Pro team VICIOUS is proud to announce their latest sponsorship with Empire for 2012! With a very strong year behind them, VICIOUS will be looking to put on the wins wearing Empire gear. E-Vent Goggles, the Empire Prophecy Loader Z2 and Contact ZERO pants will adorn the team heading into the new year.

“Empire Paintball is very happy to have Team VICIOUS back again this year. We are excited to watch them build upon the momentum they had at the end of last season and we know that 2012 is going to be a rewarding year for the guys”, says Johnny Postorivo, Vice President of U.S. Sales at Empire Paintball.

Bryan Bortol from paintball team Omaha VICIOUS, Photo Credit: SkipsPics.com

The PSP World Cup is set to begin in less than 7 days. Are you and your paintball team ready to compete? Read on for the latest paintball news and gossip regarding several top teams as they prepare for the 2011 PSP World Cup Championship.

According to ProPaintball insiders, Billy Wing of the LA Ironmen is rumored to be retiring from competitive paintball after the 2011 PSP World Cup. He has played professional paintball for the last 14 years. The LA Ironmen were his one and only pro team. Wing is a very dedicated Ironmen player and long time employee at DYE Precision and we can only imagine his departure will have a major impact. Want to know more? Check out ProPaintball’s interview with Billy Wing.

Chad “Ya-Ya” Bouchez (former Aftershock) was rumored to be playing with Omaha Vicious. ProPaintball insiders suggest that there was a conflict in the deal and it wasn’t completed in time for the event. Bummer.

Marcello Margott tore his meniscus and had torn cartilage. Marcello underwent a micro fracture surgery which requires him to stay off the injury for about 6 weeks (no weight bearing). Unfortunately he will be sitting out PSP World Cup. Marcello has to go through physical therapy and should return prior to the start of the 2012 season.

Thomas Taylor from Sacramento XSV is playing with LIFT.

Division 1 team Assault surprised everyone by pulling out of PSP World Cup. Team owner TeddyG has been responding to questions in the ProPaintball Smackbox over the last 24 hours. In short, the team was just not ready to compete and Teddy did not feel comfortable fielding an unprepared squad.

Darryl Trent is preparing to unveil the DLX Luxe 2.0 paintball gun at PSP World Cup. Here is a sneak peak of the new paintball gun from DLX.

DSSP8NTBALL.com is bringing back their divisional feeder team for 2012. Stay tuned for tryout information.

Guerrilla Air is giving away free paintballs. The odds that you win are 1 in 200.

Portland Uprising is rumored to have picked up 2 local players for their 2011 PSP World Cup debut. ProPaintball insiders suggest the team is trying to get their feet wet, learn the format and figure out what they need to fix in anticipation of the 2012 paintball season. Good luck Uprising!

Pro Paintball fans have been inquiring as to what Cole Scott is doing for PSP World Cup. In case your wondering, Cole Scott plays with Portland Uprising in NPPL 7-man and Impact in the PSP. ProPaintball caught up with Cole who mentioned that prior to the 2011 season begining, he signed up to play with Edmonton Impact in PSP and Portland Uprising in NPPL 7-man. Cole will be playing with Edmonton Impact at Cup but mentioned he and a few of the guys are going to try and help coach the new Uprising team through the first event. Talk about camaraderie!

What else have you heard? Share your paintball news and rumors in the comments below.

Team VICIOUS is looking to add to our roster for the 2012 season. Anyone interested is encouraged to get in touch with us. Please have a minimum of experience at the D1 or higher level.

We will be holding tryouts at Metro Paintball Games in Council Bluffs, IA on November 4th and 5th, and December 3rd and 4th, 2011.

Please email CBortol@discountspecialtysports.com or contact us in person. We will be at World Cup and we encourage any interested players to talk to us there as well.

Also check out the tryouts for their divisional team making a come back, DSSP8ntball.com HERE

ProPaintball.com attended the 2010 event and we can honestly say, it was one of the best times playing paintball. If you can make the trip, we strongly recommend it.

Registration for the 2011 event has begun, make sure to check out www.viciousseries.com for more information.

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to a statement posted by Vicious team owner Karen Bortol,

Greg Pauley is no longer associated with Discount Specialty Sports and Team Vicious. We wish Greg the best of luck in his future.

If you have any questions or need any assistance please contact the store at 402-502-3434. You may also PM me or Carl on PbNation. Please do not contact Greg for store or team related matters.

No word has been shared as to who will be replacing Greg Pauley as the coach of Vicious.

Who do you think Vicious will hire on to replace Coach Pauley? Will the team opt to coach themselves through the upcoming PSP New Jersey?

*UPDATE*

We have followed up with DSS to get more information. They have told us that because Greg was an employee of Discount Specialty Sports and the confiendtially agreements the company has put in place, they can not release any more information. We have requested an interview from Greg to see if he can shed a bit of light on the situation for us.

Data is based on PSP Pro Paintball matches between 2007 to 2011

PSP 2011 Chicago Open Stats:

• 2007 – Largest Margin of Victory: Legion (23) vs. Ultimate (1)
• 2007 – Finals: X-Factor (7) vs. Ironmen (6)
• 2008 – Finals: Damage (5) vs. Aftermath (3)
• 2009 – Finals: Legion (7) vs. Aftermath (1)
• 2010 – Finals: Infamous (7) vs. Damage (5)

PSP Pro Paintball Team Facts and Win / Loss Records:

Chicago Aftershock:

• 31 Wins (36%) / 56 Losses (64%)
• Looking for their first Pro win of the 2011 season, shut out 0-4 at the 2011 Texas Open.

Chattanooga CEP (PSP Pro since 2011):

• 0 Wins (0%) / 4 Losses (100%)
• Looking for their first Pro win ever, also shut out 0-4 at the 2011 Texas Open.

Tampa Bay Damage (PSP Pro since 2008):

• 51 Wins (61%) / 32 Losses (39%)
• Wins and 1 OT Loss during the Texas Open, they were knocked out by Legion (2-4) in the Semis.

San Diego Dynasty:

• 59 Wins (58%) / 43 Losses (42%)
• 3 Wins (7-0, 7-1, 7-1) and 1 Loss (Legion) during the Texas Prelims, beat Infamous in the Semis, and Legion (7-2) in the Finals.

Edmonton Impact (PSP Pro since 2008):

• 38 Wins (52%) / 35 Losses (48%)
• 2 Wins (both 5-4) and 2 Losses (both 1-7), looking to advance out of the Prelims in 2011.

LA Infamous:

• 49 Wins (51%) / 47 Losses (49%)
• 3 Wins (2OT) and 1 Loss during the Texas Prelims, they were knocked out by Dynasty (2-5) in the Semis.

Los Angeles Ironmen:

• 70 Wins (65%) / 38 Losses (35%)
• 2 Wins (1OT) and 2 Losses in Texas, looking to advance out of the Prelims in 2011.

Boston Red Legion:

• 82 Wins (75%) / 28 Losses (25%)
• 3 Wins and 1 Loss (OT Loss, Ironmen), beat Damage in the Semis and Lost to Dynasty (2-7) in the Finals.

Omaha Vicious (PSP Pro since 2010):

• 7 Wins (37%) / 12 Losses (63%)
• 2 Wins (1OT, both 6-5) and 2 Losses (1OT) in Texas, looking to advance out of the Prelims in 2011.

San Antonio X-Factor:

• 44 Wins (49%) / 46 Losses (51%)
• 2 Wins (7-3, 7-2) and 2 Losses in Texas, looking to advance out of the Prelims in 2011.

Does the Win and Loss record effect your loyalty to your favorite pro paintball team? Or, is there more to a pro team than winning? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

This particular video focuses on the Race-To series format. A few of the tips demonstrated include communicating with your teammates, joy sticking, effective coaching and how to look for easy kills. Be sure to check it out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The new paintball tips series of videos is put together by gun manufacture Planet Eclipse. The EclipseTV video series features paintball professionals Billy Bernacchia, Thomas Taylor, Greg Pauley and others explaining the fundamentals of paintball. Watch as pro teams San Antonio X-Factor, Omaha Vicious, New England Hurricanes and others demonstrate these tips to maximize their paintball playing experience.

Prizes awarded at:

10,000 “LIKES” 1 Empire Axe

15,000 “LIKES” 1 Eclipse VICIOUS Etek3 AM

20,000 “LIKES” 1 Eclipse VICIOUS GEO2.1

In addition to the three marker winners, there will be over $3,000 in prizes awarded to Team Vicious Facebook Fans/DSSP8NTBALL.COM registered users. If our goal of 20,000 is reached by PSP Chicago 2011, more prizes may be awarded. All prizes will be randomly drawn.

Note: All International gun prize winners are responsible for shipping and handling.

ProPaintball insiders recently tipped us off that pro team Omaha VICIOUS would be competing in the Millennium Series. With that in mind, we jumped on the phone and caught up with Bryan Bortol of Omaha VICIOUS for the inside scoop. Bryan confirmed the rumor and filled us in on a few details, providing an idea of the teams roster as well as an exclusive first look at the new VICIOUS Millennium Jersey.

According to Bryan, VICIOUS will be playing under Dynasty’s name in the Bitburg Millenium Event. To keep up with the spirit of both teams, a limited edition Blue Millenium Series VICIOUS jersey was created. Only 14 will be made, 7 for retail on dssp8ntball.com and 1 per player.

The Vicious/Dynasty Roster for Millennium 2011 Bitburg Event is;

• Bryan Bortol
• Parker Rosenthal
• Zak Sherman
• Chris Hooker
• Phil Kahnk
• Trevor Resar
• Greg Pauley

Bryan added “We are excited at the chance to play in Europe. This will be our first but not our last tournament outside of the US. We are also playing th CXBL with Halifax City United this summer.”

VICIOUS, an Empire Paintball team, dominated Henchmen in the final match up of UWL Nevada. 

Top 3 from each Division:

Open

1. VICIOUS
2. Henchmen
3. Desert Edge

Tactical

1. GAT
2. DemonKnights
3. Desert Edge

Some intense action was to be had in the finals. Combating against the fierce sandstorms and  each other, the teams fought a hard battle. We caught up with Zak Sherman of Pro Paintball team VICIOUS who had this to say:

We had a lot of fun at the event and are excited to play the rest of the season.

(Pictured Left to Right: John Dresser, Jake Topping, Trevor Resar, Parker Rosenthal, Bryan Bortol, Greg Pauley, Karen Bortol, Chris Hooker, Carl Bortol, Zak Sherman, Drew Templeton, Phil Kahnk, Missing: Todd Martinez)