both of our Wings with much more<br />
experienced player. Tim has always<br />
been a mentor to the team ever since<br />
2<strong>01</strong>3 when he guested with us to play<br />
in the Malaysia National <strong>Paintball</strong><br />
League Division 2 and we won the<br />
overall title as well. He is crazy about<br />
the sport, eat sleep and paint is his<br />
way of life. Many might not know<br />
that the first team which King joined<br />
when he started playing paintball was<br />
actually Duckside but his progression<br />
was way too fast for the rest and<br />
indeed he is very talented snake<br />
Page 8<br />
player. We are glad that he is now is<br />
back with his family after venturing the<br />
outside world hahaha.<br />
Q. Who are the “old birds” who<br />
are still hanging around instead of<br />
hanging their boots? And what is so<br />
special about them?<br />
A. Loo aka Ghost, i guess for<br />
now he is the only 1 left who is left<br />
hanging with me. A few others are<br />
still around, example Daniel who is no<br />
longer active. Loo is very very unique<br />
player in my opinion, his character<br />
is “Chill” but when he is in the field<br />
he is always in his “Beast” Mode. I<br />
would say that I watch him grow and<br />
improve these past 5 years because<br />
he is really dedicated in becoming the<br />
best. He even train alone if the team<br />
can’t make it on training days.<br />
Photo taken from Duckside facebook<br />
Q. I heard about Duckside playing<br />
in the final event of the Millennium<br />
Series this year? How near are you<br />
from making it a reality?<br />
A. Yea you bet we are. we will be<br />
playing Division 2. We are all raring<br />
to go!<br />
We are still in midst of looking for<br />
sponsors for the team to lessen the<br />
burden on travel expenses. We are<br />
very proud to have a few sponsors<br />
coming forward to support Duckside.<br />
We are very much loved by them.<br />
Q. How are the preparation going<br />
into the Millennium Series? Any<br />
“special endings”?<br />
A. Well… in preparation, we have<br />
to take part in many events like EPS<br />
League, Renegade Cup, Thailand<br />
<strong>Paintball</strong> Official Circuit (TPOC) to<br />
keep fine tune our skills while keeping<br />
on focus on the Millennium Series. Our<br />
preparation in local events allow us to<br />
try out gameplays, structural positions<br />
and our pairing buddy system. TPOC<br />
is where we put in all we have tested<br />
and competed with the best teams in<br />
Asia.<br />
Q. Why the name Duckside? Could<br />
it one-day turn “Horseside” since the<br />
team is sponsored by Aisawan?<br />
A. hahaha... it was supposed<br />
to be “DARKSIDE”. but I just want<br />
paintball to be fun. So, I tweaked it<br />
into DUCKSIDE. everyone love Ducks<br />
hahaha.. Ducks will remain Ducks,<br />
we will never change that. Even<br />
our sponsor, Mr. Acha would never<br />
wanted this to happen, he genuinely<br />
wants to grow the sport and the team.<br />
Q. How has the sponsorship<br />
benefited the team?<br />
A. Aisawan sponsorship have greatly<br />
help especially on our participation<br />
for TPOC, but most importantly it is<br />
not the sponsorship but the sharing<br />
of knowledge that we receive from<br />
Mr. Acha. he gave us motivation and<br />
opened up my mind as a team owner.<br />
We really appreciate all that he has<br />
done for us.<br />
Q. Name 2 up and rising players<br />
from the team and why?<br />
A. Personally, I would say they are<br />
LOO and KIM, both are my favourite<br />
players. 2 different types of play styles<br />
but delivering the same impact and<br />
effectiveness on the field, we have just<br />
recruit a new player, Mohd Fadhli aka<br />
Partly, I have high expectation of him<br />
and I think he will turn out to be an<br />
amazing additional for the team.<br />
Q. What are your upcoming<br />
competitions?<br />
A. We just finished EPS and thank<br />
God we are still in the Top in overall<br />
ranking.<br />
Q. If there is one advice from<br />
the Asia Champion to keep a team<br />
together, what would it be?<br />
A. You asked the right person, 1<br />
word # FAMILY....I started Duckside<br />
in 2<strong>01</strong>1, we recruited a lot of players<br />
back then and many are now retired<br />
from the sport, BUT they never wanted<br />
to leave the game. I don’t have<br />
problems with former players quitting<br />
the Ducks to join another team, it is all<br />
because we treat everyone in Ducks<br />
as a family...like a real family. We<br />
care, we laugh, and we cry together,<br />
we rise, and we fall without anyone<br />
taking credit and with no one to be<br />
blame. This is a sport that bring us<br />
all together from our different walks<br />
of life. Ask yourself, will you betray<br />
Photo taken from Duckside facebook<br />
or hurt or leave your family? If your<br />
answer is no, then that is how we<br />
manage to stay united for all these<br />
years.<br />
I would like to add that if anyone is<br />
serious about keeping a team together,<br />
you need to:<br />
1st lead by example<br />
2nd respect each other<br />
3rd always have bonding time to have<br />
heart talk session<br />
Lastly, love and care for each other<br />
“ BLOOD MAKES YOU RELATED,<br />
LOYALTY MAKES YOU FAMILY”<br />
Photo taken from Duckside facebook<br />
Photo taken from Duckside facebook<br />
Page 9
Details Coming Soon...<br />
Page 10<br />
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Photo credit:<br />
kelvin ngui<br />
photography<br />
Leakside Jokerz Aisawan<br />
GI Sportz Singapore Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />
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Photo credit:<br />
SKIN Vs SOP Imperia<br />
2<strong>01</strong>7 SPS500 Event #3 - Division 3<br />
Page 14 Page 15
Photo credit:<br />
Aisawan Ladies<br />
Asia Girls <strong>Paintball</strong> International Championship 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />
Page 16 Page 17
Photo credit:<br />
Aletheia SG<br />
GI Sportz Singapore Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />
Page 18<br />
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Page 23
INTERVIEW WITH<br />
OUTLAWS<br />
SINGAPORE<br />
We asked Outlaws Singapore team manager Peter Kiong a few<br />
questions about his teams achievement in 2<strong>01</strong>7, his experiences<br />
at NXL USA and 2<strong>01</strong>8 plans for his team.<br />
Team manager: Peter Kiong<br />
Photo by SPS<br />
Q. Outlaws Singapore won<br />
everything there is to be won in<br />
Singapore for 2<strong>01</strong>7. The three<br />
SPS500 titles with a GI Sportz<br />
Singapore Cup Division 2 title is an<br />
outstanding achievement. Other than<br />
regular practices, what do you think<br />
contributed to these amazing wins?<br />
A. Rome wasn’t built in a day,<br />
the team you see today has been a<br />
culmination over the past 5 years of<br />
a core group of players who have<br />
kept the faith and stuck with the<br />
team. Practice doesn’t make perfect<br />
but perfect practice makes perfect by<br />
Vince Lombardi comes to mind. Over<br />
the years we have managed to fine<br />
tune our trainings and trying to work<br />
smart instead of hard. We think we<br />
have found the system to quickly bring<br />
new players into the sport and prepare<br />
them enough to win tournaments.<br />
Q. Outlaws made their debut at the<br />
NXL World Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7 with a full lineup,<br />
tell us about your NXL experiences?<br />
Did NXL meet the team’s expectation<br />
of a BIG event?<br />
A. NXL World Cup was an eye<br />
opener and planning for it was<br />
as much an adventure as the trip<br />
itself. The preparation alone was<br />
6 months in the making with the<br />
roster being as volatile as the stock<br />
market. The intention was always to<br />
bring as many players along as we<br />
can regardless of division knowing<br />
very well that this may be a once in<br />
a lifetime experience for some. And<br />
since we have travelled so far, we<br />
might as well make it a holiday of<br />
epic proportions. We arrived 1 week<br />
earlier to acclimatise to the different<br />
time zone, in the process we had a<br />
ball of a time bouncing from theme<br />
park to theme park. We expected<br />
to be blown away and were we not<br />
disappointed. The event itself was<br />
fantastic and sets the bar very high<br />
on how tournaments should be run.<br />
All the way from the entrance to the<br />
field, everything was well thought and<br />
organised. One thing which could be<br />
and should be applied to Asia is the<br />
way players take ownership. Games<br />
start on schedule and teams show<br />
up without getting called upon thus<br />
preventing delays and “night” games.<br />
Would we do it again? Absolutely!<br />
Q. Any wise words for teams which<br />
are planning to conquer the NXL?<br />
A. Plan early, buy tickets early to<br />
save almost 20% on airfare. More<br />
money saved, more to spend at the<br />
booths in NXL. Contact APPA early to<br />
confirm your registration and receive<br />
the relevant documents for visa and<br />
marker transportation.<br />
Q. Now that Outlaws have<br />
conquered NXL USA, will the team<br />
be at the first NXL Europe in 2<strong>01</strong>8?<br />
Amsterdam seems to be pretty<br />
attractive destination for fun and<br />
laughter.<br />
A. NXL Europe is definitely in our<br />
sights. We want to take 2<strong>01</strong>8 to<br />
rebuild our squad to better suit the<br />
NXL playstyle. We also want to see<br />
how the event turns out so that we may<br />
prepare accordingly.<br />
Q. What are some of Outlaws plan<br />
for 2<strong>01</strong>8? We saw a couple of new<br />
recruits in the works... tell us more<br />
about them. Outlaws has a great<br />
reputation in recruiting new players<br />
and transforming them into great<br />
players.<br />
A. We have just concluded our<br />
Outlaws Clinic and from which we<br />
have 5 new players on trial. Jared,<br />
Jakob, Jayson, Lucas and Austin.<br />
You can catch them in action during<br />
the upcoming 3v3 tournament at Red<br />
Dynasty <strong>Paintball</strong> Park.<br />
Q. There has been a change of<br />
captaincy for 2<strong>01</strong>8, what changes will<br />
we be expecting from the team?<br />
A. There will be a rotation of<br />
leadership roles within the team for<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8, Marcus Loh will take over as<br />
Manager, Justin Lim will take on the<br />
Captain and Jeff Yeo as Vice Captain.<br />
This is necessary to keep things fresh<br />
and have a renewed sense of purpose<br />
for the team. Also joining the Outlaws<br />
Exco will be Fedo who will add a new<br />
perspective and depth to our planning<br />
and decision making.<br />
Q. Now that the team has drawn<br />
the first blood of playing with a full<br />
team in NXL, we heard about Outlaws<br />
wanting to try out more overseas<br />
events in 2<strong>01</strong>8. Any insights to what<br />
these events might be?<br />
A. Without a doubt we will commit to<br />
all SPS legs and the Batam Invitational.<br />
Also we are in the midst of discussion<br />
to commit to a Malaysian Series. The<br />
furthest we will go in 2<strong>01</strong>8 will most<br />
likely be NXL Australia.<br />
Q. Is there any Outlaws player that<br />
the paintball scene should be keeping<br />
a lookout for in 2<strong>01</strong>8? In 2<strong>01</strong>7, we<br />
have seen the likes of Richard and<br />
Fraser Kieran who are both amazing<br />
young prospect. Will be a waste if we<br />
don’t see much of them in 2<strong>01</strong>8. Will<br />
they still be around?<br />
A. Good news! Richard and Fraser<br />
Hoeden have both commited to the<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8 season and we can expect<br />
them in our colours for SPS. On top of<br />
which, Lucas Jared and Jayson have<br />
shown tremendous progress during<br />
their first few trainings and don’t be<br />
surprised if a talent emerges before<br />
the end of the season.<br />
Q. Give us 3 words that can<br />
represent Outlaws in 2<strong>01</strong>8.<br />
A. Loyalty Brotherhood Family<br />
years.<br />
Photo by ZUL Photography<br />
Photo by Kelvin Ngui Photography<br />
Photo by SPS<br />
Photo by SPS<br />
Page 24<br />
Photo taken from Outlaws Singapore Facebook<br />
Photo by Kelvin Ngui Photography<br />
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TWENTY<br />
18<br />
The G.I. Imperial Sponsorship Program has been the most comprehensive sponsorship program in<br />
paintball! The program has set the precedent for what it means to support teams from the ground<br />
up. They were designed to help our players grow to their full potential by providing them<br />
everything they need on and off the field to compete at the highest level. From the highest quality<br />
equipment, to the best paint in the industry, this program has all of your team's needs covered!<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8 SPONSORSHIP TIERS<br />
CHOOSE ANY OF OUR BRANDED -<br />
TOURNAMENT MARKERS + LOADER + GOGGLE + CUSTOM JERSEY + PANTS + HARNESS<br />
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50% for 2nd). Discounts at participating regional series, and Bonus Prizes for Regional Series title winners.<br />
CHOOSE ANY OF OUR BRANDED -<br />
LOADER + GOGGLE + CUSTOM JERSEY + PANTS + HARNESS<br />
BENEFITS - Good paint pricing and Contingency Opportunity at National Events (100% FREE paint for 1st &<br />
50% for 2nd), Discounts at participating regional series, and Bonus Prizes for Regional Series title winners.<br />
CHOOSE ANY OF OUR BRANDED TWO COMBOS -<br />
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DO YOU HAVE<br />
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Page 28<br />
NEW FOR<br />
2<strong>01</strong>8<br />
WE ARE SIMPLIFYING OUR ENTIRE PROGRAM<br />
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ADD-ONS ARE PURCHASABLE<br />
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CUSTOMIZABLE UNDER ARMOUR SOFT GOODS • UNDER ARMOUR CLEATS<br />
HARNESS<br />
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G.I. GLIDE SERIES<br />
EMPIRE ACTION<br />
EMPIRE REACT<br />
LOADERS<br />
G.I. LVL<br />
EMPIRE Z2<br />
PANTS<br />
AXE PRO<br />
AXE 2.0<br />
MINI GS<br />
RESURRECTION<br />
AUTOCOCKER<br />
GOGGLES<br />
EMPIRE EVS<br />
VFORCE GRILL<br />
VFORCE PROFILER<br />
JT PROFLEX<br />
CUSTOM JERSEY<br />
GI RACE CUSTOM JERSEY<br />
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*MUST BE APPROVED BY YOUR SPONSORSHIP COORDINATOR.
In a league<br />
of its own<br />
Disclaimer: This article is written for the interest of paintball promotion<br />
and to allow paintball enthusiasts to pick the Asians’ mind set<br />
when promoting and developing the sport in Asia. This article does<br />
not represent any organization or any company and is solely my<br />
personal views and perspectives of the how the paintball industry has<br />
transformed over the years.<br />
2<strong>01</strong>7 has been a very special year. Not only have I<br />
stepped down from managing the paintball team which I<br />
have established in 2006, I have also been spending the<br />
last 3 months to observe, explore and examine what needs<br />
to be done for Asia paintball. Over the last 3 months, I have<br />
had the pleasure to attend and be involved in several large<br />
scale paintball events, it started off with the last Millennium<br />
Series event in Chantilly, Paris which is widely recognized<br />
as the most established paintball event in Europe, followed<br />
by the ASEAN Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia<br />
which saw about 43 participating teams from the Asia<br />
region then I made my 21 hours journey to the National<br />
X-Ball League (NXL) World Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7 in Orlando, Florida<br />
which is also the largest paintball event in the entire<br />
paintball sport history with over 500 participating teams<br />
spanning across 14 playing fields and lastly the World<br />
Cup Asia (WCA) 2<strong>01</strong>7 which is held in Bundar Rimbayu<br />
(hope I got it right this time), Malaysia with a handful of<br />
teams lesser than the glorious years of the famous Langkawi<br />
days. In less than 3 weeks, I will be piecing the final jigsaw<br />
puzzle when I attend the World <strong>Paintball</strong> Championship<br />
(WPC) 2<strong>01</strong>7 held in Pattaya, Thailand. With these travel<br />
feats, I can proudly proclaimed to be the only person in<br />
the world to have attended and participated in all of these<br />
major paintball events in 2<strong>01</strong>7.<br />
With slightly more than 1 month from the new year, we<br />
can expect more news to unfold as we approach 2<strong>01</strong>8. So<br />
far, 2<strong>01</strong>8 seems to be a year of expectations. Over in the<br />
European scene, the NXL USA has just announced a claim<br />
or some may say a complete take over of the Millennium<br />
Series making it NXL Europe in 2<strong>01</strong>8. This major move<br />
by NXL USA creates an opportunity to unify how paintball<br />
sports might be played in the near future using a similar<br />
set of rules and regulations. This movement in establishing<br />
unification for the sport has been a long awaited dream<br />
of many paintball players and competition organizers from<br />
around the world. When a sport is unified in terms of the<br />
way the game is being played with a standard international<br />
game format, it creates conformity and familiarity which<br />
in turn might allow the sport to be represented as a united<br />
entity. As Tom Cole, the President of NXL puts it during his<br />
interview in Chantilly: “We want to talk to European teams<br />
about what changes they would like to see.” One thing to<br />
note is that humans understand the need to change and all<br />
changes should always be for the better. With the emphasis<br />
Page 30<br />
and focus on creating exclusivity for professional paintball<br />
teams in Europe and the introduction of new playing<br />
location in 2<strong>01</strong>8, NXL Europe seems to be getting off to a<br />
very good start. Regardless of what people may say about<br />
the possible changes in the cost of participation with higher<br />
paint pricing, team entries and formats, these forks from the<br />
NXL must have gotten the formula right to be able to attract<br />
more than 500 over teams in Orlando as compared to the<br />
Europeans which hovers around the 100 - 200 teams mark.<br />
Over here in Asia, things have not been all that rosy. While<br />
the growth potential is huge with lots of untapped market<br />
and opportunities, I would be lying to say that things are<br />
looking good for Asia paintball. Indeed, there has been no<br />
shortage of paintball tournaments in Asia. Event organizers<br />
are running up to speed to fill up the calendar with paintball<br />
events with almost an event going every other week with<br />
a few concurrent events which were planned to be on<br />
the same weekend! Amazingly, none of these events lack<br />
participating teams which see their need to play, support<br />
and attend their most preferred event. Many will see this as<br />
an active calendar all year round, I personally view this as<br />
an eroding pile of sand.<br />
While USA and Europe are talking about unification and<br />
changing of game format for the better good, Asia events<br />
are scattering their efforts in bid to promote their own little<br />
“kampung” (translated from the Malay word, village) event<br />
for their local community. Instead of working together to<br />
form a greater good for the sport and supporting one<br />
another, organizers are contented to see less than a handful<br />
of teams at their events and quietly contented on this mere<br />
achievement. And indeed... these little achievements if not<br />
carefully nurture can be toxic for paintball growth in Asia.<br />
Please do not get me wrong, to each his own I say. While<br />
some might be contented with a handful of teams, others<br />
hope to organize big scale event with all at stakes. Teams<br />
valued every events differently, from choosing which event<br />
organizer to support to deciding the location of the event.<br />
Other factors include prizes, registration cost, referee<br />
bodies, paint prices, number of participating teams and<br />
many many others. While some wish for continuous wins<br />
in each participation and be branded as “sandbaggers”,<br />
others are just contented to be able to compete against the<br />
very best teams in the world. There is never a right formula<br />
for anything that has a one size fits all, different folks<br />
different strokes we all are. Is no-frills event the cheapest<br />
event to participate? Not necessary. Is expensive event a<br />
must-go-to competition? Definitely not. To each his own I<br />
say.<br />
But one thing is for sure, smaller events with lesser<br />
organization budget will not be able to compete against<br />
bigger events with a bigger budget. In a world where<br />
there is little or no governance, you will see the emergence<br />
of warlords, I didn’t come up with this analogy... it has<br />
been long proven in many war histories that any revolution<br />
which revolves around the rise of a new entity with new<br />
ideologies and perspectives can be either detrimental or<br />
beneficial. Warlords work in their best interest through<br />
beliefs and influences which can cause social norms to<br />
be valued as damaging. While they can be lawful and<br />
cooperative, warlords does not conform to normality. In<br />
the existence of warlordism, the sovereignty of the state is<br />
always under threatened. Joining a paintball event which<br />
is deemed affordable might not necessary be the best way<br />
forward if one do seek a peaceful state of mind for the<br />
future. Being good citizens of the state by restoring faith,<br />
trust and confidence leaves no room for the existence of<br />
warlords. However, one must not be led blindly and seek<br />
truth in all that matters to them. Exercise your most basic<br />
rights as a human being to choose carefully and your team<br />
will prosper and enjoy the sport. Choose the wrong path<br />
and be manipulated as a puppet with no lights at the end<br />
of the tunnel. Choose wisely...<br />
What come to me as a big contrast between the NXL,<br />
Millennium Series and the Asia events is the consistencies<br />
in delivering an excellent event. While there are the regular<br />
rantings of bad refereeing, bad stinky mud fields, poor<br />
location, disastrous weather conditions, blar, blar, blar. The<br />
NXL and Millennium Series always leave a good taste to the<br />
participation experience, giving teams reasons to return in<br />
hoping to see new improvements from each event regardless<br />
of their high cost of participation. Changes are constantly<br />
made to either re-invent the game making it exciting with<br />
anticipation. For many years, the NXL and the Millennium<br />
Series have always set the benchmark of all paintball events<br />
to follow, since intervention, they have changed the game<br />
format from RaceTo to WPBO, change of bunkers, change<br />
from shooting unlimited paintballs to M500, change from<br />
including mound field games and mechanical games, 2 vs<br />
2, 1 on 1, Nations Cup, Womens Cup, Masters, webcast,<br />
team interviews, VVIP areas, beer bars, live concert, lucky<br />
draw, tradeshows, you named it they have it! The idea<br />
is to make the event invigorating to partake with lots of<br />
enthusiasm leading to the competition. These additions are<br />
not done as one-off novelty but with constant changes and<br />
improvements so as to retain them as part of the regular<br />
theme for every single event. Participating in a well planned<br />
paintball event is not about waking up early in the morning,<br />
heading out to the field, playing the game, eating a good<br />
dinner and going to bed. There has to be a lot more than<br />
that. If everyone else can organize a good paintball event,<br />
I will not be shy to say that only the finest few in Asia can<br />
organize an excellent paintball event. At the end of the day,<br />
it is what you value most from a competition that makes you<br />
want to pay happily for its services or uniqueness. If an<br />
Ben Seow guesting for Marines (Ecuador) at the NXL World Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />
event is value for money then surely big is good and more<br />
is definitely better. Make wise comparisons and choose the<br />
better of the two evils. Choose from those with the potential<br />
to reach greater heights in the area of sports development,<br />
sporting excellence, community recognition, awareness,<br />
publicity, marketing, progression, promotion, unification<br />
or select those which I refer to as the “kampung”events<br />
with no publicity effort, no awareness, no sponsor, one-off<br />
event, weird location and yet expecting the same amount of<br />
registration fees and paint fees. There is no right or wrong,<br />
you can choose either direction so as long as you are enjoy<br />
shooting paintballs in your playing lifetime or sow the seeds<br />
for bigger things to come. You have a choice.<br />
Until the day where all entities stand united, warlords will<br />
continue to emerge making the recovery process a long<br />
and daunting one.<br />
This is the state of paintball in Asia.<br />
About the contributor: Ben Seow is from Singapore.<br />
His involvement with paintball started almost 12<br />
years ago when he first organized a paintball<br />
teambuilding game for his university mates. Since<br />
then, Ben has been involved in the promotion and<br />
development of paintball sports across all levels,<br />
from establishing paintball fields, organizing of<br />
paintball competitions to supplying, distributing<br />
paintball gears and manufacturing, he has nearly<br />
covered every aspect there is to paintball in<br />
Singapore and Asia.<br />
Ben Seow as guest game commentator at the last Millennium Series 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />
Page 31
2<strong>01</strong>8 Calendar Of Events Asia <strong>Paintball</strong><br />
Asia’s First Online <strong>Magazine</strong> <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>01</strong><br />
13 - 14 JAN - MOPL LEG 1<br />
27 - 28 JAN - R500 LEG 1<br />
3 - 4 FEB - MPL LEG 1<br />
3 MAR - SPS500 1VS1 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP - SERIES 1<br />
4 MAR - SPS500 - EVENT #1 - D4 & OPEN<br />
8 - 11 MAR - NXL US - LAS VEGAS<br />
10 - 11 MAR - EPS LEG 1<br />
23 - 24 MAR - TAITUNG FORMOSA OPEN INTERNATIONAL<br />
PAINTBALL TOURNAMENT<br />
24 - 25 MAR - MPL LEG 2<br />
25 MAR - SPS500 - EVENT #1 - D3<br />
7 - 8 APR - R500 LEG 2<br />
12 - 15 APR - NXL EUROPE - CHARTRES<br />
21 - 22 APR - MOPL LEG 2<br />
3 - 6 MAY - NXL US - FORT WORTH<br />
12 - 13 MAY - MPL LEG 3<br />
12 - 13 MAY - SPS KTM BATAM INVITATIONAL<br />
24 - 27 MAY - NXL EUROPE - AMSTERDAM<br />
26 - 27 MAY - MOPL LEG 3<br />
21 - 24 JUN - NXL US - ATLANTIC CITY<br />
5 - 8 JUL - NXL EUROPE - DUBLIN OR LONDON<br />
7 - 8 JUL - R500 LEG 3<br />
14 JUL - SPS500 1VS1 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP - SERIES 2<br />
15 JUL - SPS500 - EVENT #2 - D4 & OPEN<br />
28 - 29 JUL - EPS LEG 3<br />
4 - 5 AUG - MPL LEG 4<br />
5 AUG - SPS500 - EVENT #2 - D3<br />
5 AUG - <strong>ASIA</strong> GIRLS PAINTBALL<br />
INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
11 - 12 AUG - MOPL LEG 4<br />
6 - 9 SEP - NXL US - CHICAGO<br />
8 - 9 SEP - EPS LEG 4<br />
27 - 30 SEP - NXL EUROPE - PARIS<br />
Asia <strong>Paintball</strong><br />
7 - 11 NOV - NXL US - KISSIMMEE<br />
27 - 28 OCT - TOP TOURNAMENT (TAIWAN OPEN<br />
INTERNATIONAL PAINTBALL TOURNAMENT)<br />
3 - 4 NOV - R500 LEG 4<br />
Online <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
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