Ranked 2nd – Tampa Bay Damage
Dallas: 7th MAO: 4th Chicago: 3rd West Coast Open: 3rd
Overall Record: Champions Div. – 11 wins 8 losses 1 tie
Though Tampa Bay Damage hasn’t made it past the semi-finals this season make no mistake, they are still one of the strongest teams in the world and a favorite to win the PSP World Cup. The 2014 season started off badly for Damage, they lost 3 out of 4 games in the prelims at the first event in Dallas. Two of those matches, against Infamous and X-Factor, were decided by one point. But they defended their Champions Division position in the relegation match by taking down Houston Heat, again by one point. Jason Edwards stepped up big for that important match, shooting five players in the closing minutes to win the game for Damage.
They picked it up at the Mid-Atlantic Open finishing 4th. Damage went 2-1-1 in the prelims, and their first 3 games were very close. They met the eventual winners of the event, San Diego Dynasty, in the semi-finals, losing big, outscored by 5 points. But overall, Damage looked much better than they did at the first event.
They took 3rd at both PSP Chicago and the PSP West Coast Open, again losing to Impact at both those events in the semi-finals. At the West Coast Open, even though they didn’t get into the finals, Damage looked impressive in the prelims where they were undefeated. It had been a year since this successful team had been in the finals they were playing with hunger to get back there and win an event. Impact killed those dreams at both events but Damage outscored their opponents 28 to 14 in Riverside, and looked better than they had all year.
Damage fields one of the most potent line ups in the league, with experienced weapons at every position. The core of their team has been together for years and they’ve won 5 PSP events and a World Cup since they burst on the scene in 2008. The World Cup layout is all about controlling and attacking the snake, so look for Timmy Propst, Bryan Smith and Keith Brown on the snake attack. Chad Busiere has typically been a D-side dominator, but he’s joined Dan Holiday as a very versatile attacker for the squad since Damage picked up the talented Dalton Vanderbyl from Dynasty. With Vanderbyl’s ability to play the first attacker on the D-side, Coach Kevin Bredthauer has more options with Busiere and Holiday, which makes Damages harder to scout; we could see those two killers in the snake at some point as well. The Edwards’ brothers, Jason and Jacob, are having a stellar year, as usual. Though considered one of the best teams at playing a methodical style of paintball, Damage can play fast with the best of them, and they must slug it out on this aggressive field to have a chance to win World Cup.
Here is Damage’s World Cup Webcast prelim schedule (all times are Eastern), and their record vs. each team this season:
Friday 3:00 pm vs. Omaha Vicious (1-0-1)
Friday 5:15 pm vs. Edmonton Impact (0-4)
Saturday 2:15 pm vs. Baltimore Revo (0-0)
Saturday 4:30 pm vs. Upton 187 cRew (2-0)
On the first day of PSP World Cup competition Damage faces its hardest test of the prelims. Game One is against Vicious who they played twice this year: once at the Mid-Atlantic Open where they fought to a draw, and the West Coast Open where Damage won 6-4. Vicious is coming off a CXBL win which will give them momentum heading into to World Cup. Game 2 is will be the most difficult test for Damage, as they have yet to defeat Impact this season in four matches. Impact is ranked first in the league and has outscored Damage 23 to 12 in their 4 matches against each other this year. Game 3 is against Champions Division rookies Baltimore Revo. Revo surprised everyone but their hardcore fans by taking down Infamous to earn the right to play in the Champs Division at the West Coast Open. 187 cRew hasn’t been able to beat Damage this year, though they came close at MAO, where the score was 4-3. Both Day 2 games are must win matches for Damage.
Dallas Open (Champions Div.): W/L 2-3
W Texas Storm 7-1
L Los Angeles Infamous 5-6
L San Antonio X-Factor 6-7
L Edmonton Impact 3-7
Relegation: W Houston Heat 7-6
Result: 7th (sent Houston Heat to Challengers Div.)
Point totals, for/against: 28 – 27
Mid-Atlantic Open (Champions Div.): 2-2-1
T Omaha Vicious 5-5
W San Antonio X-Factor 2-1
W Upton 187 cRew 4-3
L Edmonton Impact 2-6
Semi-Finals: L San Diego Dynasty 1-6
Result: 4th
Point totals, for/against: 14 – 21
Chicago Open (Champions Div.): 3-2
W Houston Heat 5-4
W Upton 187 cRew 7-0
L San Antonio X-Factor 4-5
W San Diego Dynasty 5-4
Semi Finals: L Edmonton Impact 5-7
Result: 3rd
Point totals, for/against: 26 – 20
West Coast Open (Champions Div.): 4-1
W Moscow Red Legion 7-3
W Houston Heat 6-1
W Houston VCK 7-3
W Omaha Vicious 6-4
Semis: L Impact 2-3
Result: 3rd
Point totals, for/against: 28 – 14
Players Overall:
Top Five: Points Played Kills Grating
28th Jason Edwards 136 104 .76
30th Chad Busiere 90 74 .82
35th Bryan Smith 129 77 .60
40th Jacob Edwards 131 95 .73
60th Ramzi El-Yousef 46 25 .54
Everyone else:
61st Timmy Propst 114 70 .61
63rd Dalton Vanderbyl 125 65 .52
69th Dan Holiday 70 35 .50
77th Keith Brown 88 42 .48
