PaintballX3 Magazine September 2013 | Page 63

TOURNAMENT 3. Edmonton Impact – With the best roster they’ve ever had, the Canadian powerhouse Edmonton Impact has been working harder than ever in the pro ranks, fighting every point of every match and simply refusing to finish lower than fourth all season. That said, they’ve been stymied at every event in 2013 by the stellar play of the rest of the top contenders in the PSP Champions bracket, as they were forced to watch Dynasty, Heat and Damage get past them for victories. Fact of the matter is, Impact’s roster is one of the most impressive and experienced in the game and should everyone on it decide to show up and have a tournament at the same time, they could be practically impossible to stop and the only way to beat them might be to slash their van tires in the hotel parking lot. As they haven’t tasted gold all season, Impact should be hungrier than ever heading into the World Cup, their last chance for gold and glory in 2013. With players like Tom Montressor, Ryan Moorhead, Justin “J-Rab” Rabackoff, Dave LLX3.COM Bains, Greg Siewers and Josh Ouimet and an arsenal of reliable, durable Eclipse Geo3 and LV-1 markers, Impact might decide to peak for the final event of 2013 and stun the teams that have already taken home gold this season. 4. Houston Heat – after a breakout season in 2012 that saw them play incredible paintball and win three events, including last year’s World Cup, Houston Heat has staggered a bit in 2013 with two fifth-place finishes at the beginning of the season, a fourth place out west and just a single win in Chicago. Stacked with talent like Konstantin Federov, Nick Slowiak, the recently-relocated Jacob Edwards, Chad George, Ronnie Dizon and Mikhail Knyazev, Heat can show up in any match and embarrass any opponent standing at the other end of the field. After a remarkable 2012 season, surely one win in 2013 just isn’t enough so it’s very likely they’ll be heading into the World Cup Luxes blazing, ready to leave every last ounce of themselves scattered across the battlefield. 63