PMI/Pure Energy Series Blasts Through Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. (July 13, 2003) - Even though this is the first year of the PMI/Pure Energy Series, the tournament has earned a reputation for drawing the best paintball teams around the state.
The fifth leg of the series was no different.
Twenty-four teams competed for more than $10,000 in prizes. The amateur division featured top teams such as Strange B, which fielded a few pros, Union, Icon and Voodoo Black. The novice division featured Voodoo Green, Doc's Raiders, Chaos 2 and RNT Allstars. The rookie division had 14 teams and was split into two divisions.
The weather was scorching and humid. Heavy rains from the previous night left the parking lot muddy and sloppy. Teams played on three fields: two hyperball and one airball. All three fields were small, which meant the games were fast and furious with most ending well before the 5-minute limit.
The games started at about 8:30 a.m. Tournament promoter, Bob Byer, and tournament coordinator, Joey Blute, keep games running efficiently and ahead of schedule. Reffing was done by Static, one of the most dominant amateur teams in the country. Like in previous tournaments, Static's reffing was consistent and fair, keeping the day relatively controversy-free.
The amateur division was tight all the way through the preliminaries with Voodoo Black, Union and Strange B battling it out for the top spots. Union edged out Strange B by less than 15 points for the second spot. That set the stage for Voodoo Black versus Union in the finals.
In the novice division, Voodoo Black's sister team Voodoo Green stepped up with a dominating performance in the preliminary round. Second went to Opa-Locka-based RNT Allstars, which played consistent ball all day.
The finals of this event was run differently than previous ones. Instead of a round-robin to determine the winners of the event, the first- and second-placed teams from the preliminary round played each other for the top prizes in the finals. The same went for the third- and fourth-placed from the preliminary round.
In the amateur finals, Union beat Voodoo Black for the top spot. Strange B beat Icon in a best-of-three series for third place.
In the novice division, RNT Allstars beat Voodoo Green in the first game of the finals by getting the flag pull and keeping two players alive. Voodoo also had two players alive. In the second game, Voodoo Green got the flag pull and locked up the field for the win. In the third game, Voodoo once again got the flag pull, but RNT got the hang.
The finals began at about 2:30 and the novice and amateur teams were finished with their finals by about 4 p.m. The rookies took a lot longer because they used the round-robin format and were still playing late afternoon. The next event will be Aug. 24.