OC 2006

The last event of the NPPL Super Seven Series was held in Orange County. I flew down early to spend some time with my friends on Dynasty and was there to take in a Meat Hammers softball game. Two weeks before Halloween, the teams had decided to make it a theme night and almost everybody showed up and played in costume - execept for Todd Martinez (left) who came straight from his day job.

This was by far the funniest softball game I have ever seen. In the 2nd inning Baby Stewie (Ryan Greenspan) hit an inside the park home run. How he could see the bases (or the ball) is beyond me. Right - Ryan, Trevor (me), Alex, and Yosh.

A few of the trophies Dynasty has won over the years on display at Ryan's house, including the NPPL Series Championships (above right) - Dynasty has won the series every year for four years running, and are the only team to have ever won.

The next day we drove up the coast to the OC Fairgrounds, site of the final event in the 2007 NPPL Series. The main field was staged beside a huge set of permanent bleachers and was by far the best seating the NPPL has had to date. The stands were full - a testament to the popularity of professional paintball.

Sean from Badlands Calgary (from behind - two pics up on left) was at the event and he and I spent a lot of time in the media tower watching games - this is really the best seat in the house as it is placed across from the grandstands and affords a bird's eye view of the NPPL field. Clare was there hosting the live webcast from the media tower and providing play by play commentary of the games.

Impact, out of Edmonton, caused a big splash. They've been playing very strong all year and took a lot of teams by surprise, seemingly coming out of nowhere to earn a spot in the Pro Division for next year.

Above - Sean (Badlands), Bart (Captain and team owner), and Trevor (Badlands) after Impact won a pivotal game that pretty much guaranteed their Pro spot for 2007.

Impact played hard and went on to smash their way into second place at this event, beating out everyone in the Semi-Pro Division except for the Raiders, who took first.

Dynasty came away yet again with the Series title after a very controversial game with Joy Divsion. Two Above left - Angel hurt his knee and could not play - Alex took his place in the snake. Two above right - BC was pivotal in the last game and the center of the whole upset. Joy absolutely blasted him with paint, so much so that a Joy player took a three game suspension and the judges ruled in Dynasty's favor. Above left - Ryan clearly happy with his big win. This was the first time this season that Dynasty actually took first in a NPPL tournament, but it was enough to win them the series.

For Badlands and Canadian paintballers, Impact's 2nd place finish was the biggest news of the event. Their fantastic finish launched them into the Pro ranks for 2007 and made them the second non-US team to gain a spot as Pros. Impact is unique because the team is made up entirely of Canadian players. Badlands is proud to be a major sponsor of Impact and we expect these guys to make big waves in the NPPL next year. Impact shoots Ego's with Velocity loaders and wins shooting EVIL paintballs. See you from the NPPL Pro winners podium next year!