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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 />

Page 2 Page 3


Page 4<br />

Page 5


Page 6<br />

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 />

Page 11


Photo credit:<br />

kelvin ngui<br />

photography<br />

Leakside Jokerz Aisawan<br />

GI Sportz Singapore Cup 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />

Page 12 Page 13


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 />

Page 19


Page 20<br />

Page 21


Page 22<br />

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 />

Page 25


Page 26<br />

Page 27


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 />

BENEFITS - The best 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 -<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 />

LOADER + GOGGLE OR CUSTOM JERSEY + PANTS<br />

BENEFITS - A paint discount at National Events.<br />

MARKERS<br />

VANQUISH GT<br />

G.I. STEALTH<br />

DO YOU HAVE<br />

THE UNFAIR<br />

ADVANTAGE?<br />

Page 28<br />

NEW FOR<br />

2<strong>01</strong>8<br />

WE ARE SIMPLIFYING OUR ENTIRE PROGRAM<br />

and providing you, the player, more options than<br />

ever! Instead of pre-built packages, you will have the<br />

ability to pick out any of the best products from our<br />

world renowned brands: G.I., Empire, Vforce, or JT!<br />

Players can mix and match products as to build the<br />

ultimate gear package for whatever your team's<br />

needs may be! From beginner teams, to the top<br />

professional teams in paintball, the Imperial<br />

program has you covered!<br />

ADD-ONS ARE PURCHASABLE<br />

2 TIMES PER SEASON AND INCLUDE:<br />

LENSES • GEAR BAGS • PROTECTIVE (ELBOW PADS, KNEE PADS, AND SLIDER SHORTS)<br />

TANKS • BARREL MAIDS • PODS & POD BAGS<br />

CUSTOMIZABLE UNDER ARMOUR SOFT GOODS • UNDER ARMOUR CLEATS<br />

HARNESS<br />

G.I. RACE SERIES 2.0<br />

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 />

STYLE SUPPLY*<br />

RACE SERIES<br />

ANTHRAX*<br />

GLIDE SERIES<br />

INTENSITY*<br />

GRIND SERIES<br />

UNDR*<br />

SOCIAL*<br />

Page DROM* 29<br />

*ONLY WITH APPROVED IMPERIAL TEMPLATE WITH PROPER LOGO PLACEMENT.<br />

*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 />

Page 32<br />

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Page 34

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