7 man Superleague or Xball in Europe

[Sherman]

Here's a modified (top 4 scores, no reffing points calculated) WPS ranking of euro pros:

1. Russian Legion 540
2. Ton Ton 505 (incl Acyd scores)
3. Joy Division 225
4. Nexus 205
5. Ugly Ducklings 200 (incl Dux 2 scores)
6. Mayhem Tigers 180
7. Shockwave 180
8. Ignition 125
9. Storm 95
10. Hardcore 90
11. Worms 30
12. Outkast 10

What an interesting weekend ahead

 

[stongle]

Nick, I think he was kidding. I think most would probably like to see playing SuperPro, EXL, EZL or whatever it is named as (certainly in no particular order):

Ton Tons
Legion
Ducklings
Nexus
Tigers
Ignition (my Baptism of fire on Sup-Air, a whole 3 minutes of it)
Hardcore
Joy

I do think that by only allowing SuperPro a crack at X-Ball and have everyone else play standard 7 man, may cause problems in the future. Maybe an Exhibition year for the SuperPros in 04, but by 05, the MS Committee needs to look at a Divisional structure (and tournament structure), down to at least AM B for X-Ball. Novices could concievably still play 7 man, although I'm not too sure about whether that's feasible.

The problem is as I see it, you deny the vast majority of teams the ability to play the "preferred format" for too long, their going to vote with their feet and untimately their wallets. Since this game is all about the Benjamins, it'll be (in the words of my Mentor Neno Brown), "Money Talks, bullssh*t runs the marathon", before throwing some fool of Brooklyn bridge. Paintball is only fun when you winning or playing (a good game). I mean some people here are advocating taking away crowd participation from X-Ball which is one (as I understand it), one of he cornerstones of the game. So what I'm hearing not from you but others is "sorry guys you can only watch X-ball if you sit there like Mutes". Well that ain't anyfun either is it. If the game is s'posed to raise the passion of the spectators, we need to have some form of crowd participation factored in (although I've seen Wadidz make some comment towards this end).

Just a thought mind, just a thought....

 

[Wadidiz]

Originally posted by stongle
...although I've seen Wadidz make some comment towards this end.

Right,

Not just keep, but encourage, crowd participation but put the playing field 12 or more meters away from the netting so there is no really effective coaching.

Also get rid of the coaching from the coaches' boxes and pit area.

Don't release the field designs ahead of time.

These changes may be coming to NXL anyway and I think will make X Ball less robotic and more stategic.

IMO

Steve

 

[Robbo]

In my opinion, the Millennium promoters are now at a crossroads, the direction to be taken looks set.
Some pro teams will soon be presented with their own crossroads to negotiate; for a select few of those pro teams it will involve an extreme amount of soul searching and head scratching with the 'right' decision being more elusive than Andy Piper at a diet convention.
Politics, schmolotics, money !!
Don't ya just love Paintball ?

 

[rancid]

the promoter sleeps tonight

I'm looking forward to the game between 'Ideas Above Our Station' and 'Peer Pressure Inc'. Also keep an eye out for 'Back to Square One' ... I'm not sure they'll do much this year, but I think they'll be back on the scene in 2005, along with 'Team Told You So' and 'What an Expensive Excursion That Was Kidz'.

Hi Peter.

 

[gaff]

Originally posted by Sherman
Here's a modified (top 4 scores, no reffing points calculated) WPS ranking of euro pros:

1. Russian Legion 540
2. Ton Ton 505 (incl Acyd scores)
3. Joy Division 225
4. Nexus 205
5. Ugly Ducklings 200 (incl Dux 2 scores)
6. Mayhem Tigers 180
7. Shockwave 180
8. Ignition 125
9. Storm 95
10. Hardcore 90
11. Worms 30
12. Outkast 10

What an interesting weekend ahead

well that throws a few cats in the air eh! if the series is limited to 16 teams, and 6 are from the states then this table should be the definative list from euroland IMHO

would the worms and outcast want to be included in the top section next season? if not then there is your pro roster!

surely if the MS does go the Xball or Yball route then 16 teams is exactly the right amount for the weekends play! set up a 'show field' right next to the trade area and get as many punters in watching and spending as possible.

 

[Urban]

Is the promotion/relagation system that has been talked about going to work in conjunction with the new superleague format? Is the plan to relegate the bottom two superleague teams and promote the top two normal league team at the end of every season?

If so, and the formats of the superleague and normal leagues are different, it has the potential to turn the two promoted teams into whipping boys for those already in the Superleague as they may not have had chance to play and practice the new format.

Sponsorship may be a issue if the superleague requires a higher expenditure of paint. I'm assuming the superleague teams will have to commit to playing every MS so what would happen if the two teams up for promotion can't or won't offer that guarantee?

If they can't, won't or are denied the step up to superleague doesn't it invalidate the entire "superleague" idea?

Of course, if promotion/relegation doesn't apply to the superleague then this time next year the league will be out of date as the superleague will be based on the best teams from 2003 not 2004.

Just some random thoughts..

Urban

 

[Wadidiz]

Originally posted by Urban
...it has the potential to turn the two promoted teams into whipping boys for those already in the Superleague as they may not have had chance to play and practice the new format...

Dynasty chose to play X Ball in a tournament for the first time at the World Cup. They got into the finals and their final game was about as close as games get.

Obviously they had practiced X Ball and there would be no reason for a team that chooses or is "promoted" to X Ball NOT to practice before the first such tournament.

It would only be natural for even top-level teams to lose one or two of their first games or tournaments. C'est la vie.

 

[Wadidiz]

Come on Steve

Originally posted by Nick Brockdorff
You know very well there is a difference between - arguably - the worlds best team playing X-ball for the first time... and then a Euro Amateur team being promoted to X-ball after a season of playing Amateur 7-man.

Urban has a valid point here !

Nick

I'm not saying that Urban doesn't have a valid point. He certainly does.

I'm just saying that any team that would, hypothetically, get promoted would certainly be professional enough to think about and practice the format they would play the next season. And they would have the advantage Dynasty didn't have of getting to practice and prepare off-season.

Of course the newby teams would be at a disadvantage if they hadn't played X Ball before on the same level. Again, C'est la vie!

Do like one Millennium pro team has already done and buy an X Ball field and/or sign up for the next PSP and play Division 1 X Ball! The dollar is really cheap.

 

[Robbo]

Originally posted by gaff
well that throws a few cats in the air eh! if the series is limited to 16 teams, and 6 are from the states then this table should be the definative list from euroland IMHO

would the worms and outcast want to be included in the top section next season? if not then there is your pro roster!

surely if the MS does go the Xball or Yball route then 16 teams is exactly the right amount for the weekends play! set up a 'show field' right next to the trade area and get as many punters in watching and spending as possible.

As far as I can see, there will not be any teams from the US participating, certainly the NXL teams ain't gonna waste their time and money in coming across and if somebody is suggesting teams such as Dynasty, Dogs, Strange etc are gonna come and play EXL, get off the crack pipe, they will be playing Div 1 XBall in the US and even if they do come across, they sure ain't gonna be bothered with pissin about playing Euro XBall, they are going for the prize money in the 7-Man.
That leaves the EXL populated with only European teams, and if there are any more than 8, it once again smacks of irrational and amateurish thinking.
The path to where we are now has been fraught with indecision, politics and power-plays with perhaps one man's conservatism (I would better describe it as lack of vision) now being the prime determinant in the position we are defaulting to.
This person is not a European by the way.


Ged Green began this paintball evolution with Hyperball, Laurent Hamet ran with it for the next lap taking us inexorably closer toward mainstream acceptance with Sup'Air.
It would prove ironic if the third and potentially most important of this European trilogy of radical thinkers, Sergei Leontiev, was ignored to the point of our own demise.
There has only been one similar visionary Stateside, Richmond, we might now see whether or not our decision to ignore the World Series XBall series that was on offer last year will prove the most costly of all or if new proposals could rescue us from potential obscurity when it comes to televised paintball.
There is still an enormous amount of talking to be done that's for sure before anything is fleshed out in terms of particular teams accepting places in new leagues.
As to which teams accept these spots, it may well prove crucial to the success or demise of any proposed new league.
At the very heart of this lies a situation where the top pro etams are being forced to choose between formats because it is nigh on impossible for these top teams to ride two horses without it affecting both races.
Maybe the Legoin could get away with it with their reources but not others.