On the Thursday before the very first SARPL event in the Eastern Cape, we climbed into a Toyota Quantum and embarked on a 1100km trip down to the sleepy coastal town of Port Elizabeth. This event signified the growth of the SARPL in South Africa and helped pave the way in making the dream of turning the SARPL into a national league one step closer to a reality.
Tired but very excited for the weekend ahead, we spent most of Friday at Paintball Shop PE with its owner Jason Browne and got to know some of the local players. Later in the day we took a short drive to Planet Paintball where the event would be hosted.
A massive storm that had hit PE the previous weekend had played havoc on the field, but with the help of some of the local guys the field was ready in no time.
On Saturday the field was setup for the event and Paul dealt with players at the field, answering questions, sorting out player cards and just getting to know everyone.
In the afternoon Paul ran through a quick briefing with the local marshalls/referees on the PSP/SARPL Rules and regulations so that the event could ran as smoothly as possible.
Sunday morning arrived and so did the wind, but that didn’t stop the players from the 13 competing teams from getting to the field bright and early to setup for the day. After a players briefing and the taking of a group photo, the first prelim games kicked off.
The prelim games ran smoothly, despite the windy conditions and players quickly became accustom to the way the event ran.
At the end of the prelims, six teams progressed to the second round with the top two seeded teams going straight to the semi finals and the other four teams battled it out for their spot in the semi’s.
Going straight into the semi finals was EC Militia and the old boys from Black 1.
But fighting for their place in the semi finals saw Black 2 play Young Guns and after some intense games Black2 won it 2-1.
Then CS6 Alpha took on Ground Zero (Ex DSL) with Ground Zero winning it with a clean 2-0
Taking each other on in the semi finals was EC Militia and Black 2, with Black 2 taking a clear 2-0 victory over EC Militia. That left the two oldest teams in PE to fight for their spot in the finals. But Black 1 was no match as Ground Zero took the game with a clean 2-0 win.
Playing for 3rd and 4th was EC Militia and Black 1 and the old boys of Black 1 showed the Militia youngsters that they still had a bit of fight left in them by take3rd.
Playing for 1st and 2nd was Black 2 and Ground Zero with Black 2 taking a 1st, leaving Ground Zero with a respectable second place.
Finals Standings for the event
1st Black 2
2nd Ground Zero
3rd Black 1
4th EC Militia
Congratulations to all the teams that played on the day. There are some great teams in the Eastern Cape and the competition is quite fierce between them. We are looking forward to see the teams grow and play nationally.
Move of the Day went to Rudie from CS6 Bravo for some insane running around after some bunkers broke free due to the high winds.
Andrew van Schoor from Black 2 for being the last player alive against CS6 Delta and winning the game.
Stephen Levinson from Young Guns for a brilliant game against Black 2 in the quarter finals giving them a well-deserved point.
We would like to thank Planet Paintball for hosting the SARPL EC 3-man event and are looking forward to more events there in the future.
Thank you also to Byron and his team of marshalls for assisting on the day and making sure that games ran smoothly.
Thank you also to Jason Browne from the Paintball Shop PE for the prizes sponsored from Valken as well as Elizabeth Silli from Paintball Heaven for the prizes sponsored from Sterling Paintballs. The Mace and Gauntlet paint is available from Paintball Heaven and Valken as well as Planet Eclipse products are available from the Paintball Shop PE. We would also like to thank HK Army for the great prizes sponsored for the day. A huge thank you goes out to Monument Toyota West Rand for assisting us with a Toyota Quantum for the trip down to PE.
We are looking forward to seeing you all at the next SARPL EC 3-man Event 2 at Planet Paintball, Port Elizabeth on 22/23 September 2012.
Div 5 will be for new teams with no tournament experience. Rate of Fire is 12.5bps Semi Automatic and only 200 paintballs per point and only one player from 1 division higher is allowed to guest for them.
Div 4 will be for players that want a bit more of a challenge or that have minimum tournament experience. Rate of Fire 12.5bps PSP Ramping and no paintball limit. and only one player from 1 division higher is allowed to guest for them.
Div 3 will be for experienced tournament players. Rate of Fire 12.5bps PSP Ramping and no paintball limit.
The APPA system will classify a player and will indicate in which division you must play. Players with experience can download the Player History Spreadsheet to complete to give us an indication on the division you must play in.
Remember to follow us on Facebook and visit our website for up to date information, event dates, rules and more. You can also follow us on Twitter @rplsa and join the SARPL YouTube Channel – RPLSA
Thank you for making the event a huge success!
SARPL
The Future of Paintball
