PSP 2007 River City Open - Friday
The first match of the day started at 845AM between California teams XSV and Dynasty. After Dynasty’s upsetting loss against Trauma in overtime yesterday, Dynasty had alot more to lose than XSV. The match finished up with Dynasty taking a 4-point lead win. Dynasty is sitting better than XSV in their bracket because even though the lost to Trauma, they still get a point for the match going into overtime. Another upsetting loss was when X-Factor, the 2007 Chicago Open Champs, lost by a big 9-point spread, 13-4, giving the win to the Dogs, who are undefeated so far in the prelims. Philadelphia Americans, whose 7-man team placed 4th at the last NPPL event in Boston, beat Ultimate 11-3, another big point spread. Even though Trauma beat Dynasty yesterday, going into overtime with Dynasty means that it was a tough win for them, so when it came time to play Chicago today, they lost by 7, 10-3. giving the win to Chicago.
INFAMOUS vs NY HURRICANES
At the half between Infamous and NY, Oakland Infamous was in the lead by 3. Then at the start of the 2nd half, Infamous was still serving a major penalty (5-minute), but still managed to put another point on the scoreboard, taking a 4-point lead. When the end drew near, Infamous didn’t let NY put another point on the scoreboard and finished the winner by 7, score 10-3, the same score final like the one between Dynasty and Chicago.
IRONMEN vs JAX RAIDERS
Going into the Ironmen/Raiders match, Ironmen already has a win where the Raiders have a loss so far in prelims. This 330PM match started out great for the Ironmen, who not only put the first point on the scoreboard, but capitalized on the Raiders major penalty assessed during that first point of the match. In the second game out of 13 total game points played, although Jacksonville earned another penalty, it was only a minor and since they made it to the penalty box in time before the flag was hung, that minor penalty time went away, but the major penalty time stayed, making the score 2-0. The next game point, Raiders conceded the point, making the score 3-0. Then, when it was time to play the next point, with 4 players for the Raiders against 5 of the Ironmen, they managed to put a point on the scoreboard, 3-1, with about 11 minutes to go until halftime. The Ironmen then added another point to the scoreboard, still trying to take advantage of the Raiders being a man down off the break, making the score then became 4-1 when the Raiders conceded during the 5th game of 13.
The match went back to a 5-on-5 situation at the start of the 6th point with about 5 minutes left in the 1st half. At the end of the 6th point, Ironmen’s Nicky Cuba found himself in a one-on-one at the 50-yardline showtape (near the snake tape on the spectators side) versus a Raider who was running low on paint. Nicky managed to run the clock down almost a full minute, with a goal of taking off as much time off the clock as possible. Cuba worked his way to the flag, got it, then started to make his bumps towards the flag station while simultaneously keeping an eye on his opponent still in the far corner bunker next to the Ironmen’s Pit. Finally, the Raider made a move down the tape to play in the next bunker ahead of him on the 20-yard line. Cuba shot and took him out on the move and jogged in the flag with a 1:13 on the master clock before halftime. Score at this point: 5-1.
At the start of the next point, the 7th, the Raiders pushed hard right out the gate with players all the way on the Ironmen’s side at the 30-yard line, the 50-X, 50-tape, and 40-yard line. It was a 4-on-4 until the Raider player on the Ironmen’s 30 started the Ironmen’s fallout. As the Raiders ran in the flag, the first half was over, keeping the score 5-1.
Going into the 2nd half, the stands were loaded with people, from specators, divisional team players and parents, and a couple pro teams taking notes. The crowd favored the Raiders with a few Ironmen fans. When the first game point of the 2nd half began, it was a 4-on-4 for about a minute until the Ironmen shut down the Dorito tapeside, leaving only two players left closest to the showtape. Oliver Lang made the 4th elimination, but during his push down highway between the snake and 50-X, Raider fans, especially Doc, owner of the Raiders himself, started screaming about Oliver having a hit on his arm before he took out the second to last Raider. The referees watched Oliver make that push down the tape, but apparently didn’t see him get hit and the Ironmen put another point on the scoreboard, still with the lead, 6-1.
The turning point for this match took place in the 8th point game when Mike Paxson and Brandon Short found themselves alone against 4 other Raiders. Paxson was playing from the centerback and Short made a great move down to the Raiders side of the snake, and although it was a great move, it was too far, too soon. With no one behind Short to watch over him and Paxson making a move from the centerback to the Pit side backcorner to spread the angle, a Raider player made a dash down the Team tape to sit at the Ironmen’s 30-yard line two bunkers away from Paxson. Paxson made a run for the player closest to him to make the next elimination, leaving the Raiders with only 3 left, but as Paxson made this move, he got shot from one of the remaining 3 Raiders, leaving Short as the last player for the Ironmen. In this 3-on-1, the Raiders managed to shoot one of their own, making it a 2-on-1, but it didn’t matter because Short would finally get eliminated, putting another point on the board for the Raiders, 6-2.
In the next point, the Ironmen got caught off guard as the Raiders ran down the center of the field, coming through from the 50-X, Jacksonville’s player, Kevin Rhodes from Atlanta, Georgia, ran down the center of the field, taking out Cuba and Lang, leaving Antonio De Almeida aka “Xalo” (pronounced “Shy-Low") as the last one in the snake. As the Raiders made a run towards Xalo, the referee called a minor penalty against Xalo for playing on, making the score 6-3 with about 11 minutes to go until the end of the match. For the next game point, the Ironmen would have to start with one less player.
The 10th game point of the match belonged to the Raiders with about 5 minutes to go until the conclusion. When the next game point started, after a 3-minute long game, it went, yet again, to the Raiders, making the score, 6-5 with just 2:45 to go. The Raiders then tied up the match with just 13 seconds left on the clock. The two teams decided to burn the clock to go into overtime (I believe the record time for fastest game point is 15 seconds).
The first team to hang the flag would be the winner, and the Ironmen looked like they would take the win. This sudden-death overtime game marks the 13th and final game point bewteen these two teams. Ironmen’s Brandon Short was in the snake, Nicky Cuba was right behind him in the standup on the 30 yard line, and Billy Wing was on the other tape. Brandon Short was all the way past the 50-yard line in the Raiders snake end. He went down to take out the third to the last player, took him out, and as he shot across field to shoot out the Raider player behind the 50X and a another on the Raider’s 40-yard line tape in a dorito, Nicky Cuba actually finished off the last two. As Cuba took in the flag, the Raiders Pit Box started screaming that Brandon Short had a hit on him. However, no one on the snake tape, both referees and specators, didn’t see the hit, nor were they complaining as much as the Raiders in the box were. The referees huddled, both coaches from the teams were on the field, and the next thing seen is a red penalty flag being thrown in the air. Brandon Short was assessed a 5-minute major, and as the 90-second Rule states, a major penalty means an automatic point is given to the other team. If it would’ve been a minor penalty, Short would’ve obviously been eliminated, but another Ironmen player would’ve been taken out. That would still have left one Ironmen left on the field, and the Ironmen would’ve won the game. However, the major penalty against the Ironmen gave the Raiders the win, 7-6. For a team to come back from a 5-point deficient after having a major penalty assessment against them in the 1st half and to turn up the volume in the second half means it was a great match for the Raiders.
SPECIAL THANKS: Thanks to Braden Cloninger of Utah’s SL Tension (SL = Salt Lake) for the “Ironmen” shoutout. I think he was the only one that said that out loud besides myself, former Ironmen player, Eric Roberts, and rookie recruit, Bobby French on the sidelines. Tough crowd during the match between the Raiders and the Ironmen. What I don’t understand about the lack of supporters for the Ironmen is the fact that this is a roster full of players that have paid their dues, put alot of blood, sweat, and tears into their careers, and deserve the respect and positive recognition. I’ve got more to say about the way I feel “paintball fans” are some of the toughest fans out of all the sports in the world. Anyway, thanks Braden, for the support. Next time you see me at an event, remind me of who you are and I’ll get you an Ironmen souvenir (unless you want me to get you a Raider’s autograph? : ) ).
The Ironmen have to play Philadelphia tomorrow at 215PM. It’s going to be an interesting match, considering the fact that Philadelphia beat the Raiders on this NXL field here at River City by a 5-point spread, 9-4. In order for the Ironmen to see Sunday, they have to beat Philadelphia. After speaking with Tony Mineo, NXL Commissioner, he explained that if the Ironmen defeat Philly, it will automatically put the Raiders out, even if the Raiders beat Ultimate. Philly already has two wins under their belt. Ironmen have one, Raiders have one in overtime. Utlimate has no wins. Although the Ironmen lost to the Raiders, it was in overtime, thus giving the Ironmen an extra point in the total point system (see below). So if the Ironmen win, it will give them a total of 5 points. Each win equals 2 points. Each loss in overtime is 1 point. Philly already has 4 points and say the Raiders beat Ultimate, it puts the Raiders in a tie with Philly with 4 points. However, since Philly beat the Raiders in head-to-head competition here at River City, Philly goes into the quarter-finals, not the Raiders.
For the Ironmen, at the last event, the Raiders put the Ironmen out of the Boston semi-finals. If you followed the Boston event, Jacksonville got a gun penalty, which meant that they got a 6-game suspension and thus had to play a man down for the next 6 games. After serving that penalty in Boston, Jacksonville played their last quarterfinal game against the Ironmen and beat them decisively. Now, here in River City, the Ironmen could be the ones to put the Raiders out.
FRIDAY SCORE SUMMARY
Boston vs bye
Dynasty beat XSV, 8-4
Dogs defeated X-Factor, 13-4
Philly won against Ultimate, 11-3
Chicago beat Baltimore, 10-3
Infamous defeated NY, 11-3
Raiders won against the Ironmen in overtime, 7-6
Strange vs bye
To make it into Sunday, a total of 12 teams will move on. Because of LTZ and Legacy’s absences, only two teams will miss the cut instead of the usual 4. As the schedule works, there are a total of 4 brackets of 4 teams each.
So far: (Each win is equal to 2 points, each loss is no points, and each OT loss (aka “tie") is worth 1 point.
Bracket 1
LA 1 win, 1 OT loss ("tie") = 3
PHL 2 wins = 4
JAX 1 win, 1 loss = 2
ULT 2 losses = 0
Bracket 2
DYN 1 win, 1 OT loss = 3
DET 1 win, 1 loss = 2
XSV 1 win, 1 loss = 2
BALT 1 win, 1 loss = 2
Bracket 3
XFAC 1 win, 1 loss = 2
DET 1 win, 1 OT loss = 3
ND 2 wins = 4
BYE
Bracket 4
BOS 2 wins = 4
OAK 2 wins = 4
NY 2 losses = 0
BYE
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
NY v Bye
BOS v OAK
XFAC v DET
DYN v CHI
XSV v BALT
LA vs PHL
JAX v ULT
ND v Bye
I’ll be at the field bright and early tomorrow announcing all 6 matches here at the NXL field and as much as I can, I will do my best to give you some details on how these 14 NXL teams are doing here at the PSP River City Open. If you want to know how the other divisional teams are doing, go to the PSPEvents.com website for the scores.
Image provided by Gary Baum, PaintballPhotography.com
Bea Youngs | 08/03 at 02:35 PM |
| (3)
Posted Comments
How is Oakland Infamous doing?
Posted by | 08/03 at 02:55 PM |
Hey Bea,
It was nice to finally meet you today!
We’ll be taking pictures of the Ironmen vs. Philly Americans match tomorrow - feel free to check out our pictures when they’re up.
Stay cool,
Kyle
P.S. VERY nice site design. Bonusball did a great job.
Posted by PaintballGuns.net | 08/03 at 06:13 PM |
hey bea it was cool meeting you in person finally…
thanks,Braden
Posted by | 08/06 at 09:13 PM |
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