World Cup 2024 Mayhem Tigers take 2nd Place on the Mounds
2nd Place World Cup Mounds - Mayhem Tigers 
CUP is like no other event I’ve ever played! When you talk about wanting to travel and competing internationally, people that are in the know say “You’ve gotta play CUP”. When you look at it from the outside you think it must be because of the size of the event and because it’s the big finale to end the season. But aside from how epic the show is (and damn is it frickin’ epic), there’s way more to it and you can’t really know how tough CUP is until you’ve played it.
every division and format is a bare knuckle fight for the podium. No joke!
Everyone that is anyone in paintball is at CUP, the trade village is absolutely huge, the big hitters have huge marquees with special product launches and there are also loads of niche vendors with unique offerings, which together mean that everywhere you look you see something rare and cool as all hell to buy. Then there’s the paintball: the Pro field set up is first class with full bleachers and VIP viewing, it puts the Xball Pros on an amazing platform to represent the sport. Then there are the semi pro and division fields that like a sea go on as far as the eye can see. Next there’s the level of competition because it’s CUP every division and format is a bare knuckle fight for the podium. No joke! CUP demands you raise the bar, everyone expects it and it becomes a melting pot that pushes teams to their limits and beyond to win.
Beyond the spectacle and fierce competition though there are the conditions, no word of a lie we played from dawn to dusk for three straight days, on the last day of the event we played the 10 man supair into the evening under flood lights with the site closing down around us and as Tigers Chessclub took a well earned 5th place.
You see at CUP there is no stopping, there is no time out, there is only fighting it out until the winners are found. Then there is the heat 28-30 degrees, and humidity around 95. If it rains it feels amazing for a minute, but downpours go as quickly as they arrived and then the humidity goes through the roof. To play CUP you have to be prepared for the conditions! It’s not just the battle on field but just as much the survival off field. It’s a test of your individual and team’s attrition, the strongest rise and that’s what CUP demands and also what makes it special. Vets of CUP of course know all this and they will even warn you before you make the trip but you won’t really believe it until you play it.
We hadn’t played the mounds field at CUP before although it’s been there for a number of years so lots of the teams we faced knew the field well. We played the 5 man division on the Friday primarily as prep - to learn the field and setup our positions, but happily there was a great vibe in the team and we were finding our footing on the field fast. It had solid fifty attacks on both tapes, a huge mound in the middle that played a bit like a supair wall and brought action up close. It also meant like all great mounds fields there were sneaky routes through into the oppositions half to press attacks and close out games.
We made the knockout finals in the 5 man and learnt a lot, which set us up nicely for the 10 man mounds the next day.
One of the best things about travelling and playing paintball is the people you meet and friends you make and our squad is a testament to that featuring our U.K. line up and great friends we’ve made from The Golden State Chess Club as well as Dan and Fred who have played on our US squad. The brilliant thing about sharing the same drive and passion for the game is how it brings a squad together as a team and we’ve been really fortunate to meet like-minded people. We also took one of our up and coming players from the U.K. out to Cup, many of you will know we preach a root to tip strategy for the Club and Max is one of the guys enjoying the journey and opportunities a Club like the Tigers offers. He played outstandingly this event and grows as a player every time he sets foot on the field so a special congrats to him.
We were at site each day for 6 am and were playing as the sun started to rise. Our 10 man prelims were special to be part of as the team felt stronger and stronger building in confidence as the day went on. We even won a 5 on 10 to bring us out top of our group and take us into finals. By this point the sun had set and finals were pushed to first thing on Sunday morning. In the morning we were first game on, as soon as the sunlight cracked above the horizon our game began. These were going to be single match knockouts, so there were no second chances. We drew the weaker side of the field but played a strong game against BTA Butchers to take the tie against a team that were playing outstanding paintball. This put us into the semis against Image, a team we have tremendous respect for having played them in Chicago last year and watched them take that event and also the ICPL title there. We had the stronger end of the field the rising sun was creeping up and the game was fought out on the fifties with multiple exchanges and fills. We broke through and took the tie putting us into the 10 man mounds World Cup final.
Before we flew out to Cup if someone had said we’d make finals on our first attempt we’d have all said well we’ll take that. It is an epic achievement. Seeing the Rushers close out their semi tie meant we’d be playing them for the title, a team we know better than any other, training with them at our home field Mayhem Paintball regularly and playing in the ECPL we clash heads all the time. The sun was at full intensity on the horizon at one end of the field now and ends were decided by coin flip for the final match. Rushers won the flip but in any case we felt strong for the win. Rushers won the breakout but big moves went off in the center as both teams fought for position. This saw us on the upper foot closing ground and bodies up. We were 5-3 up pressing to close, having breached the 40 to take out the middle player and holding all the fifties. But Rushers fought like all great finals demand and with 2 players left on the field in front of us the 10 minute game time expired. Without us breaking through to touch the gate they had held for a draw and that meant the final went to a 1 on 1!
1 on 1s for World Cup Glory is an insane experience, the pressure was intense, our squad lined up along the side of the field netting shoulder to shoulder arms interlocked as Jobin stood ready at the gate for us. On this occasion it wasn’t to be our day, breaking into the sun and the Rushers player making a great shot on the break won the match for them. The Rushers played outstandingly at CUP and thoroughly deserved to take the win and we hope that the achievement of both us and the Rushers isn’t missed, because there hasn’t been a result like this at cup, maybe ever!
I’m immensely proud of our squad and what we achieved in our first time at CUP together, to take 2nd 10 man mounds, quarters in the 5 man and 5th in the 10 man Supair, the bond between our US and U.K. players is immense to see and something that I think only international play at this level can forge.
CUP was epic in every way and we loved every minute of it. Thanks to NXL World Cup for creating this amazing showcase for the sport, thank you to our squad for sharing the adventures, thank you to our sponsors for supporting us at every step of the team’s evolution.
Mayhem Paintball Games - our home field and the foundation to the clubs success. Creating a place where all paintballers can find their home in the game at all levels from rentals, to Walkon, to tournament to internationals. The Mayhem mounds field and Hyperball field are core to the resurgence of 10 man in the U.K. and the success of teams like ourselves and the Rushers.
GI Sportz Paintball and GI Sportz Europe - you simply can’t win if you don’t have good paint. At CUP, 21 of the 24 podium spots were taken by teams shooting GI - the results speak for themselves. Without question our long-standing relationship with the people at GI that goes all the way back to the start of the team in ‘86 and the unbelievable quality of their paint has meant event after event we can compete at the highest level.
Planet Eclipse - when I first relaunched the team to play classic we needed markers that were affordable for every budget and were basically indestructible. Planet offer makers for every budget that perform at the highest level, week in week out. They have allowed the team to grow and compete and I don’t think this would have been possible with any other company in the game.
Inception Designs - if you’re playing paintball then it’s almost certain you are using something designed by Inceptions lead engineer. One of the greatest product engineers in the game no question. Not only do Inception supporting us with performance equipment that has allowed us to compete against the best on field but Inception have also been core in giving advice about international events, they helped us find our feet in Chicago and gave us the low down on targeting CUP.
Apex Pro Gear - our own brand of sportswear developed by us means we have sportswear that not only looks epic but also takes a beating on field whilst being light as well as keeping us cool. Our custom jerseys for CUP not took everything the event could throw at them but also look brand new after a wash back home!
Badattitude paintball and tactical stands - Eddie is a legend for supporting teams where he sees they truly want to grow the game and be ambassadors for the sport. His custom products help us at every event to keep our pits organised so we can focus on the matches and playing the game we love.
