Tournament paintball is back on Long Island after almost a decade long absence and it’s fantastic to see. In the past few years there has been an upwell of people interested in speedball on the island, with more teams and players coming to the fields every week. Seeing this trend, Cousins Paintball decided it was time to revive their tournament series. With the goal of giving newer players and those who hadn’t been able to compete for the past few years, a place to learn the sport as well as make a comeback.
The first event of the 2023 Cousins Tournament Series (CTS) was held on April 16th at the Cousins Paintball Calverton, NY location. The weather and setting could not have been any better. Rain had been threatening all week and it turned out to be a cool spring day after a bit of early morning dampness.
This tournament had 15 Division 5, 3-Player teams,squaring off in the Race to 2 format. As the day warmed up, so did the action on the field. Teams To the Max, GZ Red, and Northside had fantastic early scores, but as things heated up, the other teams got into a groove, with Puffy Bunker Bois and New York Slugs having success in their brackets. These Teams, along with Team LI Shakedown rounded out who made it out of the playoffs.
Both matches in the quarterfinals went down to the last point, with Team Northside and Team LI Shakedown advance to face Team To the Max and Team GZ Red respectively. Yet again, those sets took all three rounds to decide a winner, but after the dust settled, Team Northside and Team GZ Red moved on to fight for first place, leaving the other two teams to battle for third and fourth places.
The first place matchup was between Team GZ Red; who is a very active team that primarily participates in mechanical tournaments, and Team Northside, who are long-time veterans of the original CTS events, that haven’t played frequently again until recently. It was a back and forth affair, with Team GZ Red winning the first point in methodical fashion, and Team Northside responding with a fast response. The third and final point was dominated by Team GZ Red’s off the break shooting, scoring two immediate kills and earning the win. Team LI Shakedown decisively won their first points against Team To the Max and secured the third place finish to round out the top spots.
Overall, the first CTS event in almost ten years surpassed its goals; everyone involved had a fantastic time. Players, referees, and organizers left feeling appreciative and grateful for such an amazing day. We can’t wait for the next one on July 30th, 2023.
We are also so stoked to have been featured in the latest issue of Paintball.Media Magazine. Thank you so much John Amodea and Aztekphotos for the support and coverage.
