world cup · World Cup 2021 · 1 comment · Nov 02, 2021

World Cup 2021 Predictions. Who will take home the Cup?

Who will win World Cup this year? A look into the season’s rankings put the top 4 as; Impact, Infamous, Dynasty, and Houston Heat. Of course X-Factor, Red Legion, Damage, and Aftermath shouldn’t be overlooked.

This is the event for all teams to get their shit together and make their mark on the season. Some teams will end their challenging season with the promise of a fresh start for 2022, while others may end their NXL journey all together.

While Paintball Nerd doesn’t have a dog in this race, we can say with a reasonable sense of confidence that the winner of World Cup will either be a “super” team, or a “heart” team, even though those aren’t the only factors. The teams that can afford to attract the best talent in paintball have a clear advantage, but they don’t always have it all. Well funded all-star squads have been disappointed by teams full of heart since the term, “all-star squad” was coined. There is almost always some level of disdain for the well funded super team... They do well because they should do well. They have the resources to succeed, so if they fail, it’s easy to celebrate the underdog and point out that “heart wins tournaments”.

But, resources and heart aren’t the only factors. There’s also the field layout.

What teams do you think would do well on this layout?

Here’s what a couple NXL players and coaches had to say:

Jay Stypula from Trademygun Outlaws:

“After week one I feel the field plays quick. If you aren’t making moves continuously moving forward you’re going to have a hard time. I think NRG Elite will do well on this field as they tend to be more aggressive on the field and can be stealthy on layouts like this.

We asked Ryan Greenspan of San Diego Dynasty how he thought the field played:

“It’s pretty fast actually. I think the top teams will do well because it’s a heavy shooters field. We never had any long points really. I think the max I shot was 4 pods. No major reward for making the snake.”

Mike Hinman of SD Aftermath felt communication would be the key:

“With no D-side corner….. it was a tougher field to slow down. I think the teams that can communicate well will do better then the rest.”

Houston Heat’s coach Todd Martinez had this to add:

“Bitch it’s raining”

We’re not sure what Todd means, but he did say he wanted to be quoted to “let these fools know”.

Let’s have a look at the brackets: