A Month of Paintball – Dynasty, Team USA, Expendables

             It has been a full month dedicated to some major events. First up was the NXL Atlantic City Open which ended with an early defeat Sunday morning. We prepared the best we could and headed into the event confident we could win. However, winning a tournament at the highest The post A Month of Paintball – Dynasty, Team USA, Expendables appeared first on Marcello Margott.

             It has been a full month dedicated to some major events . First up was the NXL Atlantic City Open which ended with an early defeat Sunday morning. We prepared the best we could and headed into the event confident we could win. However, winning a tournament at the highest level is one of the toughest things to do. Everything has to go right, everyone has to play at the top of their game, equipment has to be on point and you have to have a little luck on your side as well. You need the perfect storm to win in the NXL because the competition is so full of talent.

In this sport we often have tournaments only weekends apart giving us little time to ponder the previous event. It is important to have a short memory and be able to focus on the next tournament without letting the previous one linger in the back of your mind. With that said, there needs to be an appropriate balance because once the dust settles after a few weekends we need to be able to revisit our mistakes in the previous weeks. I try my best to have a “selective memory” as an athlete. You need to be able to remember the things you need to fix and forget the things that waste energy. Atlantic City was now in the rear view and we were off to compete in the third leg of the Millennium Series.

With no time to go home we flew straight from the Atlantic City event to the U.K. Monday afternoon. This was building up to be a big weekend as we would not only be going for a hat trick winning three Millennium events in a row but Ryan and I would also be competing with Team USA to defend our title in the Nations Cup. As you can see, there was little time to scrutinize over the disappointing finish in Atlantic City and a lot of goals to accomplish in the coming days.

We got things kicked off Thursday with a practice against Impact and MLKINGS where the team did surprisingly well. With the Expendables, the goal has been to win a pro spot for the 2018 season as we are currently playing in the SPL. The core expendable players are a newer team from New Zealand and this being their first year at the national level our goal has been to get them up to speed and ready to compete on the pro stage. Each event their progress has been extraordinary and that in itself is a huge win. You can see their confidence growing congruently with their skill but this was going to be a big test for the team. As they always say, its much harder to stay on top than get to the top. When you win multiple events in a row you become the team that everybody wants to beat. Every team you play gives you their absolute best. The margin for error continuously gets smaller.

Friday would set off our first two matches with The Expendables and later that evening we would have our first two matches with Team USA against Finland and Latvia. We won all 4 games and were feeling confident heading into Saturday. Another thing to mention is that the weather was surprisingly amazing all weekend long. London really put on her best for us and provided optimal playing conditions while we were there. We had the last game of the evening at 9pm for the Nations Cup and one of the first games Saturday morning with The Expendables which was a little taxing but we had to do it. We would be running on caffeine and little sleep but that’s nothing we aren’t used to!

Saturday we had one prelim game with the Expendables which we won, putting us into Sunday as the number one seed. The rest of the day would be dedicated to Team USA and a total of 4 matches if we made it to the finals. Team Russia was on the other side of the bracket so we wouldn’t face them until the end which is a matchup I believe almost everyone anticipated. We fought through Ukraine, Italy, and then Germany, without dropping a single point. Next up was Team Russia in the Nations Cup final. A rematch from last years Semi Final which Team USA won in overtime. Team Russia has some of the most talented players to ever play the game and we knew this would be an incredibly tough match. However, we too, have some of the most talented players to ever play the game and one thing that Team USA always brings is that element of heart and passion that is unmatched. While Team Russia has always been the very technical and skilled opponent, Team USA has always excelled in teamwork and passion.

Team USA wins!

The first point was a long grueling battle which ended with a penalty against us giving Team Russia the first point of the match. They were up 1-0 with about 5 minutes left in the game. After a brief huddle to connect my line went out for the second, and very crucial point of the match. We won a fairly quick point leaving about two and a half minutes on the clock and the game tied 1-1. Just like we predicted the game was going to come down to the wire against a hungry Team Russia that hasn’t beat us in the Nations Cup in many years. Team USA got into great field position and shot a few bodies early in the next point forcing Team Russia to concede the point and try to save enough time to tie the game. We were now up 2-1 with 1:14 on the clock. If there is any team that could score a quick point it was going to be Team Russia so we knew we had to be perfect. They made an honorable push and came close to tying the game but just didn’t have the time they needed. As the final seconds commenced the celebrations began. We were the Nations Cup champions for a third year in a row.

I am now back in San Diego with a few nice wins and some time off before my next event. I have quite a few clinics over the next month that I will keep everyone updated with but will be taking some much needed time to recover. I’ve been fighting through some injuries (torn meniscus, cartilage tear, left knee – sprained ankle, right foot) and haven’t had much time to rest. This will be a very important month to get my body back on track. I will also update everyone with some great rehabilitation workouts that are good during and post injury. Thanks for reading everyone and thanks for the support!

– MM33

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