Our neighbors across the pond have their own silly season. While I've yet to hear anything quite as silly as the (rumored well in advance) demise of Art Chaos things are happening in that corner of the paintball world. The biggest news to date was broken by the kids at GFH. (Check out their FB page here.) Seems that team Hulk out of Ukraine is done--and just after they won SPL1 and earned a golden ticket to the CPL next season. No explanation was forthcoming but it could have something to do with the civil unrest (war?) in eastern Ukraine--or not. That also leaves two Ironmen (Mouse & Marcello) without a Euro home so get in line if you're a Mills team looking for a couple of top notch hired guns. (Or if you're looking for a coach ...)
Hulk's loss could be MLKings gain. They finished third in SPL1 and should get the invite to the CPL next. In second place with their own golden ticket is Amsterdam Heat regaining a CPL spot they lost a couple of years ago. Interestingly they did it with a completely home grown roster that has only three players remaining from their last season in the CPL back in 2012.
For those curious about how the MS is doing keep an eye on SPL1 and SPL2 attrition. Over the last three years or so the divisions have not been full and the league has made a concerted effort to draw teams in from an ever-widening circle which may have reached its limit. So too the open divisions have been a little soft as the MS may have lost some numbers to very strong home grown national leagues in France and Germany. (And in the UK CPPS draws from across the British Isles and is also growing.) It would be good for competitive paintball if the league can hold the line without off season losses in overall numbers of participating teams.
And finally, the Millennium kids have already released next year's schedule--almost. No dates yet for Paris-Chantilly but it will be in September. Otherwise the dates are set. Not all the locations have been confirmed yet but seem likely to remain the same venues. Or, who knows, maybe not. After all doesn't everybody love going to Wart-on-Arse, Germany and Vegas-on-the-Thames? (Okay, it's Bitburg and Basildon but still ...)
Hulk's loss could be MLKings gain. They finished third in SPL1 and should get the invite to the CPL next. In second place with their own golden ticket is Amsterdam Heat regaining a CPL spot they lost a couple of years ago. Interestingly they did it with a completely home grown roster that has only three players remaining from their last season in the CPL back in 2012.
For those curious about how the MS is doing keep an eye on SPL1 and SPL2 attrition. Over the last three years or so the divisions have not been full and the league has made a concerted effort to draw teams in from an ever-widening circle which may have reached its limit. So too the open divisions have been a little soft as the MS may have lost some numbers to very strong home grown national leagues in France and Germany. (And in the UK CPPS draws from across the British Isles and is also growing.) It would be good for competitive paintball if the league can hold the line without off season losses in overall numbers of participating teams.
And finally, the Millennium kids have already released next year's schedule--almost. No dates yet for Paris-Chantilly but it will be in September. Otherwise the dates are set. Not all the locations have been confirmed yet but seem likely to remain the same venues. Or, who knows, maybe not. After all doesn't everybody love going to Wart-on-Arse, Germany and Vegas-on-the-Thames? (Okay, it's Bitburg and Basildon but still ...)
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3 comments:
Supposedly Germany and UK are strongly considering different venues. Both events are stale in terms of turnout so a jazzed up venue might draw local teams in.
I very much doubt that either the Bitburg or Billericay (Basildon) venues will change for next year due to the costs involved with breaking new ground! Part of the issues with these events isn't the location per se, but the fact that they are mid-season events and the trade feel the pinch as sales are down with most teams/players having already sorted out their gear for the season and there being no new products to lure the punters to the stands. (Remember the good old days of half yearly gun releases to boost mid-season sales before a downwardly spiralling global economy.)
I doubt that a new venue would make much difference to the team attendances for these events, more like just push up costs for all involved!
CPL Spots may be offered to the 3rd/4th place SPL1 teams but expect the MS to attempt to extract a further fee for the privilege too!
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