Sacramento XSV
2012 Recap: Like Edmonton Impact, Sacramento XSV only played one PSP event in 2012 (the World Cup) and their result was what you would expect from a team whose primary focus has been 7-man for the past two seasons. During their World Cup romp the team began unorganized and proved to be completely outclassed by Omaha Vicious (who won 7-1) and Los Angeles Infamous (7-4), but regained their composure on Saturday beating Seattle Thunder (5-1) and stunning Tampa Bay Damage (3-2). The main thing that the team showed in their wins was that they had the ability to slow down the game and rely on their strengths of gun fighting, being patient and proving they are deadly accurate off the break.
Key Players:
Thomas Taylor; #77, Front
Rich Telford; #7, Back
Aaron Tholey; #31, Front
Team Strengths:
Works as a cohesive unit
Very strong gun fighters
Sports one of the best closers in the game
Team Weaknesses:
Out of RaceTo practice
Needs to develop RaceTo depth
Must develop a “fast” game
2013 Outlook: To be perfectly honest, Sacramento is a complete wild card in the professional division. They could just as easily end up in the challengers division as they could win an event. Nobody knows how they will perform due to their youth, and because of their hiatus from the PSP. Unlike Edmonton, XSV has not opened the pocket book to find top tier RaceTo players, but everyone on their squad is, was, or can be potential hall of fame type players. We “expect” to see XSV in the bottom half of the Champions division, with them being known as “upset specialist.”
Why Root for Them?: Under the tutelage of Rich Telford, XSV plays with a hard-core-in-your-face style which makes them super easy to identify and fun to watch. Plus, Thomas Taylor is one of the most explosive players in the history of paintball, even if he has issues with continuing to play after being hit. On top of all that, they are extremely active with their fan base – so check ’em out!