Rockin' Cocks Take 1st at MAPL

When news had reached RC Army that The MAPL would be holding a pump division at their next event, and that the event would be held at OXCC (the same field PSP MAO was at), we knew it would be a worthwhile venture. Having missed PSP Chicago, and previously

deciding to pass on the PSP West Coast Open, we were all eager to get back on our grind and protect our east coast turf. 
The 2 weeks leading up to the MAPL Star-Spangled Open RC practiced hard at Pev’s Paintball. The weather both weekends was on the hotter side, low- to mid-90s, and most of the team was drinking close to a bottle of water in between games. The weekend before was particularly rough, PigPen, Moneyshot, Left Ear, and friend of the team Christian were all out on Friday setting up the PSP Chicago layout (also the layout for MAPL) and running some drills. Come Sunday, RC was there in force, almost being able to run 5-man pump games (although we did 3-man because that was the format for MAPL). Ben Swanson was able to make an appearance, and we also had some new players, Haden and Brey Sawyer, and Liam. Despite running our A-team line (Nengi, PigPen, Moneyshot, and Left Ear) against our B-team line, the A-team line seemed to struggle with communication and taking the right shots when we had them, and ultimately lost most of the games. The day ended with a mixed opinion of how we would do at the tournament, although Chrispy’s remark that “sometimes you need a beatdown the weekend before an event” seemed to foreshadow the outcome for the weekend to follow.
Come tournament day, Left Ear and Moneyshot made the 2-hour trek the morning of meeting Nengi, PigPen, and Chrispy at the field around 7 am. Left Ear and Chrispy were sporting some of the freshest G.I. Sports t-shirt swag, but unfortunately the paint of the day happened to be Valken Redemption (although it shot very well considering the weather). Speaking of the weather, it was much cooler than the previous practice conditions (mid-70s or so) and was cloudy with a chance of rain. The team checked in, bought our paint, and proceeded to prep for the possibility of rain. The MAPL ran a race-to 2 for the pump division, totaling 4 teams. The names were all familiar, being teams we had faced at PSP MAO. CP Factory, no surprise since OXCC is their home field; SubZero, again no surprise being that they are based in Maryland; and Subzero 2, having former RC Rev member Craig on their roster. Our first game was scheduled to start around 9:12, and our starters consisted of Left Ear, Nengi, and PigPen. The first point against CP Factory we broke out to Nengi D-side Temple, Left Ear to snake insert, and PigPen to Snake Temple. Left Ear made the quick bump into the S2, and put some paint onto the D2, but as revealed in a video later on, missed an easy kill on the center Aztec. Left Ear and PigPen were caught both looking D side, allowing the CP Factory snake player to bunker Left Ear. PigPen’s field awareness came into play and he was able to take out the CP player, and manage to stay alive. PigPen and Nengi were able to win the point. 

While alternating between Left Ear on the snake side, and Moneyshot on the Dorito side, the team was able to blaze through the pre-lims (although there were a few close points) and ended up going into the semi-finals 4-0, undefeated, not losing a single point. We were in the number 1 seed, and played SubZero 2 in the semi-finals. We came out on top 2-0 and moved on to the finals against CP Factory. Our breakout for this match was different from our previous ones. We sent PigPen to the Right wing off the break as opposed to snake tower. This proved beneficial early on as PigPen held down the snake side, but was clipped when he went to check the D side. This left Left Ear and Nengi across field from each other. Lack of communication left Nengi to get bunkered and the Left Ear to get pinched out, losing our first point over 9 hours into the day. Moneyshot was put in and the team was able to win the next point, making it 1-1. The next, and final point of the tournament for the pump division. Nengi to snake insert, PigPen Snake temple, Moneyshot to D temple. The game went slow, the CP player slowly moving up the snake side. Eventually Moneyshot traded with the CP D side player, and the CP snake player made a move on Nengi, taking him out. PigPen made a quick turn and put a rope on the CP player, eliminating him while again staying completely clean. The last CP player, unaware that PigPen was still alive, pulled the flag and made a dash for the hang, only to be eliminated by PigPen. The nail-biting final point was over and RC had emerged victorious. 
The post-game consisted of a few high-fives and congratulations. The team took the podium, claimed our prizes and medals, and hit the road. We discovered in the upcoming weeks there was video coverage of all the games, and Nengi even scored a full page spread in PBX3 magazine.
As usual we would like to thank all our sponsors and supporters. Exalt, for numerous accessories; St!ffi, for 14”; GI Sportz, for paint and super agg stickers; Aztek Photography, for photog; CCM, for literally the best pump guns; and lastly KPS Paintball and Pev’s Paintball, for giving us a place to practice. We would also like to thank PBX3 for the media coverage, and OXCC and MAPL for a great event.