THINGS ARE A CHANGING

[Ash - GI Sportz]

This interview doesnt reveal too much new information - Barcelona has been on the cards for a year or two now so its good that it will be happening. I think it will replace Puget as the curtain-raiser for the season...

If it is a new London venue, then it is long overdue - the Basildon site was/is good from a functionality perspective, but it had no atmosphere and the trade village is/was always dead. Teams just leave the site when they're done as there is nothing in immediate proximity to keep them close by... They all just head back to the BasVegas strip, or in to London Town. I dont think they will be making it more difficult (less convenient) to get to for teams flying in either. They definitely arent going to be leaving Basildon because it was too expensive...

I cant see Bitburg changing - what with all the grey area on German gun law and foreigners coming in to play an event that technically breaches most of them, I'm sure the Millennium wont want to rock the boat there - they have that event/venue dialled in. And if we're honest, the playing surface in Bitburg is the best of all current venues, there is a hotel on-site (or a couple really nice ones 10-20 mins away) and the beer is practically pumped straight from the local brewery into the taps at the bar...

I think Chantilly is the 50/50 venue change - they know they can go back there and put on a solid event that people have come to enjoy the last 3 years (although palace aside, for me its pretty much a french basildon..). I know it costs them an arm, a leg and a few other non-essential body parts, so it wouldnt surprise me if they were looking for a new home that can deliver a similar wow factor but costing a few less organs..

The question on everyones lips since the end of Chantily (and before) has been all about the format. If Millennium / NXL / Pals all go to the same game then that is a huge plus for paintball globally. It would be cool as Marco said to play to the clock rather than points too.

I'm still not sold on the M500 format as-is, and we've heard very little in the way of variances they have tried or could implement to improve it in any way. I know at the NXL Cup the exhibition matches the teams played with a loader and 3 pots rather than 2 (so like M700) and it still wasnt an undisputed success. That said I think they will introduce some kind of paint limit for 2016 as a stepping stone to full-blown M500/700 in 2017, and if they dont they will look a bit silly given their bold claims and drawn out teaser campaign from earlier this year...

We should know most of this by the end of next week by the sounds of it though

Hurry up Millennium... There has hardly been any off-season crazyness yet, so this might just kick start it.

 

[rewind]

To be fair, we've seen the gradual merge of the NXL and Mills this year already, with them adopting a lot of Mills systems. What I am interested in is how the joint format will work regaridng pitch size and bunkers. Supair will be raking it in when they release the new 2016 bunkers that everyone has to buy to have a proper field.
My bet is the wings find their way over here.
Re. time over points, to an extent we do play the time here anyway, when you watch the games at pro level, very little time is left outstanding on the clock once the point limit has been achieved. This coupled with the 'mercy' rule that exists in the NXL, its effectively the same thing (just with the numbers changed a tad).

The big thing will be the M500, but the article said that they may hold off on that for another year as there are already a lot of changes afoot. Time will tell, but I really don't see what paint manufacturers and distributors get out of the limited paint format, so I am expecting paint prices to go up, to take up the slack from the lack of paint bought.

 

[STONESOLDIER]

Yeah paint prices might go up but look at it this way, Manufactures/Sponsors will save a ton of money as the sponsored teams that get this paint for free will be greatly reduced

the M500 if you used every single ball of every point and won the game 4-3 you would have used a maximum of 9 boxes of paint, Currently teams like heat and impact are using 25-30 boxes a match at millennium events and 45-50 in some of the NXL's this year due to the field layout so look how much they will save.

Am still not up for the M500 div 1 and below I think they should adopt it and if they are going to make a change they should make it M700

that would keep me happy anyways

 

[Bolter]

I remember the first exl event, and the tontons, who didn't win it, they came 4th I think, used over 90 boxes of paint in a weekend, but if I remember right, there were no real gun rules, so everyone's gun was set on true semi aka 18bps.

 

[Spikerz]

I'm excited for Barcelona. Cheap places to stay in a city with cheap wine and tasty tapas is always a win in my book.
Puget's parking lot suuuucked, and you had to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere.

Basildon I liked. I enjoyed the BBQ we had out in the camping area, and had a good time.

Bitburg, yea Ash's right, it was the quickest sell out for an event last year because all the DPL teams played it, and that's a huge league. So they have to keep a German event.

Chantilly I haven't been to yet, but if something does replace it in France, I wonder where they'd have it. End of season you can still get pretty good weather in a majority of the country.

M500 or M700 (I think I'd prefer the 700) I'm ok with. In OD3, we play Race 2, and we used 15-17 cases in Puget, and like 8 in Basildon. Depends on the speed of the field.
I think I could get away with 700 per point pretty easily.

 

[onasilverbike]

I'm not convinced that Barcelona is a good move, How many actual Spanish teams are there that play MS? And how many did the Fuengirola/Malaga events actually attract? Or for that matter the Madrid Millennium? I have even heard members of the MS board voice this opinion. Oh, and it's also one of the busiest hotspots in Europe for pickpockets

Bitburg, I see no changes there, as Ash said, excellent venue, local mayor and police department on board, (maybe not the Bundespolizei) and accommodations in walking distance, or a reasonable drive away, though the local beer is ****e, there is plenty of decent beer to choose from in the local supermarkets. However, if the migrant situation continues the way it is, with increased border policing in Germany, getting in and out with a non-F-stamped marker, broken down and in a locked case may prove more challenging for foreign teams.

Basildon, again, I agree with @STONESOLDIER ticks all the boxes, unless you were trying to get there from Gatwick or Heathrow by public transport. I agree with Ash, the trade area in recent years has been lacking, though this is partly due to lack of support by some vendors, and the fact that mid season, all the products have been released, all the deals have been done, there is nothing exciting for the punters, so trade is down.

Chantilly is nothing special, it has no better weather than the London in September/October and it costs an absolute fortune, decent accommodation at a reasonable price is miles away unless you book super early. it is however, easy to get to, being a stones throw from CDG and the Autoroute. A Paris area event has always been seen as essential due to th large concentration of paintball teams/players in that part of Europe. At least with Longchamps you were actually within (distant) sight of the Eiffel Tower, and got free entertainment from th tarts and their tricks on the way into site


I don't know what happened to the rumour of a Prague venue, cheep beer and hookers may have lead to a few ballers taking home a souvenir they weren't expecting

 

[Spikerz]

Spain (Barcelona) – Costa Dorada – Mediterranean Cup : 8-10 April
Germany (Bitburg) – European masters : 20th-22nd May
United Kingdom (London) – Campaign Cup : 1st-3rd July
France (Paris) – World Championship : 16th-18th September

http://www.wpbo.info/

 

[Richiemonk]

so a hopper + 3 pods for M700.....maximum dwell, slowest cycle speed and 5* outta the fridge 4tw!