Pacific Predators bag July title

While many enjoyed the relatively pleasant weather under the shade of coconut trees last Sunday with barbeques along the beaches of Saipan, an army of colorful assassins took cover behind 55-gallon drum pallets at Raider’s Field in As Matuis for their monthly CNMI Inter-Island Paintball Tournament.

The relentless flood of markers from the Pacific Predators painted the town all sorts of colors as they swept through the competition relatively unscathed to win their second tournament of 2005 by downing Ghost Company in back-to-back games to put the wraps on their undefeated outing.

In this brand of paintball, the combatants are forced to strike quickly to achieve their goals behind a limited amount of cover and concealment due to the abbreviated seven minute session.

A crowded field of seven teams answered the call of duty, as the Predators and Ghost Company were joined by Chaos, The Token Haole, Executioners, and both the Hard Corps A and B teams competed in the tournament for the high score, bragging rights, trophies, and certificates.

“They’re the only team from Tinian and they took the trophy from us. Only one team and we still couldn’t beat them,” said tournament director Mike Reuters.

The win gave the Predators a nod to enter the invitation-only, end of year tournament, but because they won the March event, the honor went to Ghost Company. The most fortunate team of the day was Hard Corps A as they got the slot for event because Ghost Company won the February outing.

When the teams met upon the field of battle, they had seven minutes to annihilate their opponents, capture the enemy flag, and return it to their base of operations. Using a professional scoring system, each kill is awarded with seven points to the assassin, while three points are awarded for each surviving member of the team. The first team to secure the enemy flag is awarded 20 points, and an additional 50 points for hanging the flag in their base camp.

The Predators took the battle to Hard Corps A right from the start by eliminating their foes in the field and completing all objectives to earn a 97-7 win in the opening contest of the final four. They experienced similar success in their second mission when they locked and loaded their markers and skunked Hard Corps B 100-0, and followed it up with another perfect score against Ghost Company.

A rematch was called by virtue of Predators and Ghost Company holding the two highest combined scores of the day, and the initially one-sided battle was decidedly closer at the end of the event as the Predators were penalized 70 points for leaving equipment on the field. Despite the severe penalty, the Predators still won the game by a slim 27-14 margin, and earned the championship over Ghost Company by three points, 224-221.

The August tournament is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 21, at Raider’s Field, but details still need to be finalized. For more information about the monthly CNMI Inter-Island Paintball Tournaments, contact Michael or Norma by calling 286-0809.