With
the 3 CXBL conferences joining to create the new CXBL Elite division, there are
two 2011 MXL Champs who have made the jump to the CXBL this year: Mirabel
Impact from the East and Medonte NTwo Factor from the Central conference. Both
of these teams certainly had their work cut out for them at CXBL Elite event 1
that happened earlier this month. Medonte suffered two losses and managed to
pull out a W against their MXL champion counterparts while Mirabel went 1 and 3.
Both teams have their first CXBL win under their belts and are left to use what
they learned at the first event to build strategy and skill for Border Battle
this coming weekend. Medonte’s Tom Guest joins me for an interview.
Medonte Ntwo Factor
- What are your general thoughts on Medonte's showing at CXBL Elite event 1? Did your matches turn out how you suspected they would or were you surprised with the outcomes?
“Overall I believe our matches went as expected. Being N2’s rookie season in CXBL no one expected to go out and smash teams. We all know there is a tough road ahead. I believe our first game against Raiders could have been much closer than it was due to a number of factors. One being penalties, which is not an excuse for our loss yet everyone knows how a few penalties can break a game wide open. Raiders is an established experienced team and they capitalized on these mistakes, although they pulled out the win I truly believe we beat ourselves. 5 on 5 points were very close.Our second game was against Vancouver Thunder, last year’s second place team. We expected long drawn out points as myself and others knew Vancouver’s style of play. Although we knew what to expect, we struggled to adapt to their tight playing style. They played together and were able to lock down the field easily, allowing them to lock down certain sides of the field utilizing the centre point almost every point. They are all great players and our inexperience showed, the field layout was perfect for their style of play.
Going into our final game of the weekend with 2 loses under us we were all thinking the same thing. We needed to pull out a win and we knew how to do it. We used what we learnt from Vancouver against Mirabel, which worked out in our favour as it allowed us control the pace of the game.”
- Medonte and Mirabel were both MXL champs in their respective conferences last season. Did you expect for your team to have such a successful win over your theoretical equals?
“While keeping in mind that I am not trying to sound arrogant, I did expect the win against Mirabel. As a team you have to go in to each game being mentally prepared to win, if you start doubting yourself and teammates your defeat is almost certain. Confidence is such a huge part of the game, we were all super hungry to get a win under our belts. No one wanted to be that mxl team who went 3-0.”
- You and your N Two teammates held your own against Cambridge Raiders in the very first match of the 2012 season. Did you learn anything from this match that you could take into your other matches at CXBL Elite event 1?
“As I mentioned earlier, I felt like we beat ourselves that game, we lost by 3 points. First game jitters got ahold of us and we dropped the ball. I know we went down 4-0 at the beginning of the game and were able to bring it back to 6-9 at the end of the game. We look forward to playing Raiders again in the future.”
- Medonte suffered a loss to Vancouver Thunder. This team is easily one of the most skilled in the Elite division, having won ALL of their matches with only 7 players. What did you and your teammates find most challenging about playing against this team?
“As everyone knows Vancouver has its roots in 7man paintball. Their style of play is very different from other teams, they figure out how to lock down the field and play fairly conservative off the break. Although they start off conservatively, they capitalize on their first G or two and make great secondary pushes. They also found shots that other teams really didn’t use, for example, they had their dorito corner shoot under the A at one of the snake towers quite often to stop our tower player from going to the A.
- What do you feel N Two most excelled at during CXBL Elite event 1? What are you, as a team, working on to prepare for Border Battle at the end of this month?
“So early in the season with such a slow start makes it difficult to say. By our final game everyone knew their job and were on the same page. I’d like to say that our communication and comfort level had definitely improved during the event and continues to as we always emphasize the importance of that aspect of the game at practices.”
- It is rumoured that you have an amazing coaching staff. Can you tell me a little bit about those involved and how they are working to help the team to grow?
“Of course, Wayne and Ron have made N2 what it is today. Unlike most teams in the cxbl, we actually have a single coach. Ron, our main voice in the pits and play maker, does wonders for the team. I personally have played on many teams without a central coaching figure and it truly does have a big impact on your teams failure or success. It’s amazing having someone who isn’t playing who is able to observe the game from a bystander’s perspective and see how everything is playing out, who can then change our plays based on how the game is unfolding. With a coaching figure we always have the right players on the field, in contrast to other teams where players with seniority go on whenever they see fit or teams that run 2 lines without switching up players to suit the situation. Wayne is the other owner and coach of N2, him and Ronnie are co-owners. He ensures everything is set for practices, and works together with Ron to piece together plays.”
- Which teams do you expect to see make NAX this season?
“I expect to see ourselves, Thunder, Recon, Lockdown, Cowboys,
and Mirabel in Nax. All in no particular order, each team out there is going for Nax, that’s every single player’s goal. Only time will tell.”
Tom- Thanks for the interview! I really appreciate your
thoughtful answers to my sometimes challenging questions. It’s interesting to
me that Raiders and Daytona are not on your list for NAX competitors
considering that these teams are currently holding down second and third place.
It’s never a surprise to see the
standings change a little throughout the season however; I would be surprised
to see some of the other teams you’ve mentioned as NAX competitors before these
two BUT as you said, only time will tell.
What do the rest of you think? Who will we see at NAX? I have
my suspicions but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Signing off,
The Paintball Wife
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