2021 Iron City Classic (Recap)

This past weekend the Jesters organization entered a squad in the famous, ICC paintball tournament. This event was held at Urban Assault Paintball in Pittsburg, PA. It was a throwback NPPL style paintball tournament that utilized 4 different field layouts (hyperball, mounds, hybrid and woods) throughout the event. The size of the event has steadily been growing over the last few years in part to its creator, Tim Montressor, who tragically passed away this past year. In honor of Tim, the event continue to draw teams from far and wide to come play paintball in its purest forms.

Our squad consisted of various members of all 3 divisional Jesters teams. Though our focus has always primarily been the NXL, the team has been making a continuous effort to play more local and regional tournament series. Anything that can help us get better as a team is a positive and this tournament was no different. Out of the entire weekend of paintball, there were a few moment that summed up our play, this was one:

Our second game on the hyperpipe field was a back and forth battle. After trading blows, the game settled down into to a 4 on 5 with about 2 minutes left to go. Even though we were down a body, our team had a positional advantage with 3 players posted at the 50 yard line. Playing back the match via webcast, it was clear we had the ability to win the match but were unable to break through the opposing teams defensive zones. Unfortunately, a lack of communication and assertiveness on the field wound up resulting in a stalemate.

Theres a lot that can be said about our other matches but overall the results at the ICC wasn’t what we as a team, come to expect. Call it a lack of 10-man playing experience and missed opportunities but for most of our players, this tournament is a reminder that this game can humble you, no matter how many years you’ve been playing.

We’ll be sure to take this lesson and learn from it. Back to work.

-NJJ