Your spot in the top 19

[Huntero]

How can Nexus justify their spot in the top 18?

It's common knowledge that Russian Legion played under their name to secure the spot so in what way do you feel you've earned the title of "Pro" instead of "semi-pro",

I'm not trying to start junk but I am wondering why Nexus didn't earn it like the rest of the top 18 NPPL teams.

[Nova17]

18*

[Jammasterj]

Who cares how they got in they proved they belongs in pro at HB.

[Grand Hustla(sp)]

what are you talkin bout, have you been keeping up on anything

they didnt prove there team, the russians did, just under nexuses name...

[jakertaker2]

Didn't they have a comfortable lead in points to get into pro anyways? And using RL just made sure it happened?

[Nicky T]

Originally posted by Huntero
How can Nexus justify their spot in the top 18?



With a 7th Place finish at HB 2005 and a 2nd Place finish at the Max Masters last weekend :)

Nicky T.

[Nexus_Chris]

About the RL thing.

Before the last event we were in the top 18/17 in a position to play pro in 2005. However it its commen knowledge we we had previously underperformed at some events. Bottom line we knew we needed to be in the NPPL pro div, but believe me nobody on the team wanted to have to reley on RL to get us that last bit of the way.

On the other had it wasnt all RL players that one and only one time, we were not the only team loading players, and we have had players guesting for RL too.

Now that its over and 2005 season it well underway i hope our results can do the speaking.

Chris

P.S. To everybody, Thanx for the huge support and welcome to PbNation.

[Exterminex]

Yea, but not as many top pro teams were at Max Masters, most were at Orlando Open. But yea, the 7th at HB was nice :)

[MonkeyG]

You know this might of been a very stupid move, since you will probbly get owned in the pro division. And shouldnt there be some kinda rule against switching out like a whole team and using another name? Did they use your gear and jerseys? Doesnt that kinda hurt your pride seeing as how you guys had to rely on other people to place you in the pros?

[Jammasterj]

Originally posted by MonkeyG
You know this might of been a very stupid move, since you will probbly get owned in the pro division.

They came 7TH in HB05 or can you not read.

[Gary Abusive]

Nexus Fan Club Member #1? Way to back your team...

[Robbo]

As has already been said, I think the 7th pace in HB last month says it all.
Nuiff said by me anyway.

OOps nearly forgot, hey Huntero, check out my avatar mate :)

[NSPBSballer]

Nexus is a great team that will do great things in the NPPL this season. From what I hear (don't hold me to this, I could be wrong), RL and Nexus jave been guesting with each other for a while... Nexus players to RL and RL players to Nexus... they deserve the pro spot, and their plan worked out for them- the end justified the means.

[Ma-Trix R4 Kids]

you guys can complain about them loading up with some rl players but you can not argue with results and a 7th place in hb is plenty of assurance and proff that they belong in the pro division

you guys rock

[ThatGuy86]

It's the same idea as D1 teams having pros guest on their rosters. It's perfectly legal, and teams take advantage of it.

I read somewhere that Nexus had been too spread out last season, trying to perfect both their Xball and 7-man games. As a result of not fully concentrating on one style, both styles suffered. Normally Nexus performs just as a pro team should, but parts of last season were like one big, long bad day.

At their best, there is no question that Nexus should be in the top 18 pros. They utilized the services of the RL to secure that spot, which they essentially had locked up anyway. I'm sure most people would do the same in that situation. Why risk throwing away seasons of hard work just because you're in the middle of a slump?

[EastAl]

Regardless of who played on the team so Nexus could positively secure their spot in The 18, Nexus is still a Pro team.
Soo many people made a huge stink over Nexus using RL players, most were mad they didn't think of it first. And players guesting on your team was not something new that no one had ever heard about. It just stuck out this time because it was some Russians, and not some no names.
If Robbo knew some outstanding players that no-one had ever heard of, and they guested on Nexus in Commanders Cup, no one would have said anything, regardless of how Nexus did.
Nexus did what they felt they needed to, to make sure they were still going to play Pro NPPL in '05, and they will continue to play in The 18 for a while yet.
This wasn't a fluke, it happened for a reason.

Latre,
Al

[yodaismyhomeboy]

i don't even know nexus, but damn they made semis...more than i can say for infamous at hb

not ragging infam, they are wicked ill, just there top pro and nexus proved they deserved to be there

[Pariel]

Good point really. Infamous has had some crappy playing, both at HB and at LA before that. Luckily they picked it up big time at Orlando. A 7th place finish at HB deffinately means Nexus deserves their Pro spot, no matter how they got it-it's the past, you can't chang what happened, so base your decisions off what you see now.

[P8ntballsucks]

Originally posted by Pariel
Infamous has had some crappy playing, both at HB and at LA before that. Luckily they picked it up big time at Orlando.

What Orlando event are you talking about? Infamous only won one game in Orlando. Nexus could have done better than that.

[Rush96]

a 7th place meens jack ****. they wont make the finals this year, you can argue with me all you want. london wont do it. your the only team having to PAY out of your pockets to play a tournament. and 2nd place at max....WHO CARES. that tournament equals nothing, what good teams were their.....almost all pro teams that could compete on american soil and do decent played Orlando. and for you bashing infamous bc they didnt make the semis you need to shut the hell up. they came out of xball with out having played 7man in over a year and took the first 2 tournaments they entered. Infamous is a better team than nexus(not starting things, just look at the tournaments they play and how they finish). it should hurt the pride of the team to have to use a damn good team to play for them at all of these tournaments, but hey i suppose who cares as long as you do good??? who cares about the real nexus players that dont play bc the leaders of the organization want to win by using russians, who cares what they think they are just so so players that no1 will play.

i agree completely that the true nexus roster cant justify their spot in the nppl. on the other hand the russians sure as hell can, they are one of the best teams in the world and they played under the nexus name at the 04 commanders cup for an undisclosed amount of $$$. that tournament was all politics i suppose, the whole thing that Robbo himself goes against in his section of PGI. But everyone should look at the facts, the only reason you guys are in the nppl pro right now is simply bc you played the nppl sanctioned events in europe, just look at the finish you had in america. 21st at the nppl las vegas... now there are no more... where are your points going to come from???

[Huntero]

Originally posted by Nexus_Chris
About the RL thing.

Before the last event we were in the top 18/17 in a position to play pro in 2005. However it its commen knowledge we we had previously underperformed at some events. Bottom line we knew we needed to be in the NPPL pro div...



How many teams have come up short of final's in tourneys all over the country that should have been in them because they underperformed a few times..

Tons of smaller underfunded teams like Rage, and London Tigers earned their way into the pro bracket. I feel that Nexus should have done the same without the help of RL stacking their roster.

[Rush96]

and denver

[Grand Hustla(sp)]

yea and they beat xsv and dynasty, who the hell are they?? :confused: :dodgy:

[ThatGuy86]

Originally posted by Rush96
i agree completely that the true nexus roster cant justify their spot in the nppl.

So all the tournaments they played before mean nothing? Just because the Legion played for them in one tournament didn't get them all the qualifying points to make it into the top 18. They needed points before that, and the Nexus squad got those.

Nexus worked for their spot, and rather than jeopardize that work, they decided on the safer route in their minds. I see nothing wrong with that.

[Rush96]

i suppose there is nothing wrong with another team immitating you bc your team is uncapable to secure a spot. thats what truthfully happened. i suppose they got the job done to a certain extant but how long do you think guys like robbo will still be playing pro. hes a bob long that wont admit hes to old for the game. nexus will do ok in the nppl, but i would not be surprised at all if they are the team that gets the boot at the end of the year, and will make its way to the ranks of semi pro in 06.

[VladKingOfNYC]

Originally posted by Rush96
a 7th place meens jack ****. they wont make the finals this year, you can argue with me all you want. london wont do it. your the only team having to PAY out of your pockets to play a tournament. and 2nd place at max....WHO CARES. that tournament equals nothing, what good teams were their.....almost all pro teams that could compete on american soil and do decent played Orlando. and for you bashing infamous bc they didnt make the semis you need to shut the hell up. they came out of xball with out having played 7man in over a year and took the first 2 tournaments they entered. Infamous is a better team than nexus(not starting things, just look at the tournaments they play and how they finish). it should hurt the pride of the team to have to use a damn good team to play for them at all of these tournaments, but hey i suppose who cares as long as you do good??? who cares about the real nexus players that dont play bc the leaders of the organization want to win by using russians, who cares what they think they are just so so players that no1 will play.

i agree completely that the true nexus roster cant justify their spot in the nppl. on the other hand the russians sure as hell can, they are one of the best teams in the world and they played under the nexus name at the 04 commanders cup for an undisclosed amount of $$$. that tournament was all politics i suppose, the whole thing that Robbo himself goes against in his section of PGI. But everyone should look at the facts, the only reason you guys are in the nppl pro right now is simply bc you played the nppl sanctioned events in europe, just look at the finish you had in america. 21st at the nppl las vegas... now there are no more... where are your points going to come from???

7th in pro division means jack ****? Who the **** do you play for again? Wtf are you talking about? There were 5 pro teams playing in orlando this year as opposed to 22 at max masters this year. What does 7th in HB mean? It means they did better then 11 other teams in the pro division. Those pro teams being Infamous, Oakland Empire, New England Hurricanes, Toulouse Tontons, Manchester Shockwave, Miami Rage,London Tigers, HB Redz Sedition, Chicago Evil, Pittsburgh Smoke, OC Bushwackers. As for what "good teams" were at Max Masters besides nexus? Let's See XSV, Arsenal, Bushwackers, Joy Divison, Ton Tons, Shockwave UK, London Tigers. All teams that made the 18 cut in the nppl. Nexus beat everyone soundly except XSV and that includes beating Arsenal in the semis 2 games to none. How can you say that the True nexus roster couldn't have secured the spot when they were already ranked 17 before they even used the russians. It's not liek they were out of contention and then used the "unstopable russians" to get back in. You act as if the russians are some sort of cheat code to get into the paintball shangrila. Robbo just wanted to put the nail in the coffin and make sure that some fluke didn't take the hard work they put in all year. No one paid any one any thing, Nexus and The Legion use each other's players nad Robbo and Sergei are friends. Yeah nexus didn't do so good in Las Vegas but this year nexus and last years nexus aren't the same thing. Incase you can't tell they have trained very hard and have learned alot from the russians. A year makes a big difference, jsut look at the russians and how they changed from 2003 to 2004. As for where the rest of Nexus' points will come from, seeing how they have more points then more then half of the pro teams in the nppl this season, id say from kicking ***?

Later Chump

[Robbo]

Vlad and the rest of the guys in support of the Nexus cause, a sincere thanks, but to the unbelievers, here is a copy of the article I wrote for Paintballl2Xtremes where I addressed the question of using RL players for San Diego, I hope this explains the reasons and rationale as to why I used some of the RL players :-

I have heard so many rumors concerning Nexus and the deal done with the Russian Legion playing for us in San Diego ranging from mafia deals, huge payoffs and God knows what else…just to put the record straight, here’s the real deal.

It was vital that any self respecting teams tried at all costs to get into that final 18 pro qualification bracket for this year.

That said, Nexus were lying in the 17th spot and if we at least held that relative position in the final round in San Diego, we would be fine.

Problem was, the final round in San Diego had soo many damned teams in it and some of those pro teams entered had no chance or any intention of trying for the final spots (since the NXL lifted its sanctions) it made it a knife edge proposition for teams like us to try and qualify for the Sunday club which is what we would have needed to ensure our pro spot for this year.
Basically, there were so many pro teams in SD that had no intention (or chance) of qualifying for that top 18 (they were playing SD just for the hell of it) that if just one of these said teams made it into the Sunday club it could potentially knock us out.
I would have been mad to risk Nexus's position to that type of artificial competition.
I mean, most people know that apart from teams like Dynasty etc, if just one thing goes wrong, you can end up the wrong side of qualification, one bad judge call, one bit of cheating from the other side, one marker go tits up and so many more things can happen that can undo months of training in one fell swoop.

I wasn’t going to risk Nexus’s position in 2005 and leave it hostage to bad fortune, no frikkin way Jose.

If the pro teams who had supported the NPPL throughout the year and contested those 18 spots all year had been the only pro teams entered into San Diego then I would in no way have gone to Sergey and asked to borrow some of his players, no way.

We finished 7th ranked overal in 2003 and going into San Diego were positioned to qualify for 2004, I knew we deserved a spot but I simply wasn’t going to risk our spot to Johnny come lately teams and frikkin' it all up for us.

I called Sergey (owner of Russian Legion) and he kindly allowed me to use some of his players, I sent two of my players, Jamie Abbott and Tommy Pemberton to play alongside them and the deal was done between friends.

The only money handed over to them was to pay two thirds of their travel and hotel costs; basically, it was the same for us (expense wise) as just sending our players over.

We have supported the NPPL since day one, ploughing tens of thousands of dollars into coming over to what I believe to be the best tourney circuit in the world playing alongside some of the best opponents in the world, all I did was ask a few friends to guest for me, hang me if you wanna but I have seen a lot worse things done to secure a position, from designer gun cheating across entire teams, throwing games, wholesale cheating philosophies and much more.

My team does none of them, not one.

What I did was maybe not particularly palatable for me as coach and owner of Nexus but was in no way against the rules and every single one of my players was in agreement.

I wasn’t being shallow at all as one jerk has remarked, I was merely attempting to secure my team’s position in the best way I knew how in the time I had left.

Nothing sinister, nothing underhand, nothing illegal, merely pragmatic.

Peace out !

[RunThru]

Originally posted by Rush96
a 7th place meens jack ****. they wont make the finals this year, you can argue with me all you want. london wont do it. your the only team having to PAY out of your pockets to play a tournament. and 2nd place at max....WHO CARES. that tournament equals nothing, what good teams were their.....almost all pro teams that could compete on american soil and do decent played Orlando. and for you bashing infamous bc they didnt make the semis you need to shut the hell up. they came out of xball with out having played 7man in over a year and took the first 2 tournaments they entered. Infamous is a better team than nexus(not starting things, just look at the tournaments they play and how they finish). it should hurt the pride of the team to have to use a damn good team to play for them at all of these tournaments, but hey i suppose who cares as long as you do good??? who cares about the real nexus players that dont play bc the leaders of the organization want to win by using russians, who cares what they think they are just so so players that no1 will play.

i agree completely that the true nexus roster cant justify their spot in the nppl. on the other hand the russians sure as hell can, they are one of the best teams in the world and they played under the nexus name at the 04 commanders cup for an undisclosed amount of $$$. that tournament was all politics i suppose, the whole thing that Robbo himself goes against in his section of PGI. But everyone should look at the facts, the only reason you guys are in the nppl pro right now is simply bc you played the nppl sanctioned events in europe, just look at the finish you had in america. 21st at the nppl las vegas... now there are no more... where are your points going to come from???

I can't believe the balls that noobs have on PBN these days. You are knocking a professional team that, regardless of how they place, is doing more than you ever will. They are playing at the highest level, what are you doing this season?

Nobody gave Dynasty a hard time for playing as Entourage to try to lock up their second spot because they are Dynasty. Nexus made a smart decision to ensure that they would have a spot this season and it payed off. They proved they belong in the pro division with two great showings in their first two events- Who are you to say that they don't deserve it?

[ThatGuy86]

Originally posted by RunThru
Who are you to say that they don't deserve it?

:tup:

[Hex]

Just keep mowing and showing, leave these kids to scurrying around begging to touch pro teams pods and spending more time online than on the field.
They are not worth the attention.
Paintball is a sport and it is also a business.
You do what is best for the team, period.

[JoeyDG]

Originally posted by Huntero

Tons of smaller underfunded teams like Tigers earned their way into the pro bracket

I think you will find that Tigers fielded guest players too at the last NPPL event. Xiao (from RL) even had his photo in PGI in a Tiger's jersey.

NeXus is a team who look past the here and now and look towards the future - they did what they needed to do to unsure the future of the club. End of.

Huntero, what pro team are you on?

[hornonthecobb8]

what difference does it make at all what pro team does he play for. hes stating the facts that alot of the nexus players got jewed.

and RUNTHRU - what in the hell are you talking about, entourage played as a 2nd team to dynasty bc they had a lot of players that couldnt play the nppl bc they were jsut on the xball squad, dynastys entourage is compirsed of dynasty players. if you knew anything at all you would realize that Nexus used RL players to play for them, it wasnt at all their sister team. but enough of this ****, nexus is a good team, thats for damn sure but i believe alot of the semi pros could take it to them as well as some of the division 1s. out

[JoeyDG]

Originally posted by hornonthecobb8
what difference does it make at all what pro team does he play for. hes stating the facts that alot of the nexus players got jewed.

I think if he played for a pro team - he might understand what its like to walk in their moccassins. . . .and maybe have a different insight to why they did what they did.

Do you think the decision to field RL players was taken lightly by Robbo or the team members of NeXus??

Chris Summers already said that the decision was about making the cut at any cost. . . he and they rest of the guys would have prefered to play, but understood it was about the future. . .

Originally posted by hornonthecobb8

what in the hell are you talking about, entourage played as a 2nd team to dynasty

I was in Malaga - Entourage was made up of all Dynasty "1st team" players, like BC, Alex, Yosh, Angel and Olly. . . .they were doing the same thing as NeXus and RL. . . .trying to ensure the team got into the pro league. . .

Robbo has already said in this thread and in many others. . . .NeXus and Russian Legion have a productive, mutually benifical relationship. Just because the teams aren't called NeXus 1 and NeXus 2 or Russian Legion 1 and Russian Legion 2 doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't take advantage of being each other's 'sister team'. . .

[EastAl]

GRRRR, I had a response typed up, and I hit Refresh on accident and wiped it!

Anyways, Entourage would have been in The 18 had they not been DQ'd at Commanders Cup. Now I ask, what is the point of Dynasty having two teams in the Pro Division? Now before anyone spouts off about "it's for the sponsors" that's crap! Entourage will always live in Dynasty's shadow, they will never be the marketing tool that Dynasty has become, so there is really no reason for them to be in "direct competition" with the exception of Dynasty now has one less team in The 18 that they need to worry about(Does anyone honestly beleive they will ever see Entourage ranked above Dynasty at a national event?).
Nexus has been a steady team in the NPPL for years. They have been there to supprot the NPPL's Pro Division when other teams have jumped ship to play other leagues. They may not be "The World's Greatest Team", but they deserve a spot in The 18.
As for Nexus players feeling cheated for having RL players guest on Nexus at Commanders Cup? I honestly can't say for sure, as I don't personally know any Nexus players. But, I can promise you there would have been some Nexus players that would have felt cheated if they had been bumped out of the NPPL Pro Division by a team that decided half way through '05 that they wanted to be Pro too.

Al

[EVILpaintball69]

god y do people bother making these post against pro teams...its simple math

pro team+your team=your dead

all you ever get is flaming guys plz there pro...ur not...as soon as you are then come talk otherwise...ull prolly get banned or flammed tremendously...

p.s.- i dont think i would want to get on robo's bad side... he could snap ur neck like a glow stick

[ThatGuy86]

Originally posted by EastAl
Anyways, Entourage would have been in The 18 had they not been DQ'd at Commanders Cup. Now I ask, what is the point of Dynasty having two teams in the Pro Division?...

Nexus has been a steady team in the NPPL for years. They have been there to supprot the NPPL's Pro Division when other teams have jumped ship to play other leagues. They may not be "The World's Greatest Team", but they deserve a spot in The 18...

But, I can promise you there would have been some Nexus players that would have felt cheated if they had been bumped out of the NPPL Pro Division by a team that decided half way through '05 that they wanted to be Pro too.

You raise 3 very good points.

1. I think if Entourage had finished, Dynasty might've tried to sell that spot. I heard the spots in the top 18 were valued at something around $200,000. If you ask me, Dynasty would much rather have Dynasty win a tournament than Entourage, because Dynasty is a brand name. And who couldn't use another $200,000? (Thought I wouldn't be surprised if Smart Parts paid that to get another team in the top 18).

2. I agree fully with the second point you raise. Nexus worked hard in the past to get where they are, and they deserve their spot in the top 18 no questions asked.

3. I also agree with the last point, about the Nexus guys feeling cheated. I'm sure many of the guys on the roster were unhappy about having the RL play for them. Everyone knows you value something much more when you worked for it than when it was given to you. But with the sudden surge of teams in SD, all of Nexus' past work was potentially compromised.

Paintball has too many variables to just assume that you're going to place in the top 18. What happens if you're having a bad day, you're relying on that last game to secure your spot, and the ref makes a bad call/misses an important call? Then you're screwed, simply put.


I can understand where people are coming from, claiming Nexus "cheated" their way into the top 18. I just don't agree with it. Nexus did what they felt that had to, and it happened. There's no point in arguing about it now.

Besides, I'm sure if you were in the same position, many of you would have done the same thing. As Robbo said, Nexus has committed tens of thousands of dollars to playing as one of the top teams in the NPPL over the past few years. Why should they jeopardize that because the NXL relaxed their rules, and a bunch of new teams with no chance of qualifying decided to play SD? I highly doubt anyone on these boards would just be willing to risk throwing away $20k+.

It happens all the time. Doc's Raiders just had Xalo playing for them. Arsenal had a couple guys from 'Lanche guest. RL has Maximus guest all the time. It's not illegal, and teams take advantage of it. Robbo is friends with the RL, so it's not like the Legion is a group of mercenaries, playing for teams for money. It was a friendly favor. Nexus just had more players guest for them than average, big deal.

[Grand Hustla(sp)]

dynasty didnt make entourage just so they could lock up the second spot and get more $$$, they did it cause alot of players on dynasty weren't gettin alot of playing time

[ThatGuy86]

Originally posted by Grand Hustla(sp)
dynasty didnt make entourage just so they could lock up the second spot and get more $$$, they did it cause alot of players on dynasty weren't gettin alot of playing time

I think I presented my argument wrong.

What I meant was, originally Entourage began playing so that all the guys could get playing time. But when the NPPL decided to switch over to the top 18 format, I think Dynasty saw it as a money-making opportunity.

Dynasty's roster is stacked with the best of the best, while Entourage normally gets the second string players (I'm not suggesting Entourage sucks, or that any of the players do, but I think the best of Dynasty plan under the Dynasty banner). Therefore, you'd expect the team called Dynasty to win more than the team called Entourage. I highly doubt Dynasty would want Entourage to win more, because the name Dynasty is where they make all their money. I don't see Entourage Shockers for sale, I don't see Entourage on Leno, and I definately don't see Entourage as Smart Parts' flagship team. That's all Dynasty, and the Dynasty name is where the money comes from.

That being said, Dynasty realized something. If they get 2 teams into the top 18, they have an advantage over everyone else. They now have 2 chances at winning a tournament, whereas everyone else has 1. On the same note, how much do you get for winning a tournament? $20k, something like that? How many Super 7 events are there? Less than 10. If the spot in the top 18 was truly worth $200,000 (or they could convince someone to pay that) then they're making an enormous profit, much more than they ever would just winning a tournament.

As cool as it is to have 2 teams playing, and letting every guy on the roster play every tournament, I don't think Dynasty would mind benching a few guys to earn $200,000.


EDIT - Keep in mind, I keep reciting this $200,000 figure. I don't remember where I heard it, it might've been PGi. Just remember that this isn't a definite figure. It's speculation, and if I'm wrong then a number of my arguments are thrown out the window.

[Grand Hustla(sp)]

i havent read your post yet, i wuz respondin to the guy up there

[ThatGuy86]

Oh well, I typed all that anyway. It's staying.

[Grand Hustla(sp)]

i agree with you on everything, but like you said some teams add a different pro to there roster, but they still have the same team...nexus had like 2 or 3 of the original players and the rest RL

[ThatGuy86]

The one thought that keeps running through my mind is "What if they weren't on the RL?"

What if the guys Robbo and Nexus picked up for that event were just some outstanding ballers, with no team affiliation? I highly doubt anyone would be criticizing them then.

That doesn't really have anything to do with the discussion, but it's a thought that popped into my head.

[Huntero]

I've heard it over and over again, Nexus put RL in their place because they didnt want to jeopardize their spot.

that isnt justification its an excuse, every other team that was gonna cut it close played their hearts out and earned the spot. Nexus just decided to let a better team play in their place..and theirs no arguing that Russian Legion isn't a better team.

It's funny how the NPPL has since modified the rules to keep this from happening again.

[Robbo]

If you read what I wrote (but if you don't understand it, I will draw pictures for you) then the justification is in the fact that there was an artificially high number of teams who had no intention or chance of qualifying thus minimising the opportunities for loyal teams to assume their rightful / relative position.
If you are gonna come back to me, at least pay me the respect me of trying to actually read what i write and hopefully next time you might even understand it.
Now run along.........
Oh by the way, Hunter, there is no need on PbNation to suffix your name with your IQ :)

[notunknownguy]

Originally posted by Robbo
If you read what I wrote (but if you don't understand it, I will draw pictures for you) then the justification is in the fact that there was an artificially high number of teams who had no intention or chance of qualifying thus minimising the opportunities for loyal teams to assume their rightful / relative position.
If you are gonna come back to me, at least pay me the respect me of trying to actually read what i write and hopefully next time you might even understand it.
Now run along.........
Oh by the way, Hunter, there is no need on PbNation to suffix your name with your IQ :)

Robbowned!!

[Huntero]

I read what you wrote, it just sounds like excuses.

I know about the huge number of teams that werent pros, like Godspeed and several others. All I'm saying is that the rest of the top 18 teams beat them. Why couldn't Russian Legion..oh wait, Russian Legion did beat them, Nexus didn't.

Oh by the way, Robbo, It's an o not a zero.

[ThatGuy86]

How about we just drop the whole thing now? It happened, get over it.

Huntero, you and a select few don't think that Nexus rightfully earned their spot in the top 18, and apparently nothing is going to change your minds.

Most everyone else disagrees with you, sees Robbo's explanation, and nothing is going to change our minds.

[NSPBSballer]

Huntero fails to mention that it wasn't the entire RL squad playing for Nexus. As I recall, it was only Fedorov and 2 or 3 of his RL cohorts.

If you go to a local novice 3-man tourney and have an Amateur on your squad, is that cheating? No, it's just doing what everyone else could've done all along and enjoy the benefits.

Same deal here.

Nexus is a great team who I feel will play some very good 'ball in the 05 NPPL season.

And hey, if you ever need a player :-)

[RunThru]

Originally posted by hornonthecobb8

and RUNTHRU - what in the hell are you talking about, entourage played as a 2nd team to dynasty bc they had a lot of players that couldnt play the nppl bc they were jsut on the xball squad, dynastys entourage is compirsed of dynasty players. if you knew anything at all you would realize that Nexus used RL players to play for them, it wasnt at all their sister team. but enough of this ****, nexus is a good team, thats for damn sure but i believe alot of the semi pros could take it to them as well as some of the division 1s. out

And if you knew anything you wouldn't have posted ...

Dynasty's main roster played as Entourage for a millenium event, Malaga I believe, to try to lock up their spot in the pro division. Get it?

[Grand Hustla(sp)]

Originally posted by Robbo
Oh by the way, Hunter, there is no need on PbNation to suffix your name with your IQ :)

oh your cool now :rolleyes:

[ThatGuy86]

It was a joke.

[yodaismyhomeboy]

i read the facefull on malaga a few times, heard no mention of the starting crew of dynasty playing...talked about it being a sister team....whatev, time to take a deuce and re-read

[Takedown]

Originally posted by Huntero

I know about the huge number of teams that werent pros, like Godspeed and several others. All I'm saying is that the rest of the top 18 teams beat them. Why couldn't Russian Legion..oh wait, Russian Legion did beat them, Nexus didn't.


To all the haters (Huntero, Rush96, etc)

Those are not the teams Robbo was worried about, it's the teams like:

Platinum (Legacy players)
Naughty x nature (Legacy and Ironmen)
Bob Long's Ironmen (2nd team for bob)
Famous (Infamous's second team)
The Men (Ironmen/Aftershock/NYX)
Ice Men (Legacy and Ironmen)

These were 6 teams, filled with talented players, that had no chance of making the top 18, that showed up just to play because they could. Any one of those teams could have bumped Nexus down a spot or two, keeping them out of the top 18. Some teams that had played the NPPL all season were knocked out of the top 18 because these new teams showed up, damn it sucks to be them, I bet they wish they had the brains or connections to do what Nexus did, but now they either do not exist as a team or they are forced to play the Semi pro division with out much hope of ever making it back into the pros. You know what would have really been tough, is if the Russians entered a team at S.D. just to play, then the teams fighting for a top 18 spot would have had to deal with both Nexus and the Russians, fact is by the Russians playing as Nexus that was one less team to deal with :)

It's the PRO division, meaning anyone can play, there is no sandbagging or stacking rosters, the only people complaining are people that will never play in the pros, or did not think to do it first and were kicked out of the pro division as a result. In fact what Nexus did still isn't illegal, they could field Russians at the remaining events this year and it wouldn't be a problem. The rosters are locked after Denver, so what's to stop any team from putting star/guest players on the field for Tampa or Denver?

You can bet your dollar that there are pro teams in the top 18 that are currently juggling players between their Pro and Semi pro teams or using players from NXL teams, trying to find the best players to put on each squad. The reason for this you ask? To earn another Top 18 spot or to keep an existing spot, nothing different then what Nexus did.

Other teams have done this very thing and this big of an issue was not made. Dynasty put in most of their 1st string to play as Entourage. Icemen didn't play well at the first couple events, then hired Legacy and Ironmen players to play Las Vegas, they would have placed in the top 4 if they were not dq'ed for an illegal gun. Again nobody made a big stink then.

Robbo did what any *smart* pro captain in his position would do, make sure that some circumstance would not remove them from the Top 18. The team and their sponsors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the NPPL for two seasons and were not going to allow some fluke to knock them out.

What they did was not against the rules, many other teams had guest players, some teams were filled with them to make a throw together team.

Whether Nexus made the cut because of RL or because of their placings in Euro events or because of some other factors, it doesn't matter, the fact is they made the Top 18 cut within the rules. They obviously placed high enough at the rest of the events to make the cut. Nobody can even say whether they wouldn't have made the cut without the Russian's. A 7th place at S.D. would have put them through. Robbo's guys would have been more upset if they didn't make the top 18 and lost sponsorship or found themselves unable to come to the US. I'm sure it sucked to sit out San Diego, it was a sweet event, but because they sat out S.D. they now get to play all the events this year including S.D.

I'm confident that Nexus will make the cut for next season as well. There are plenty of teams in the Top 18 that are worse off and if Nexus keeps up the way they are playing they will make the cut for next season when 3 of the Semi pro teams come up and the bottom 3 pro teams get dropped.

Nexus placed 7th in HB with their own roster, that looks like top 18 material to me. I watched many of their games while waiting to play, they were playing pro paintball. They placed 2nd in Germany, beating out Arsenal, top 18 again. Some of their players are now playing xball with the Russians, seems like the RL think there is top talent there. Perhaps by some off chance Nexus won't make the cut this year, then you all can come back and rub it in our faces, but I don't see it happening, they've started out strong already. They may not make top 4, that's a tough nut to crack, but those that don't play pro will never know how tough is to make the top 8 let alone the top 4. There are a lot of teams that won't make the top 4 this year, does that mean they don't belong in the top 18? Hell no, we wouldn't have a pro division if that were the case.

To Nexus, good job on constantly improving, you guys have done what so many other Euro and American teams have tried to do. Building and keeping a pro team alive, it's not easy! You guys have come a long way since I played against you at the beach and Portugal in 03, and an even longer way from when your guys were playing novice in Europe. Keep doing what you are doing!!!

[ThatGuy86]

Good post.

[Takedown]

Originally posted by Rush96
i suppose there is nothing wrong with another team immitating you bc your team is uncapable to secure a spot. thats what truthfully happened. i suppose they got the job done to a certain extant but how long do you think guys like robbo will still be playing pro. hes a bob long that wont admit hes to old for the game. nexus will do ok in the nppl, but i would not be surprised at all if they are the team that gets the boot at the end of the year, and will make its way to the ranks of semi pro in 06.

Wow you really don't know what's going on. Robbo doesn't play on Nexus, in fact he wasn't even at H.B. I'd put money on Robbo still doing well on the field, even though he hasn't played at the pro level in years. However he still knows a lot about the game, and was able to take a bunch of novice players, and train them into pro quality players that can compete in the US and in Europe.

As for Bob Long that guy has more heart and passion for the game then you will ever realize. He still can play and is effective on the field. While all these young kids are coming up learning to shoot machine guns, he still has the field knowledge that so many pro players lack these days. By you trashing 1 of the best players/captains still in the game today it shows exactly the amount of brain matter you are working with. It's easy for you to post these words on the internet.

So put your money where your mouth is, what great team do you play for? What tournaments have you won? What division do you play?

The fact is you don't understand professional paintball, and by what you have posted here I don't think you will ever get it.

[pfactorytroutman]

ok yeah i agree whit whatever that guys said about them being a pro team and going farther than any 14 year old new will ever go, but i think you ppl are making way to big a deal over this , they did what the did how gives a poop,
i have one question for robbo, though, do you actually play or do you just coach?

[Robbo]

Takedown - I'm impressed, I couldn't have put it better :)
Cheers Bud, and for 'ThatGuy86' too, and for everybody else trying to rid this thread of BS, jealousy and ignorance.


pfactorytroutman, I don't play any more mate, I retired from top pro paintball after I won my second world cup meadal with Aftershock believing it couldn't get no better so I jumped ship at the top.
I miss playing a lot but as I have told my players on many occasions, if you compare me when I was playing at my best for Aftershock to any of the players I have on my team Nexus now, I don't come anywhere near close to their abilities, they are light years in front of me when I was at my best.

It's a humbling thought but one that spurs me on to try and make the best out of them as players, and I can do that job as coach.
In some areas of coaching I suck sooooo bad, but I know a good player when I see one (or rather their potential) and I can train them up to become great players.
So I have got a lot to learn just like they have which when I come to tihnk of it, ain't such a bad state of affairs.

[powell_n]

I played for Godspeed in HB '04, Nexus were a cool bunch of guys. They're straight up ballers and did nothing wrong. They deserved a spot in the top 18, and they secured it... AND they've stepped it up this year and have been playing great.

Keep up the good work guys. :tup:

[Robbo]

Originally posted by Huntero
Oh by the way, Robbo, It's an o not a zero.



Hunter - Really????
You coulda fooled me.........

Well, I tell ya what, you write a post that actually holds water and at least has some connection (however tenuous) to an 'honest' opinion and I might begin to change my opinion as to whether it's an 'o' or not, but until then I will default to my original conclusion that if you were to swap out the 'un' in your name with an 'a', it gets us all closer to the truth.

Have a nice day :)

[Baboon]

Originally posted by Rush96
almost all pro teams that could compete on american soil and do decent played Orlando that made me laugh. have you even seen the pro team lists for the 2 events?

[TruePaintballer2]

it was shady, but not against the rules...if the NPPL dont like it change the rules

[gyroscope]

Originally posted by Rush96
and 2nd place at max....WHO CARES. that tournament equals nothing, what good teams were their.....

Arsenal
Tigers
Bushwacker
XSV

It was thin in the pros, but pulling out a 2 on 5 against Arsenal means that you are no joke in my book.

How many of those other teams that "earned" it went all year without breaking a rule? Nexus didn't even break a rule. They did something that must have stung their pride in order to secure the future of their team after having a shaky year. They announced it well ahead of the tournament. Their friends helped them... probably easier to identify with if one actually has friends.

I think the only thing they did wrong last year was listening to conventional wisdom about how to train instead of following their own system. Seems like they have returned to form and learned to value their own philosophy of play and practice, fortunately without having to lose everything.

It is always easy to sit in judgement when you have never been tested- that's why everyone asks "who are you to question?" when some punk comes along and challenges someone who makes tough decisions when they are in trouble. If it were Ron Kilborne raising this issue, I would treat his criticism with a lot more respect. Then again, Ron has been there, so he wouldn't ever raise this issue. Only some child who hasn't ever really had anything at stake would moan about this non-issue.

[f1erce]

Wtf are u arguing with rob for, he's the UK's bob long, a legend and a man who knows paintball and winning like the back of his hand and writes the best articles I have ever read, mad props to rob and the nexus team.

Train hard, play easy.

[blindsideballer655]

Originally posted by jakertaker2
Didn't they have a comfortable lead in points to get into pro anyways? And using RL just made sure it happened?

pretty much

[robertshort]

Originally posted by Takedown
To all the haters (Huntero, Rush96, etc)

Those are not the teams Robbo was worried about, it's the teams like:

Platinum (Legacy players)
Naughty x nature (Legacy and Ironmen)
Bob Long's Ironmen (2nd team for bob)
Famous (Infamous's second team)
The Men (Ironmen/Aftershock/NYX)
Ice Men (Legacy and Ironmen)

These were 6 teams, filled with talented players, that had no chance of making the top 18, that showed up just to play because they could. Any one of those teams could have bumped Nexus down a spot or two, keeping them out of the top 18. Some teams that had played the NPPL all season were knocked out of the top 18 because these new teams showed up, damn it sucks to be them, I bet they wish they had the brains or connections to do what Nexus did, but now they either do not exist as a team or they are forced to play the Semi pro division with out much hope of ever making it back into the pros. You know what would have really been tough, is if the Russians entered a team at S.D. just to play, then the teams fighting for a top 18 spot would have had to deal with both Nexus and the Russians, fact is by the Russians playing as Nexus that was one less team to deal with :)

It's the PRO division, meaning anyone can play, there is no sandbagging or stacking rosters, the only people complaining are people that will never play in the pros, or did not think to do it first and were kicked out of the pro division as a result. In fact what Nexus did still isn't illegal, they could field Russians at the remaining events this year and it wouldn't be a problem. The rosters are locked after Denver, so what's to stop any team from putting star/guest players on the field for Tampa or Denver?

You can bet your dollar that there are pro teams in the top 18 that are currently juggling players between their Pro and Semi pro teams or using players from NXL teams, trying to find the best players to put on each squad. The reason for this you ask? To earn another Top 18 spot or to keep an existing spot, nothing different then what Nexus did.

Other teams have done this very thing and this big of an issue was not made. Dynasty put in most of their 1st string to play as Entourage. Icemen didn't play well at the first couple events, then hired Legacy and Ironmen players to play Las Vegas, they would have placed in the top 4 if they were not dq'ed for an illegal gun. Again nobody made a big stink then.

Robbo did what any *smart* pro captain in his position would do, make sure that some circumstance would not remove them from the Top 18. The team and their sponsors spent hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the NPPL for two seasons and were not going to allow some fluke to knock them out.

What they did was not against the rules, many other teams had guest players, some teams were filled with them to make a throw together team.

Whether Nexus made the cut because of RL or because of their placings in Euro events or because of some other factors, it doesn't matter, the fact is they made the Top 18 cut within the rules. They obviously placed high enough at the rest of the events to make the cut. Nobody can even say whether they wouldn't have made the cut without the Russian's. A 7th place at S.D. would have put them through. Robbo's guys would have been more upset if they didn't make the top 18 and lost sponsorship or found themselves unable to come to the US. I'm sure it sucked to sit out San Diego, it was a sweet event, but because they sat out S.D. they now get to play all the events this year including S.D.

I'm confident that Nexus will make the cut for next season as well. There are plenty of teams in the Top 18 that are worse off and if Nexus keeps up the way they are playing they will make the cut for next season when 3 of the Semi pro teams come up and the bottom 3 pro teams get dropped.

Nexus placed 7th in HB with their own roster, that looks like top 18 material to me. I watched many of their games while waiting to play, they were playing pro paintball. They placed 2nd in Germany, beating out Arsenal, top 18 again. Some of their players are now playing xball with the Russians, seems like the RL think there is top talent there. Perhaps by some off chance Nexus won't make the cut this year, then you all can come back and rub it in our faces, but I don't see it happening, they've started out strong already. They may not make top 4, that's a tough nut to crack, but those that don't play pro will never know how tough is to make the top 8 let alone the top 4. There are a lot of teams that won't make the top 4 this year, does that mean they don't belong in the top 18? Hell no, we wouldn't have a pro division if that were the case.

To Nexus, good job on constantly improving, you guys have done what so many other Euro and American teams have tried to do. Building and keeping a pro team alive, it's not easy! You guys have come a long way since I played against you at the beach and Portugal in 03, and an even longer way from when your guys were playing novice in Europe. Keep doing what you are doing!!!

Wow takedown, i would so sig that if it was possible! :tup: