of friends from different countries who were very keen on
making the sport grow. The name PALS (Paintball Asia
League Series) proved to be most appropriate.
In 2004 we did a small international event with 16 teams
called the Nations Cup. In 2005 we did the Asia and Asia
Pacific Paintball Championship with 80-plus teams. It was
at this time that PALS was formed and we thought that it
would be great to push the boundaries to have a World
Cup in the region as there was the World Cup in the U.S.
by the PSP and the World Cup in Paris by the Millennium.
PALS was formed with the affiliation to both the PSP an d
the Millennium during the signing ceremony here in
Malaysia. In 2006 we renamed our event the World Cup
Asia and continued to build the event outdoors until 2010.
In 2011 the event was moved indoors onto the island of
Langkawi. 2011 was also the year that saw the involvement
of the Royal family, corporate sponsorships and extensive
government involvement in the event. In 2013 a proper
biannual World Cup that involved national teams was
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mooted and carried out by in Europe spearheaded by
Laurent Hamet. We were honored to be deemed worthy
to host it after our 2014 event. 2015 remains to be seen as
we prepare to host the greatest event ever attempted by
the PALS....The Paintball World Cup 2015.
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN THE LEAGUE AND THE
WORLD CUP SPECIFICALLY?
I was a dreamer amongst fellow paintball dreamers who
decided to do something about it in a swashbuckling
manner. The dream became real and now I get the honor
of making sure the league continues in the right direction
for the sport in the region and the event, which is the
jewel of the series, will continue to be the catalyst for
more dreamers in the region. I’m involved in every aspect
from a management point of view and troubleshooting.
Fortunately, the PALS team and partners do make me
redundant often enough to keep the smile on my face.