“It’s not about how you start the day – it’s about how you finish it”
CPPS is back for 2022 and we couldn’t have been more excited to compete in Round 1 of Elite this past weekend.
With a revamped roster and a change to the Elite division to create more competitive prelim games, we were eager to step on the field and compete for the first time this year.
The changes to the groups had an immediate impact for us as we opened the day against a strong Manchester Firm squad. The game was initially very evenly matched with both squads trading points back and forth and with the score tied at 3-3 disaster struck in the form of a major at the end of the point leaving us down 3-4 and starting the next point with 4. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pull off the 4 on 5, and Firm took the game 3-5.
Our second game against Sandbaggers started the similarly to the first game with each of us trading points back and forth. Unfortunately, it also ended the same way, a couple timely penalties cost us key points that eventually ended up with us losing the game 2-5.
It’s fair to say the lads were a bit rattled after these first two losses, but the team knows it’s not about how you start the day - it’s about how you finish it. We regrouped and tightened up our plan for the next game, knowing we’d have to win every remaining game if we wanted to be on the top of the podium at the end of the day.
We entered our second batch of prelim games with a new game plan, and a focus on playing more as a team to cut out the small mistakes. With this new focus, and some changes to our starting line, we were able to retake control of the prelims and dispatched Stoke Quest 4-0 and our very own Mustangs 5-2 to move through to the quarter finals with a 2-2 record.
Our quarter final game saw us face off against the Manchester Firm once again. Keen to make up for the loss in the morning we started this game strong relying on a more conservative game plan to put us up 3-0. Firm then started to try their luck in the snake and through the middle on us and we traded points back and forth until we closed out the game with a confident 5-2 win.
The semi-finals saw us face off against London Attrition who with a strong performance in the prelims had secured themselves a bye straight to the semis as the top seed. We had a strong start and through a combination of break shooting and good gunfighting, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. After trading a couple points Attrition battled back and we were left 3-3 with just 29 seconds on the clock. We decided to look for the win on the break and go for it if we thought it was on. With an early elimination off the break, quickly followed by another out of the centre, the snake was open for our snake player James Green, who got down the field winning the point with just 7 seconds left on the clock.
A win against Attrition meant we were through to the finals where we were met with another prelim rematch against Operation Sandbaggers. This time things were different; we were able to push the tapes and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Baggers reacted well and started coming through the middle on us to close the gap, and we found ourselves up 4-3 with just a minute to go. All we had to do was hold for one minute to win the tournament. We ended up in a tight 3v3 where Baggers pushed the envelope just a touch too hard and got a major, giving us the win for Round 1.
As always, we’re supper happy to be on the top of the podium, and we’d like to thank those that make it possible to compete at the level we do. So in no particular order thanks to our sponsors GI Sportz, Planet Eclipse, Jersey Clinic, Carbon Paintball, JT Paintball, Beyond NRG & Paintball DE. Shout out to Blitzed Media for the images, and Karl Whittaker for the incoming video footage. This win is dedicated to you all, as without you, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to compete at this high level for such a long period of time.
Last but by no means least, to the referees, CPPS crew and spectators that make these events so special. They all work so hard to give the UK teams (and visitors), the best paintball experience money can buy.
If any of our fans missed the action, then catch up on the livestream on twitch.