Paintball Magazine Paintball Magazine March 2019 Issue | Page 49

The NXL Professional paintball with inflatable bunkers isn’t exactly taking the off-season off as the 2019 takes shape for the National XBall League. Again, five pro events will be held for the ’19 season, starting in Vegas and moving through Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Chicago before swinging back to the Gaylord in Kissimmee for the legendary World Cup. The northeast has always been strong for national-level paintball so the move to Philly will likely be a good one especially considering the feedback from players that were fairly vocal about their desire not to return to Atlantic City. In the pro ranks, Aftermath finally accepted their hard-earned pro slot after a few weeks of “maybe they are maybe they’re not” discussions that saw Aftershock and Mutiny mixed up in the conversation as well. But the deed is done, Aftershock will be playing in the woods and Aftermath has returned to the pro circuit, albeit without Alex Rodriguez who recently announced his return to Dynasty. 2019 champions Houston Heat will soldier on for another season with a largely unchanged roster, while perennial contender Edmonton Impact made some changes, adding Tim Brusselback from DMG, Greg Siewers from the Ironmen and Alex Rosati from NYX, while Keith Brown left for Tampa Bay Damage, Dalton Vanderbyl moved on and Raney Stanczak moved to San Antonio X-Factor, who continue to be overdue for an NXL win if you ask us. Speaking of teams overdue for a win, how about AC:Dallas? They’ll be shooting a mix of Vanquish and new Empire Syx markers for 2018 and their roster looks fairly well locked down. Look for these guys to hang a big W on the board this season: they’re the real deal. With impact (literally) player Keith Brown back on the Tampa Bay Damage family, this is a team that can square off and beat anyone on any given day and it’s about time they made a podium run too. Don’t forget about the Red Legion – these guys came on strong at the end of 2018 and show no signs of coming off the accelerator as 2019 dawns. www.paintball.media 049