Wild Dogs rule Laser Tag tourney again

The Wild Dogs were crowned champions again in the Pacific Islands Club Laser Tag Tournament after winning last Saturday’s competition at the PIC Laser Tag Park in San Antonio.

The Wild Dogs, who defeated Head Shots in the finals of the inaugural event last year, had Jesse Peredo, Derek Gersonde, and Matt Iguel on the team and topped the 2011 edition of the annual tournament after beating Rambo’s Commandoes in the championship match. Eric Johnson led Rambo’s Commandoes and other members included his son, Will, and daughter, Lyndin.

Wikipedia defines laser tag as a recreational activity where players attempt to score points by tagging targets, typically with a hand-held infrared-emitting targeting device. In the PIC tournament, two teams with three members apiece dueled in a three-minute play with the team to first capture the flag of the opposing squad and bring it back to home base declared the winner. A player that pulls out the flag of the opposing team, but gets laser tag once is thrown out of the park. A player’s infrared-emitting gun is automatically turned off once the opposing player hits it. Players can avoid being laser tag by hiding on various make-shift bunkers scattered at the park.

Seven teams joined the PIC tournament and they played in a round-robin format with Rambo’s Commandoes topping the field with a 5-1 record (12 points). The Oleai Shooters came in at second with a 4-2 mark (9 points), followed by Wolf Pack (4-2/8pts.), Wild Dogs (3-3/7 pts.), Team Austin (2-4/5 pts.), G4S Security Service (2-4/4 pts.), and G4S Secret Service (2-4/2 pts).

All seven teams advanced to the double-elimination playoffs with Rambo’s Commandoes earning a bye at the start of the round. In the playoffs, format was regular “elimination” style battle where each winner’s bracket game was played in five minutes and each team had eight lives and unlimited ammunition. In the loser’s bracket, each matches lasted for only three minutes and each squad had five lives and unlimited ammunition.

In the winner’s bracket, the Wild Dogs won over Team Austin to set up a quarterfinal match over Rambo’s Commandoes. The Wild Dogs stunned Rambo’s Commandoes and then defeated the Oleai Shooters in the semis to advance to the finals first.

In the loser’s bracket, Rambo’s Commandoes and Oleai Shooters faced in a do-or-die game for the right to meet the Wild Dogs in the finals and the former won. The Oleai Shooters, composed of Leo Galarse, R.J. Bobo, and Jimbo Wala settled for third place, duplicating their finish last year.

Meanwhile, tournament organizer Dennis Tababa would like to thank Pacific Trading, Co., Miller Lite, Monster, Boutiki-Saipan, and PIC for supporting the weekend event.

Tababa added that PIC’s Laser Tag Park is open to the public on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 6pm to 8pm. The park is also available for private parties. For more information, contact 237-5173.