Grammaton Clerics secures MPOC 2012 D2 Championship.

Ask any competitive paintball team what they want at the end of the season and they will answer “Being season champions of the division”. Now we got the title handed on a silver platter by just registering because our nearest competitor and good friends Votolocos did not register for some odd reason. Well of course that is good but being Grammaton Clerics, we felt disappointed a wee bit. We want the title and the challenge that normally comes with it.So as a consolation we played even harder to get gold for the event that again was held at Xtion Paintball Park in Bukit Jalil.

For D2 there were 5 teams in total with us included. With 5 prelims games, the team at the bottom of the table end of Saturday will not make Sunday Semis (no quarters as there are not enough teams). We won 4 games and shared a point with Pandamonium whom we met twice in this round. We were slow and a bit sketchy at first but midway through the prelims we got our groove for our remaining points.

Pandamonium somehow up-ed their game against us and made us dig really deep for the points. In the semi-finals we met the Pandas again and the game was excruciatingly technical and difficult (not to mention the penalties we suffered too). For each point they led, we battled hard to draw it in the next. It came to 2 – 2 and we ran out of regulation time that forced us to play a sixth set in overtime.We did not let go... off the break we held on to the lanes and forced our forwards up as far as they could. Then we just waited for that split second of carelessness by the Pandas and picked their forwards, we waited a bit more for the fills and got them out too. Pinched out their back line with heavy guns and made sure they have no option but to expose out weakest side and their holding game came undone. At 3 – 2, 6 sets and 8 cases later THAT was one semi-final match we will never forget.

Tune Talk Lost Boys had their semis against the seasoned Simpsons. That game was no less thrilling and Simpsons gave them everything they could muster. But Lost Boys just managed to get that extra inch and pull out a win to meet us in the finals. Now at this point we thought why hold back? The semis were very tough no doubt but a silver medal would not look too well next to the MPOC 2012 D2 Champions cup. So yeah, we really want our medals to match on the trophy shelf (we don’t have mantelpieces here in Malaysia) and make it a point that Clerics will give 100% all the time every time.

The finals were long points. Both playing cautiously and maintaining lanes and controlling zones. We get them off the break on a few occasions but the mid game lock-down they deployed proved frustrating for our forwards. Our back had to place accurate shots to tuck their forwards while our snake and dorito inched to get the angles they need. We got the kills and led 2 – 1 with a bit more than a minute left of regulation time. We were exhausted so we made one final push as the seconds passed we were getting careless moving up and crossing shots. With about 40 seconds left we either lost our forwards or were stuck. Lost Boys tried to push snake side as we were empty there and reached the 50s, our backs held the lanes and crossed up to put their pace to a stop. As our friends and crew counted down the seconds Lost Boys could not break our defence and at the horn the game was over. We got the championship trophy and also the gold medal to match.

It has been a long and hard season. We came in as rookies to the division and trained very hard every weekend to improve every aspect of our game. There were no shortcuts or discounts for our success and without the help of family, friends and sponsors (Dye, Alphabunker, Napshot) we would not have made it this far this quick. Coming to the end of the third year as a team we thank everyone who parted advice, words of wisdom and contributed directly or indirectly to the team. Our success is as much as yours as well and we really appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.

What’s next? There is WCA and that D2 PALS title we have been eyeing on. Let’s work for that double now shall we? See you in Langkawi World Cup Asia. Do drop by and say hello. We won’t bite. Promise.

Images are courtesy of Dez of ResidentEvilChef.com

MPOC 2012 4th Leg

Coming out fresh from the Malaysian Open and with ample study of the layout, MPOC Leg 4 was set to be a great outing. Again held at Xtion Paintball Park in Bukit Jalil where the facility is the traditional grounds for the league.

Oddly there were not many teams this leg with only 35 teams across 4 divisions. Perhaps the reason being there were many other tournaments the week before and the same week somewhere in the region.

Anyhow TGC had a really fun time. We came into this leg leading the table and if we become champions it would seal the title for us with one leg remaining. That was the goal but still a big part of it was to have fun.

During the prelims We dropped only 4 points in the 6 games we played in the race to 3 format. This made us qualify for Sunday in a revised Round Robin Semi-Final due to the lack of teams. So Sunday we faced in exact order, Demonz Hitt, Simpsons and Votolocos.

The match with Demonz Hitt was indeed tough with the layout in reality being very technical. In fact many teams across divisions played to full game time with draws peppered across the board. With that we drew with Demonz Hitt, won against Simpsons and Votolocos. Top 2 of the round robin secured their place in the finals while the bottom 2 matched-up for 3rd and 4th finals.

Thus we meet again with Votolocos in the finals. However this time we were not so lucky as we dragged the game to a draw in regulation time that forced the deciding point to be played in overtime. Votolocos took the point and we had to settle for 2nd place. Beaten this round but we could still keep our heads up. 2^nd place still maintains us as leaders of the D2 table. That is still a good cause for celebration, albeit a bit subdued. The final leg in September would not be any easier but a win then would be even sweeter. Everyone can be rest assured that there is no way the Clerics are handing the championship on a silver platter with a ribbon on top to any team. They want it? They have to work for it... and work very very hard they must.

Our greatest appreciation to Dye, Energy Paintball, Alphabunker, Napshot, friends, family, fans and foes.

Photo credits goes to Dez of http://www.residentevilchef.com/                              

Our D2 debut in MPOC 2012 Leg 1

To those whom have been following we had a roll last year in division 3. So by merit we were promoted to D2 this year. Which by now we are in a format that we so much dream of playing... the race to. Division 2 specifically plays for race to 3 with Milennium centric rules. Not to forget Nemesis Paintball Club were co-organizers for the opening leg of MPOC which is also the Pre-Malaysia Open event. A larger chunk of cash prize for the top 5 teams in each division was offered. That resulted in a record turnout ( can't remember the exact numbers of participating teams).

There were teams that did a self promotion into D2 such as Lost Boys and Pandamonium and from the looks of it they had fun playing. Not forgetting we formally introduced to the league 2 new players to our roster, Abun and Aliff. This we hope to further broaden the depth of the team and make our 2012 campaign a glorious one.

We certainly did have fun, well almost... we fell short of gold in the finals against D2 veterans Republic CMX and that did not taste too good or roll off our tongues too easy. Adapting from a race to 1 to a race to 3 format wasn't too hard since our training for the past year was already intense to suit the format. So it must be good old lady luck?

There were questionable calls and decisions but hey that is tournament paintball. Anyway, the level of play is definitely higher and more challenging. Be rest assured we are not taking this year at a leisure pace and we do want to maintain our podium streak which is of course greatly assisted by our sponsors Dye, Energy Paintball, RPS and Napshot. Special thanks to Alphabunker too for if not for them some of our eccentric needs could not be satisfied (I'll leave you to run wild with imagination on that one).

Xtion Paintball was a perfect venue as always and we surely are looking forward for the next leg. Full list of winners of the round are as per below for reference;

Division 1 
Champions - Raskal
2nd - Nemesis Legion
3rd - Xtioneers
4th - Demonz
5th - Beez Waxers


Division 2
Champions - Republic CMX
2nd - Grammaton Clerics
3rd - Zoo
4th - KSK Flash
5th - Tune Talk Lost Boyz MSN


Division 3
Champions - Joker Unit 
2nd - Sabil 
3rd - East Coast Legion 
4th - Yin Yang 
5th - Top Passion


Division 4
Champions - Xcavatos 
2nd - Mad Bunnies
3rd - Outlaws
4th - Rabaq
5th - Hornet Waxers

MPOC Leg 5: Putrajaya Cup

The final event of the Malaysian Official Paintball Circuit was held in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. The location is the country's proof to administration and governance excellence. Which ironically is how MPOC have been operating all season. Hats off to Paul and PALS for completing the whole season with high and consistent quality.

Grammaton Clerics have already sealed the D3 title in the previous leg thus the pressure was off our shoulders and the whole weekend was to play paintball and have fun. The venue was good with god blessing the tourney with exceptional weather. Slight shower on Saturday was welcomed as it softened the ground a bit. 14 teams competed in D3 among them were Kejahatan, KSK Flash, Labuan Fighters, Pandamonium, Red Sevens 2 and Shoot In Rage.

Prelims were spread out in the afternoon with the points running tight. We managed to pull 8 wins out of 9 games and topping the prelims table with 24 points ED. The next day saw us in the quarter 8 drawn up in the same group as Red Sevens 2, Labuan Fighters and Duckside. Surprisingly Shoot In Rage stumbled in their quarter 8, which was odd since they were 2nd in the prelims. We managed to win all of our Q8 games. That squared us off to face Lost Boys in the Semis.

Knowing Lost Boys from previous legs, we knew their style of play was fast with a fair chance to catch them moving from bunker to bunker. We locked them on one side and let the other side move up and pick them out one at a time. We nearly lost a point when they decide to charge down one flank taking our forward off guard but quickly met with our heavy gunning back line. We won the points in straight games which fated us to meet Red Sevens 2 of Singapore.

The Singaporeans skipped Xtion Cup and we didn't get a chance to meet them in Kedah since they were eliminated early. So we didn't really know what sort of game they have against us thus we stuck to a lockdown to see what were they up to. We lost the first point and reshuffled a bit to counter their fast attacking forwards. Both teams traded bodies fast but we edged them to force the decider to be concluded in a third point. Funny that we didn't have to win to get the overall title but we played like as if the title was on the line. Again we reshuffled and had a forward heavy line-up. Both sides were trading bodies right after the break-out. We were given a 1 for 1 but somehow stuck to the game plan and punctured a hole mid field and a side. Finishing off their last player at the 50s.

With that we maintained a clean sweep for all 5 legs and obviously the championship. The dream was to be Immortals and that was what exactly we did. It was a great season, extremely competitive and punishing mentally as well as physically. Now comes our long deserved break and right after will be World Cup Asia in Langkawi!

Our greatest thanks to God. Valued sponsors Dye, RPS and Energy Paintball for the excellent support. Friends, family and the competition for being professional. Last but not least Hello MPOC Division 2 2012!

Photo credits goes to  Dez of Residentevilchef and Badman.



DIVISION 1:

Champions - Demonz Red
2nd - Nemesis Legion
3rd - Raskal
4th - Xtioneers

DIVISION 2:

Champions - Red Sevens
2nd - KFK Halloween
3rd - Urban X
4th - Ultimate Speed


DIVISION 3:

Champions - Grammaton Clerics
2nd - Red Sevens 2
3rd - KSK Flash
4th - Lost Boys MSN

DIVISION 4:

Champions - CMX Badai
2nd - 7th Legion
3rd - Sabil
4th - TMS


Overall Champions Division 1- Demonz Red
Overall Champions Division 2- Red Sevens
Overall Champions Division 3- Grammaton Clerics

MPOC Leg 4: The Xtion Cup

For the 4th Leg of MPOC 2011 (11th & 12th June 2011) the organizers brought it back to where it all started. Xtion Paintball in Bukit Jalil has seen many epic battles for the past 10 years. The toughest it has ever seen was WCA2009 which after that the management decided the old lady needed a rest from big events. With upgraded facilities and primed fields Xtion Cup was a cause for celebration. The grass was green, the grandstands were shiny and the weather was just perfect for paintball.

Grammaton knew that to clinch gold this leg would mean the overall championship with one round to spare. Preparations were not as we would have liked but one thing we learned was to adapt. It was no secret that all teams in Division 3 wanted to beat us. We knew it won't be easy to defend the gold streak and it was certainly tough as we found out on tournament day.

Again prelims were split on Saturday and Sunday. Good for everyone as that would mean ample rest and more paintball for everyone (watching or playing didn't really matter). D1 saw tough competition with Ronin and Nemesis Legion battling in the finals. Ronin did badly in the previous leg so we guessed they were determined to not screw up their chances. For us it was paintball as usual, trying to complete prelims in the best position possible.

Game plan aside, we basically played one game with very minor alterations as we went. There were tough games in prelims with our traditional 1st game screw-up paved our way building better momentum. We top D3 prelims with a surprisingly high ED.

Teams like Underwarranty, Lost Boys, KSK Flash and CMX Hamoon tried very hard to stop us. They almost did... it was not comfortable wins during the Q8 and the Semis. In the Finals we battled CMX Hamoon who locked our zones very well but our forwards fought to find the holes and plugged them, our back line mopped up the rest. CMX Hamoon gave a very sportsmanlike gesture by handing the flag to us to call the gold home and also MPOC 2011 D3 Overall Champions!!!

Our greatest appreciation to Dye Precision, RPS (We absolutely love EVIL!), Energy Paintball and Napshot.
Owh and we will try for the 5th gold if God would be so kind to us.


List of winners across the divisions are as follows:

DIVISION 1:

Champions - Nemesis Legion
2nd - Macdev Ronin
3rd - Xtioneers
4th - X-Fox


DIVISION 2:

Champions - The Simpsons
2nd - Urban X
3rd - Dark Knights
4th - KFK Halloween


DIVISION 3:

Champions - Grammaton Clerics
2nd - CMX Hamoon
3rd - KSK Flash
4th - Pandamonium


DIVISION 4:

Champions - Armada Shooter
2nd - CMX Badai
3rd - TMS
4th - Tallybun X

Champions again. MPOC: Sultan of Kedah Cup

Again MPOC has outdone themselves. Although the change of venue in consideration for the local football league, the alternative was not half bad. The field was excellent, flat, firm and hardly any debris (rocks, sticks and etc.). The weather was the biggest challenge. Not a drop of rain for the entire duration of the competition and the temperature was in the mid 30s. A few players suffered from heatstroke which means the competition was extremely tough on everyone.

We had to change our line-up on at the last minute (more like an hour before our game) due to a tiny mishap but otherwise were were pretty sorted. Prelims had us loosing 2 games out of 9 with a bonus walkover that slotted us mid table for the Q8. There was no Q16 as there were not enough teams for division 3. We made the semis with 2 wins out of 3 games in the Q8. That brought us square to meet Labuan Fighters. It was a great game as both were strong off the break. Still we manged to tip them for the finals against home favourite Votolocos. We were dragged for a 3rd game. They were fast but we countered with strong zoning off the break which secured us a hatrick and strengthening our lead in Div3 MPOC 2011.

This event was the debut for the NT11 for us. With most of us did not have the time to run the markers in and pretty much tune it generally just to last 4 pods everyone was pretty happy. Not a single time did the NT11 gave problems. It was even better when we used RPS Premiums and Evils. By the end of prelims all of us were very impressed and tuned the markers to suit our individual styles. Come Q8 onwards we were grinning from ear to ear behind our i4s making kills.

Our greatest thanks to God for our winning streak for MPOC, Dye Precision for all the gears, RPS for the awesome paint and Energy Paintball for the juice needed and Napshot. To the family, friends and fans we appreciate your support and will continue our efforts to make history.

For the official media report head to The Star Online.

Team Updates: My-NPL 1st Leg / MPOC 2nd Leg / Sarawak Cup 2011 / My-NPL 2nd Leg

Sorry for the lack of updates and on top of that we just lost our domain due to carelessness. Anyway these blunders have not effected our tournament performance. Basically this is a 4 in 1 update.... It is not laziness, the author has just been very busy.

First to note is our participation in Sarawak Cup. We managed to claw 3rd place in the Land of the Hornbills. Which is the first time the team had to fly out of Peninsular Malaysia for a tournament and the experience was simply awesome. Our thanks to Adil's wife and in-laws for being very accommodating to a bunch of stinking paintballers.

2nd Runner Up Sarawak Cup Am/Nov

My-NPL 1st Leg was held in MAPAAC, PJ. It's TGC's home and training grounds. Our maiden appearance in division 2 and we actually trained extremely hard for it. Taking it one step at a time we survived very well in the prelims. Come Sunday everyone was very upbeat.... games were fast and kill rates were up all around. There were the heart stopping moments but we manage to manage the pressure and pace it to our liking. However when we step into the finals we faced one of the most experienced team in the division. It was long and tough but we could not contain Pirates and had to settle for runner-ups.

Runner Up My-NPL Div2 Leg1

Next up is MPOC 2nd Leg in Malacca. First time ever defending champions and extending our lead in Division 3. It was hot and the competition was fierce. Heat exhaustion was always a worry but the crew made sure that everyone was properly hydrated and fed. The surprise is we were the only podium finisher from the previous leg to push through to semis. With less pressure we maintained our form to again be crowned champions.

Champions MPOC Div2 Leg2

Finally is My-NPL 2nd Leg also held in Malacca (its a super place for a paintball tournament, if you can stand the heat) like all My-NPL legs Division 2 is very competitive. Our main hurdle was to maintain form during the quarters onwards. Pirates was the toughest and also defending champions from the previous leg (we came in 2nd in that one), so we were determined and very hungry for gold. Some how Hammer Zero assisted by ousting them in the semis which we capitalized and nailed the gold for the first time in My-NPL and took the lead in the league standings.

Champions My-NPL Div2 Leg2

NOW our tally for podium finish are 6 in a row! 3 champions, 1 runner-up, 2 2nd runner-ups! In all this there were back to back weekends of tournaments and training in between. Our greatest thanks to Dye for the most reliable markers, hardparts, and comfortable soft goods. Trouble free for all tournaments. RPS for their evil evils! And the awesome energy of Energy Paintball. Crew, Family, Fans, Friends and foes. Last but not least GOD for giving us the energy, health and wealth for all of us to do what we love.

MPOC 2011 1st leg Division 3 CHAMPIONS!

What better way to start off the 2011 Malaysian Paintball season other than claiming Champions for Division 3 MPOC held in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The venue was excellent, the weather was perfect for the 2 days of tournament paintball. Competition was even better... it was tough but extremely entertaining, fun and competitive.

Looking forward to playing MPOC 2nd leg in the historical state of Malacca. Our greatest thanks to Dye, Napshot, Organizers, Marshalls, family, friends and paintballers whose undying support have contributed to a fantastic start to the 2011 season.

Passing the Litmus Test: MPOC 2010 Finale

What supposed to be a test to gauge how would TGC muscle the MPOC format became a pretty gratifying affair. The team expected to do well but not to the point it was do or die. Afterall it is all in preparation to commit for the MPOC 2011 season. After loosing only 2 prelim games out of 10 and topped the Div 3 prelim table, most of us dare not celebrate. In fact we were wondering if did the organizers got the scores right.

Slowly we progressed to the Quarter final group stage which we top the group again with 2 wins out of 3 games. Soldiering forward to the semis we were beat as Hammer Zero (MPOC Div 3 Champions) pummelled us 2 games in a row in the best of 3 format. Somehow we collected ourselves and pushed to 110% to deny 3rd place from ZOO winning 2 sets in quick successions.

Another podium finish when we Don't do more, Don't do less, We just did our jobs.

Results For MPOC Finale:
Division 1
1st - Demonz Red
2nd - Macdev Ronin
3rd - Infernal
4th - X-Fox

Division 2
1st - Kai Fan Killerz
2nd - Jokerz
3rd - Red Sevens
4th - Urban X

Division 3
1st - Demonz Lucifer X
2nd - Hammer Zero
3rd - Grammaton Clerics
4th - Zoo

Division 4
1st - KSK Flash
2nd - Kejahatan 1
3rd - Prolintas Legion X
4th - Bukit Tempur Tigers

MPOC 2010 Final Leg

For the benefit of the team in preparations for the full season of MPOC 2011, Grammaton Clerics shall take part in the final leg of MPOC 2010. We shall also formally introduce our latest additions to the team line-up for the 2011 season of tournaments.

Watch this space.