"Mentally, physically, everything - you gotta ... be there." Such is the price to be a competitive tournament paintball player.
The second episode of Xtreme Paintball: Beyond The Paint continues with three matches from the 2007 NPPL Super 7 Series in Boston and offers a glimpse into the life of Chris LaSoya.
In the first game Chris LaSoya and the Montreal Image take on the New England Hurricanes. Off the break the teams both lost a few players and the winner was up for grabs until an Image player and one of the Hurricanes met along the side of the snake and the Image player shot the Hurricane. The Hurricane played on and the refs called a one for one (where the player was eliminated and his closest teammate was also eliminated by default). After the quick loss of two players the Image were able to rapidly eliminate the remaining Hurricanes. After the game Chris LaSoya was still convinced that the Image weren't playing anywhere near their best.
Chris LaSoya has been playing paintball since 1986 when he accompanied his dad to a company sponsored activity. He's been a part of tournament paintball since the late 1980's and as his mom put it, "he was a legitimate star from the beginning." While he considers himself a friendly person off the field, when he puts on the goggles he is know for his intensity and competitive edge. Beside his time as a champion paintballer, LaSoya also works as a party promoter. For the past 10 years he has organized parties that have on the small side 1000 guests. As exciting as his party planning is, he is confident that he wants to be involved with paintball for the rest of his life.
In addition to the glimpse into the life of Chris LaSoya two more matches were shown: the Oakland Blast versus the Pittsburgh All Americans and the Portland Naughty Dogs versus the Montreal Image. In the first game the Blast rushed hard off the break but lost three players right off the bat. After losing another player from an angle shot the Blast were stuck playing defensively and the All Americans systematically eliminated the rest of Blast and won 7-0. When the Naughty Dogs faced the Image the teams were pretty even until a player got called for wiping which is a three for one (where the player caught wiping and his three closest teammates are all eliminated). The remaining two Image players were then methodically eliminated by the Naughty Dogs who won with six players remaining.
This episode focused more on the actual games and had the added bonus of refs explaining rules between matches. While the segment on LaSoya was interesting, it showed very little about his actual life and seemed primarily an excuse to show off the raucous parties he hosted. Next week will focus on Ryan Greenspan.
