NXLE - Amsterdam

[Spikerz]

2 weeks out. The biggest event in Europe in the last 10 years? Maybe the largest major speed ball event...ever?

GI Sports coming back to Europe (per their new President Billy Ceranski).
Exalt, DYE, HK, VALKEN! - All coming to this event as sponsors, which is a huge win, as the most consistent vendors this year have been HK and Push. Otherwise the vendor area has been...sparse to say it nicely.

We have 7 squads showing up, maybe 8 at this point. Semi Pro sold out, D3 sold out, D2 nearly sold out.

Consilium Dei the swiss team, has 10 squads?! It's going to be crazy.

This will be the last time we see Impact, Heat, Golden State Kings, and the main Russian squad, after the conference thing kicks in next year.

And look who snuck into a semi pro spot...Manchester Firm AND London Tigers!

Wooo this is going to be one hell of a send off for the American teams, hopefully sparking a resurgence of European teams back to the Pro's.

 

[Spikerz]

Conditions are brutal. Ankle deep sticky mud for the entire field were in. Half a mile walk through it from paint truck to field. Just brutal.

NXL put down a couple tons of wood chips which helped a little but it’s just too much area to cover. We’ve pushed out a dozen cars from the mud already that have been stuck.

If we hose up our games today I’m changing my flight to leave Sunday morning instead of evening. Conditions are so bad just going to watch games isn’t fun.

The spirits of people are super high though people laughing and smiling. The vendors are great. Mark knop dancing like a mad man in the push anthrax macdev tent. Valley has a booth so do dye and hk. Plus paintball extreme. So the vendor turn out is incredible.

Credit to NXL but we needed this event two weeks ago. Late September early October is too wet in Northern Europe.

Heh it’s drier in Ireland

 

[Tony Harrison]

It's muddier than Wendy's UK Masters field at Uttoxeter. I was always leaving shoes behind in that field.

I think I can hear @Ainsley having a heart attack over the state of the grass.

 

[Spikerz]

I joked with Ainsley if he could sort it out. The whole place is a bog.

 

[Bolter]

The mud is just all a bit embarrassing. I know the NXL or any event organiser cannot help the weather, but surely this day and age some kind of turf for the pro field at least is viable? I feel like no-one is playing at their full potential

Theres 4G football pitches all over Europe, surely cleaning up one of those sites would be easier than this mud pit?

 

[Tony Harrison]

I would have consulted Johan from Aggression about where to play. He's Dutch and a long time player, so he would have local knowledge.

 

[Spikerz]

He said it was a good spot. There’s paintball hillegom just up the road. The rain killed us. Turned everything to soup with the foot traffic.

Whole country is like a2 foot above the water table so nothing drains quick heh. Plus it just kept dumping on us in bursts of 30 min or so every 2 hours. US guys said it was worse than Dallas. Which is saying something.

 

[Bolter]

He said it was a good spot. There’s paintball hillegom just up the road. The rain killed us. Turned everything to soup with the foot traffic.

Whole country is like a2 foot above the water table so nothing drains quick heh. Plus it just kept dumping on us in bursts of 30 min or so every 2 hours. US guys said it was worse than Dallas. Which is saying something.

That is saying something!

 

[Spikerz]

Oh preds Johan. Sorry I was thinking of the guy that owns a field here in Amsterdam that runs notorious. Similar name.

 

[Bolter]

Wow what a sh*t pit! If they had held this event on a beach, at high tide, it would have been less wet!

Great battles though!