I wanted to do a little something
different this year as we lead up to the first Elite event of the 2013 season.
I asked Ron Guy and Ryan Chantler to join me in a discussion about the Elite
rosters and what we might expect from them in the coming season. Ron is the coach
of Toronto Force (PSP) and last season’s Medonte Ntwo Factor. He is a man with
a great love for the sport and a gift for coaching. Ryan Chantler is pretty
much as experienced a player as they come, having about 18 years of familiarity
with the sport – 14 of which he was competitively involved. I really valued the
opportunity to discuss the Elite teams with both of these individuals and I
hope you will enjoy reading along too!
Let’s Chat
Niki: Judging by the rosters, I already have my mind made up
that it will be a hard fight for the NAX title in the 2013 Elite season. Tremblant
Heat, Windsor Lockdown, Fredericton Aggression, and London Vicious are all
shaping up to be strong, experienced competitors!
Tremblant’s line up of professional talent proved hard to
beat last season, earning them the 2012 NAX title. Now as they come off a big
win from PSP Chicago, I suspect they are going maintain their winning style for
Border Battle.
Windsor Lockdown’s roster is packed with the most
experienced local talent partnered with some of the strongest paintball players
in the world. Provided they can gel as a team, they could easily be competing
for the rings this season.
Making a switch from the west coast to the east coast,
Fredericton Aggression’s strong roster is essentially last season’s Vancouver
Thunder. Thunder blew everyone away during the 2012 Elite season as they
consistently worked as a team, with little coaching and support, to bring in
some big wins.
The London Vicious players have worked together as a team
for the last half a decade to move up from D3 to Pro under the name Omaha
Vicious in PSP. They’ve proven themselves Stateside and now they’re back on
Canadian soil to join the race for NAX rings this season.
- Do you agree that it will be these four teams leading the Elite division this year? Why or why not? If you agree, how do you see them falling in ranks from 1st to 4th? If you disagree, which other team do you think has a shot at earning a spot in the top 4?
Ron: “I think you are correct on the top 4. I believe the finishing
order will be Heat, Lockdown, Vicious, Aggression. Lockdown’s finishing order
will depend on the pits. Having an Edwards and Margott is an intangible no
other franchise has in true Xball format as they will "right" the
ship over a 50 minute game. If Lockdown is to beat Heat they will have to match
lines with Windsor’s best beating Heat’s best. ..and our Canadian boys stepping
up and beating the Smiths, Slowiaks and Woodleys from Heat.”
The core group of Pros from Tremblant have been very successful in the past in the CXBL. This year will be no different. But with many of their Pro players spreading themselves over PSP, Millenium, and NPPL, it may be hard to find time to practice and stay on par with the other teams grinding it out.
Recon is going to slip into my pick for 3rd. I have a lot of close friends on this team, and I feel they are underdogs (the same way I look at Vicious in PSP), and everyone loves to cheer for a talented underdog. This will be the hardest working team this season, and their season will be full of ups and downs. If they are focused, I believe they can be a contender.
Windsor Lockdown rounds out my top 4. I like a few of their local pickups, but feel their Pros are a mash-up and a recipe for disaster. Seven locals fighting for 3 playing spots is not what I like to see – especially when you could take those local guys and let them play together to be the dominant line on 3 of the 7 teams in the ELITE Division this season.”
- I don’t know about you, but I’m hard pressed to choose a team who looks weak for the 2013 season. Who do you think will be fighting against relegation this year and why?
Ryan : “Ah the Loser - Hustle dropping has likely made all teams
safe from relegation. With that being said, someone still has to come last (been
there). I think all teams looks strong and it could go either way. The 2 teams
fighting for last spot I feel will be Daytona and Rockstar. Daytona has an
unorthodox aggressive style which I personally love to watch -bodies flying all
over the field at times, they’ll catch teams by surprise. Rockstar has kept
their good Americans from last year on the team, and added some good local talent
as well as some stateside Wolfpack players. It’s a toss-up but because I enjoy
watching Daytona So much, I’m going to have to label Rockstar as the "loser"
this year.”
Ron: “As far as relegation goes, I think Drummondville and
Kitchener will be in tough based on their current rosters. Kitchener needs to
put in more time on the practice field.”
- We are seeing more and more pro talent moving up from the South. Were you surprised by any of the roster additions this season?
Ron: “I'm not sure if I'm surprised by the rosters this year
regardless of the new names. This is the best opportunity for the US players to
play real xball close to home and we all know they enjoy it.”
Ryan: “I’m not surprised by anything anymore when it comes to rosters
in the CXBL. I’d have to say that superstar names are expected now.”
- Ryan, like you, several seasoned local CXBL athletes have made the drop this season from Elite to MXL. Why do you think we are seeing more and more talented players make this switch?
Ryan: “Personally, after Cambridge Raiders was dismissed, and our
hearts broken, many of us (Raiders) didn’t know where we would end up the
following year. It would have been nice for all of us to stick together, but
that is pretty unrealistic. So for me personally, I poked around a bit looking
for a CXBL Elite team, but let’s be honest, there's not many spots left for
non-Pro players. I wasn’t really getting much bite (I must be getting old or
something) and was approached by some of my PSP camp-mates, who had an MXL team
and offered me a spot. I like to consider myself a loyal person, and couldn’t
find a better way to re-pay the loyalty that this particular group of guys has
shown me during our PSP adventures, then to play the MXL season with them. I
stopped shopping around for a team, and started practicing immediately with
them. We then shortly after grabbed some of my Ex-Raider teammates, and it felt
almost like home again. I cannot comment on the other CXBL Elite Talent in MXL,
but I would speculate ‘good deals’ have a small say in that.”
Ron: “I think many of the seasoned talent have dropped down this
season for 2 reasons. A) They are getting on with the real world and their
lives but don't want to leave the impressionable years behind...and B) They are
playing in other leagues and cannot make the commitment that is necessary for
both.”
Niki: I think it is getting harder and harder to field a local
team. Just out of curiosity, I did some counting and I figured on about 32
players of the 152 Elite players to be currently playing at the Pro level of
PSP. That’s about 21% of the Elite athletes. Not to mention there are also
several players who are currently playing at the Pro level of the NPPL. Also,
when there are that many Pros, it is sometimes challenging for the local talent
to get playing time. Yes – it makes for some exciting paintball and I love to
watch those heated matches but I do miss seeing our “local heroes” grinding it
out on the field. Either way, here are my predictions for Elite event 1 at
Border Battle.
Elite Predictions:
Kitchener Recon VS. London Vicious
Recon has a handful of players who have made up the core of
that team for the last few seasons, paired with some experienced CXBL players
and the pro talents of Frank Connell and Billy Bernacchia. There is a lot of
individual talent but the test will be to see if they can combine this skill on
the field in a high pressure situation.
For this group of guys to truly come together and earn some wins, they
are going to need to invest time and energy into practicing together as a team.
On the contrary, the London Vicious players have spent years building their
team dynamics and developing their individual skills to get to the pro level of
PSP. I’m going to give Vicious the win for the first match of the Elite season
but it may be a close call as London learns the logistics of the CXBL.
Montreal Heat VS. Windsor Lockdown
This may just be THE match to see at Border Battle this
year! There is no doubt that both of these teams are powerhouses based on their
pro-stacked rosters and I couldn’t help but notice that Lockdown even made a
few last minute additions from Ironmen! I am not sure whether Heat has had the
opportunity to play the layout and seeing as they are just coming off a win at
PSP Chicago, my guess is that they haven’t. I also happen to know that only
Lockdown’s local line has taken the opportunity to dirty their cleats on the
Border Battle field. It will be interesting to see how this match plays out as
the big names learn the layout and get back into the Xball mindset. I do hope
that our Canadian ballers on Lockdown have the opportunity to take control of
the field like we know they can, but I have to admit, I wouldn’t be surprised
if it’s their Damage and Ironmen players who take the field the majority of the
time – at least for this match. Either way, I suspect it will be Heat to come
out on top during this back-and-forth match.
Fredericton Aggression VS. Kitchener Recon
If you followed the blog last season, you are well aware
that Vancouver Thunder quickly earned themselves a spot as one of my favourite
teams in CXBL history. Few of us knew what to expect from them at the beginning
of the 2012 season but they stole in and stormed through their first event
winning all of their four matches with a short roster of players. They later
went on to compete in the NAX finals where they placed second in a tight and
exciting match against Tremblant Cowboys. Well, Thunder is back for the 2013
Elite season as Fredericton Aggression, and I still believe that this team has
what it takes to finish near the top. I expect Aggression to take this match by
4 points.
Toronto Rockstar VS. Montreal Heat
Rockstar has certainly upped the ante a little bit this
year, adding to their roster Tom Guest and Wes Elliott from last season’s
Medonte and a line of D1 Wolfpack players. However, even with this stronger
team of players, they will not stand in the way of Montreal Heat who will win
this match by a handful.
Fredericton Aggression VS. Drummondville Daytona
I don’t want to be too quick to write off Daytona. Many of
us made the mistake of highly underestimating them in the 2012 season and I don’t
want to make that same mistake again. Drummondville has a very unique and
aggressive style of play that seems to catch some of the other teams off guard.
That being said, the Thunder guys have proved themselves adaptable – quickly learning
their opponents strategies and making the necessary changes to their own game
in order to succeed. For this reason, I am confident that it will be Aggression
with the win here but I do think the match will be closer than expected as
Drummondville seeks to start the season strong.
Drummondville Daytona VS. Windsor Lockdown
It looks like Drummondville has made a few changes this
season, releasing a few of last season’s players and adding Alex Blackburn from
last year’s Mirabel Impact to their roster. However, unlike many of the other
teams, they have maintained their solid core group of players. In my mind, this
is Drummondville’s strength – their players know one another and have learned
how to play together as a team. Even still, I just can’t see them coming out
ahead of Lockdown’s Pros and seasoned CXBL talent. Windsor will take the win
here.
Fredericton Aggression VS. London Vicious
This match should be nearly as exciting as the Heat/Lockdown
face off. These two strong teams, both with many recognized names from PSP,
will undoubtedly bring their a-games and be ready to fight for that win. This
match should theoretically be a close one and I have honestly struggled to
decide who I think will come out on the winning end but in the end, Vicious has
proven themselves in PSP and I have to believe that they will carry some of
those strengths into the CXBL as well. I’m going to say London takes a win by 2
points.
Toronto Rockstar VS. Windsor Lockdown
It’s not that I think Rockstar is a “weak” team, to the
contrary, I know they have many skilled players. I just don’t see them as
strong competitors in this year’s Elite group of teams. With more and more pro
players getting the urge to grind it out on Canadian soil, the CXBL and D1
talents simply can’t shine like they did 2 or 3 years ago in the CXBL. Windsor
Lockdown will confidently take this match and I suspect we will even see some
of our favourite local players getting the opportunity to rock.
Drummondville Daytona VS. Kitchener Recon
Recon is going to come out hungry and I do believe that this
will be their opportunity to shine. Having faced Daytona’s sometimes
unpredictable aggressiveness in the past season, Kitchener will be better prepared
to cut the Drummondville players off in their tracks. Recon will take this
match but it will be a well fought battle.
London Vicious VS. Montreal Heat
Here we go with another match that’s bound to please any and
all spectators! If you missed watching the webcast for the pro matches at PSP
Chicago, this is your opportunity to see it live in your own backyard! This
will be a back and forth match that will finish with Heat leading by 3.
Thanks Ryan and Ron for sharing your thoughts on the Elite
teams this year! I really appreciated your expertise!
To all Elite teams, I wish you an incredible season filled
with the joy of the game. Rings are only something you can wear on your finger
so make sure you enjoy the journey!
Signing off,
The Paintball Wife
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