Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament 2009/ World Games 2009- Random photos

King showing his side arms in paintball style

Our reaffirmation that this is a land of TOMs

Seburo with Dietz who is the team captain of the German team...oh, he got another new free jersey

Elle signing autographs... she has a pool of fans #@$%^

The opening ceremony of the World Games 2009 Paintball

Edi in his camo outfit... with a very powerful tactical marker that shoots 450fps

Art with owner of TANKED, Breuer

AJ DM9 with upgraded Billy Wing Bolt

Tournament layout

Red Sevens in Taipei101

He has to be "The One"

Art trying to do the same as "The One"

Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament - Day 4

Game day! Here's the format, teams are grouped into 4 groups with 4 teams each. So each team is supposed to play against 3 other teams in the group. Red Sevens was grouped with Chinese Taipei, Canada and Australia and the results as follow:

Chinese Taipei vs Red Sevens - 3 -1

Canada vs Red Sevens - 0 - 3

Australia vs Red Sevens - 3 - 0

World Games 2009/ Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament 2009 Results

World Games 2009 Paintball Demonstration Event

Champion - Team Germany, RAMSTEIN INSTINCT

1st Runners Up - Team Australia, SWAT

2nd Runners Up - Team Iran, DATIS

3rd Runners Up - Team Japan, KU

Other participating teams:

Chinese Taipei (STORM), Malaysia (DELTA ROVERS), Singapore (RED SEVENS), Canada (INCARNATE), Taiwan (DANGEROUS POWER), Taiwan (DYNAMICS), Taiwan (YU SHAN HIGH FORMOSA), Taiwan (ZHEN CHUAN), Taiwan (KAO HSIUNG HIGH)

Nazari the next big thing in Asia paintball

This little man is Nazari, he plays for Team Datis from Iran. It was in Malaysia when I first saw him, then he was crewing for the Team Datis and helping to load paintballs, getting the players ready for their game, carrying spare markers, spare loaders for the team. There was something about this guy… he looked extremely enthusiastic about paintball, he looked like he was raring to be on the field, he looked hungry. Well, we met him again…and this time, he was donning the yellow jersey (Datis wears yellow).

He may look short, he may look harmless… but he is one of the best snake players in the whole tournament. If there is an award to select the best 5 players of the Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament 2009, I am pretty confident that Nazari will be one of them. Not only is he fast sliding down the snake side, he is also patient and clam, which is pretty rare for the snake player. His agility can easily match the pros that you see on videos and his movements is so “smooth” that spectators actually enjoyed watching him play. Terrorizing the snake tape and leaving an impression, I guess Nazari will soon make it to the bigger stage. For locals who cannot feel his presence by reading my description, let’s say he is a combination of Zach and Kiko but twice faster than both. Or should I say as good as Prince from Bushwackers...

Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament - Day 2 and Day 3

Representatives from all participating teams

The gang in Dye Asia

Basically, its travelling and travelling.... the team goes from Northern Taiwan to Central Taiwan and ended up in the hostel at about 11 pm in Southern Taiwan, Kao Hsiung. There were some coordination problem with the organizers and we had to wait, wait and wait most of the time.

Havent I seen this before....hmmmm...

The journey started from Tao Yuan to Dye Asia (as usual) via the express train. Kiko and Edi were really excited when we reached Dye plant as Kiko mentioned its like "little children shopping for candies". As a Dye sponsored team, we managed to pick up some merchandise at killa prices too. The trip will be in vain if we did nothing to extend our sponsorship with Dye. So yes... Red Sevens will be using Dye for another year. We got our new masks, new jerseys and pants, and of course our new markers... the team will be shooting Dye DM9 for the rest of the year. Arthur was so impressed with the DM9 that he called it the smoothest marker he ever shot. And we all know that Arthur is a big fan of Ego. For an Ego user to say that Dye is shooting smooth goes to show the quality of Dye products. I added the latest soft tip Billy Wing bolt for my Air Jordan DM9.

Welcome by the organizers...

We arrived at the tournament ground for the captains briefing and walked the ground filled with NPPL bunkers. With the support from the city council and the World Games commitee, the set up of the event is indeed very impressive. Edi as the youngest player of the team is appointed as the team captain for this event. Arthur Chang and Yuan couldnt join us in time for the practice game and with only 5 players playing in the Xball format is indeed no joke as the game format is physically demanding. We were scheduled to play Team Dynamics from Taiwan, who is also the house team. We beat this team last year during the qualification rounds so we were pretty confidence going into the game.

Our new team attire... leopard I4 and Oakland Blast and yes, our new DM9s too

We played Kiko and Gerald on the Doritos wanting to execute a double dorito offense with one backing the other. Jane played on the snake tape, with Seburo and I lobbing paints at the corner and home bunkers. The Xball format plays to a Race to 3 format, it simply means the first team to get 3 games in hand wins the game. Our team lost the first 2 games and managed to come back with a 2-2 draw. With the final game as the decision maker, we lost the game to Dynamics. Although we lost, I was pretty delighted with the performance considering that we had only 5 players and most of us went into the field with only a pod each.

The opening gate to players area and field

Taiwan Taiwan... Day 1

Kiko showing off his "gun"

Paying compliments to the man who came back from Iraq

Banno's limited edition KU's DM9 withTado board

Direct translation and it means "Exercise for beautiful breast"

Visit to airsoft warehouse, gerald tried out a AK47... like real only.

I told you we are visiting TOM's world.

Entrance of Xi Men Ding

Arthur with Team Ku and Mr. Dye

Reds in town... Day 0

The eagles have landed

After 4.5 hours of flight time, we have finally reached Taiwan. Before boarding the plane, the team managed to catch up with Ken Tsuda at the airport. He was on his way to the Philippines after a night in Singapore. Ken told us that he would love to come by again and time his business trip so that he can spend a weekend in KL when its the World Cup Asia. He also told us that he would love to spend a weekend in Singapore the next time he comes by. "I would love to play some paintball in Singapore"... So I guess the local community is in for a treat in the near future.

In Taiwan, we are imposing on our old friend Arthur who has kindly let us mess up his place again. Straight after landing, Arthur came to pick us from the airport and we went for a Teppanyaki dinner Taiwan style... Gerald had his first taste of the Taiwanese food by ordering a super duper spicy beef set and we were wondering if it was raining in the restaurant. Of course now that we are in Taiwan... its almost like TOM, TOM, TOM and TOM everywhere we go. Tomorrow, we will be going shopping...

Arthur checking out food again...

Last heard, there will be 12 participating teams, 6 local and 6 international teams. Other than Red Sevens from Singapore, we also have Datis from Iran, Incarnate from Canada, KU from Japan, SWAT from Australia and a team from Germany.

2nd Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament 2009 Day -1

One more day before flying to Taiwan... and again a surprise visit by Ken Tsuda from Oakland Blast... just like before... The last time when Ken was in town, he gave us pointers on how to play the bunkers by taking one step back from the bunker that you are in so as to have a wider angle during offensive shooting. Well....Ken is in town again but because he is flying off to the Philippines the next day, we did not arrange for any quick bite or coffee with him. But nevertheless, Ken's visit was just so timely... just in time to catch up with him and checking with him on the pro league before leaving for Taiwan.

Ken brought a surprise for Jane. He brought her a customized Oakland Blast paintball jersey with her name on it. If you dont know what this means... it means Jane got herself a FREE pro jersey. and the significance of this is that pro paintball teams do not make customized jerseys for players who are not related to the team, not even when you are ready to pay for it. According to Ken, this is the first time that the team has done this from someone outside the team. Only paintball divas get these customized made jerseys and they are made for promotional purposes. He brought in a few other jerseys too...one of Jason's, Kenny's and Luke's and get them all signed. The Red Sevens team will wear the Oakland Blast Jersey during one of our games in Taiwan to thank Ken for his wonderful gesture and to help promote Oakland Blast to the Taiwanese teams.

What a Blast!

2nd Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament 2009 Day -2

Whenever possible, I will be updating this blog when the team travels to Taiwan. We will be leaving Singapore on 14 July 2009 (Tuesday) on an afternoon flight to Tao Yuan International Airport. We will be hosted by one of our close friends in Taiwan, Arthur Chang. Arthur played for Red Sevens last year in the same tournament, it is good to know that Arthur will be playing for us again. With Kiko and Gerald playing on each side of the field, Arthur will surely add depth to the team with his experience and he will play a good mentor to Gerald too.

We have plans to head straight for Taipei night market when we reached Taiwan. Arthur will be hosting Team KU from Japan as well.... so once again, we will be seeing the KUs. Steven, the other good friend of the team might be bringing us out for supper too. So yes, lots of eating coming up... got to watch my weight now.

We have also settle our markers arrangement for the tournament... a mixture of DMs and Protos... what else right?

Mobile paintball in Singapore

Mobile paintball arena - Suitable for 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4 competition.

Hardcore mobile paintball set up - Suitable for paintball tournament of up to 7 vs 7 and tournament in accordance to international standards.

Shooting gallery for all participants of your event - Suitable for participants who are 14 years old and above

If you are organizing a corporate family day, school activities or any other event that is organized in an outdoor environment, you might want to check out the mobile paintball facilities provided by Red Dynasty Paintball Park. Instead of playing in a designated paintball centre, you might want to bringing paintball closer to you! You can choose to set up a shooting gallery to test your aiming and shooting skills or you can choose to organize a mini tournament where you get to shoot your friends, colleagues or relatives. Our mobile facilities will allow your organization to experience a full fledge paintball competition at the comfort of your event.

Its CONFIRMED! We are going to Taiwan...

Its confirmed that Red Sevens will be participating in the 2nd Asia Paintball Invitational Tournament (APIT) held in Kao Hsiung, Taiwan from 16 - 20 July 2009. The team will spend 1 week in Taiwan, 2 more days from last year's trip. This tournament has the support of the Organizing Committee of the World Games 2009. Kao Hsiung, which is the host city will see athletes coming from around the world to witness this event. Red Sevens might spend some time in the city and watch some world class events. Paintball teams from Thailand, Japan, Australia and possibly a UAE team will be at the APIT too.

We will also take this chance to meet up with our friends from Taiwan. This tournament will be played in X-ball style, 20 mins game, 2 mins rest in between games with a race to 3 games. This would mean that players will need to be a lot faster when podding and movement up the bunkers. Through this trip, we hope to learn from some of the best in the world and surely placing Singapore as a representative in the world stage.

Team Lineup: Seburo, Elle, The One, King, Edi and Yuan.

Limited Edition DM8 Ollie Lang #52 for SALE!!!

Yes, I am letting this baby go. This marker was bought shortly after it was released in 2008. There are only a 100 of this in the world. Yes, only a 100! Ollie Lang has #17 and this marker is #52. Its one of the limited edition markers that Dye made it with a glossy look. It comes with a Virtual board, so no upgrade needed. The only thing that I am keeping is the Titanium barrel that comes with this marker, however it fits any autococker threaded barrel. The best thing about this marker is that it was used for a maximum of 8 weekends only (under utilised)!!! This marker is a signature series so surely a hard find.

This marker is not in Singapore and if there are keen buyers, transaction will only be done in Malaysia (KL). Cash and carry only. There is no bag that comes with this marker or tools or any accessories, JUST the marker only. Oh...did I tell you that it comes with a red colour bolt too. Stock DMs come with metal coloured bolt.

RM3800... Actionvillage is selling this piece for USD1600, first hand...

Paintball in 1st Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2009!

Hmmmm...50 years later? Perhaps but I know I wouldnt live this long to see it happen...

SPNS 2009 Leg 2 Most Valuable Player

Jane (President of PBAS, left...I mean right) presenting the MVP medal and a Empire Event mask to Sham.

Off the field, he may seem nice... he may sound friendly..., Shamel Ilya otherwise commonly known as Sham could be the nicest guy around. On the field, this man is a terrorist... I mean terror. A member of the Contract Killers, Sham was awarded the SPNS 2009 Leg 2 Most Valuable Player (MVP). The MVP award is a recognition given to an individual by the local paintball community after each leg of the SPNS. The winner is recognized by for his/her display of good sportsmanship on and off the field and a true ambassador of the sport.

Sham has played competitive paintball for about a year and plays as a front/mid player for the Contract Killers. With his team, Sham has won the 1st runners up position and the 2nd runners up position in leg 1 and leg 2 of the SPNS 2009 respectively. This recognition came timely as his team prepares themselves for the World Cup Asia 2009 in November. Playing with the Red Dynasty Boys in My-NPL Leg 2, he also won the 1st runners up position in the Division 4 category.

In my opinion, Sham is one of the upcoming and promising player in Singapore. He has lots of potential and is a fast learner, his attitude in listening and learning always gives him an edge over the rest. Always ready to fill up the bunkers, Sham is an exciting player to watch.

Team KU's latest recruit??

Team KU's newly recruit: DAMIANSAN LEE

Seburo??

SPNS Leg 3 - CANCELLED

After organizing 3 legs and 2 legs of SPNS in 2008 and 2009 respectively, it is sad to see that SPNS 2009 Leg 3 has to be cancelled. There are many factors contributing to an event's cancellation, from political reasons to natural disasters, from human errors to finding locations, just too many reasons. While cancellation does not seem too positive, it is common when certain factors dont fall in place.

USPL changed from their original promised 5 legs to 4 legs with the reasons of maintaining prestige and level of quality. These in turned allow the teams to recover both physically and financially for the next event. International PALS events in Thailand and Philippines were cancelled due to political turmoil and civil unrest, making travel a hassle. PALS Taiwan was called off by the organizers when the returns were not as rosy and teams not agreeing with the vision set out by the organizer. And if I can remember, there was also a cancelled event in last year's MPOC when the opposition parties won seats during the General Election and the organizer who is a strong supporter of the losing party did not receive the necessary fundings. Hurricane Katrina robbed NPPL in Houston...

So there are many many reasons. For SPNS, it is just sad to see a cancelled event. Nevertheless, we will strive to do better for the next event for the great people always say "everybody deserves a second chance"... let's aim for 20 local teams!!!

Single Pane vs Thermal Lense?

Photos ripped from propaintball and pbnation

Definitely two schools of thought... asking this question is as good as asking which is better: curry or laska? Some people think that single pane is good, others affirm that thermal lense works wonder. So which is which? If you are thinking about buying a mask, this question should be one of your considerations but not your ONLY consideration. I have used both single and thermal before, so if you ask me, I say both are as good as the other.

The brand V Force has always stick to their single pane anti fog lense, what it means is as simple as a single lense with anti fog coating on the inside. Afterall, if big teams such as Vicious, Icons and Aftermath are all using single lense goggle, who's that kid bragging that thermal lense is a better choice? Ok, so if single lense is good enough, then what's the point of buying a thermal lense mask? Simple, for its anti fogging capability. A pocket of air is contained between a glued goggle lense and a plastic sheet thus creating a "contained space" to prevent the mask from fogging. But the downside to this...is if the mask is not properly maintained. Wipe off the paintball marks instead of washing them under a running tap. If you need to give it a more thorough wash, clean it with a "watered tissue" instead. But yeah, anti fogging for thermal lense does work 1) if the mask is properly washed, 2) if the glue doesnt get worn out.

So which is better...? It all depends on the user.

Red Sevens - MPOC 4th Leg Podium Finish

Historical win for the Red Sevens in 4th Leg of the Malaysia Paintball Official Circuit (MPOC) 2009. This is the first MPOC 3rd Division podium finish for the Singapore based team since participating in the league in 2007. With this win, the Red Sevens added another win to the recordbook of the Red family with podium finishing in My-NPL with Red Dynasty Boys (Div 4) and Red West in SPNS.

Red Sevens would like to dedicate this win to all the people who have given us your support since our intervention.

Special mention to our sponsors - Dye Asia, KCHL, Furious Lotus Barrel, Red Dynasty Paintball.

Special mention to teams - XFox, Lemon Ruskies, Matrix Entourage for your equipment support and words of encouragment.

Lastly to our Red Sevens teammates (past and present), for without you, there will be no Red Sevens. Kudos to all of you!

We will continue to do our best to maintain the current form.

From right to left (Seburo, LiquidSnake, Edi, Junadi, Paul, Elle and King)

Thanks Stanley for the photo.

Paintball is fun - Just enjoy the game

Why do people participate in sport?

Some exercise to gain fitness, to make friends, to compete, and the list goes on... But most importantly, I think one of factors in which people play sports is to have fun. I was once told by a friend that I have taken away the fun from his passion for the sport when I emphasized too much on winning and being too competitive. He no longer feels fun playing the sport.

I thought this is pretty interesting because when everyone started playing a sport, it is always out of curiousity for the game and playing it for fun. When one decided to take the sport on a more serious note, the reasons of their participation changes to... perhaps its for fitness or perhaps its for the competitive edge. Some went on the compete at a higher level with regular trainings using the best gears. They formed an identity for themselves. They become more involved as an individual who is passionate about the game. They become ambassador for the sport and spread the love to everyone they know. At this point, there will be some who will drop out for various reasons, usually time commitment, mostly family reasons and a handful of them due to financial reasons. Not that they dont love the game anymore, its just that their priority changed. Taking time off from the game may not be a bad thing as they can spend some time for other things in life.

After playing for a while and a strong passion for the game, comes the "businessmen" model. Who are these "businessmen"? People who feel that they can do more for the sport after playing and experienced competitive games . These are the people with ideas on how the game can be improved and envision changes in the game. They begin looking for money opportunities in the game. I am pretty sure these "businessmen" still enjoy the game. Some went on to become coaches, some went on to do retail, some did publications...they become "businessmen".

Seems like everyone will end up becoming a "businessmen". When the individual becomes a "businessmen", he will have to juggle between his love for the sport and his means to make ends meet. Yes, it might not always be the best option but I am sure this "businessmen" is trying his best. For anyone wanting to go down this route, all the best to you. Its a matter of time that someone like you will pick up the game with the reason of having fun and eventually becomes a "businessmen".

"Paintball is a sport but it is also a business"