Nicky T in Brazil !!!

Nicky T
PRO - TECH - TOUR 2011
Brazil

The weekend of 4/5th December 2010 saw the final event of the 2010 Circuito Brasileiro de Paintball (CBP) hosted by Megaplay Morumbi at their field in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Managing to escape the sub-zero temperatures of the UK, I headed off to Manchester Airport with my passport in hand and my trusty Ego11 in tow! Although long, the flights were largely uneventful and the usual random conversations with foreign flying colleagues ensured that time passed swiftly and we touched down at Guayaquil airport as scheduled bright and breezy at 7.30am on the Friday morning.

My experiences of accommodation in South America thus far can only be described as a bit of a lottery, mainly resulting in a mixed bag of less than desirable but Megaplay ensured that any fears I had were instantly alleviated by booking us rooms at the local Ibis in downtown Sao Paulo. Waiting in the hotel lobby were Mikey (Canto) and PJ; our Eclipse reps for South America and a good mutual friend of ours; Maxi from Argentina. Once all of the customary catching up had taken place it was time to freshen up quickly then head down to the field to check things out the and meet our Brazilian distributor and newly appointed Eclipse Service Centre; Megaplay Morumbi.

It is obvious that Rodrigo, the owner of Megaplay, runs a tight ship and it was a joy to behold everything being set up in preparation for the season finale. Three of Rodrigo’s most trusted employees; Karina, Osvaldo and Manuel, were instrumental in ensuring that all of the logistics were in place prior to the event beginning and they along with the rest of the Megaplay crew made certain that every detail of the event was attended to. Friday afternoon was spent setting up the Eclipse Tech Support Booth with PJ and meeting some of Brazil’s most colourful characters including Fabio and the Ninjinhas crew – to say that they know how to enjoy life would be an understatement! Friday night saw us sample the delights of downtown Sao Paulo calling in at the local Irish Bar; All Black (go figure!). After a few rounds of Spartans (Chivas and Redbull) and successfully mingling with the locals we decided that our pillows were calling and headed home to the Ibis to check our eyelids for holes.

Saturday morning saw the start of the preliminary round and the 28 teams in attendance readied themselves for battle, all keen to prove that they were the rightful CBP Champions for 2010! Throughout the prelims the Jungle Boys and Ninjinhas stable of teams all looked in fine form relishing the opportunity to strut their stuff in front of the on-looking crowd. With a
plethora of eateries only a short walk from the site and an army of fridges loaded with chilled beverages, the atmosphere at the event was fantastic with everyone watching the action on field and then making the most of the usual opportunities to barrack each other and tell war stories between games. Players made the most of having Eclipse Tech Support on hand at the event, wanting to check out the Ego11 for themselves and ask PJ and I how they could best maintain and service their markers as well as introducing them to Megaplays’ very own fully fledged Eclipse Technician; Marcelo Silva Costa. I was very impressed with Marcelo’s knowledge about Eclipse markers and his attention to detail whilst working on them and am very pleased to have such a competent technician and company representing us in Brazil.

At the end of the first day the Ninjinhas had control of all three divisions leading them all going into Sundays final round. Saturday night was our designated rest night and after a quick shower and change we decided to head out and sample some traditional Brazilian cuisine at one of their flagship restaurants: Fogo de Chao. We ate like Kings and I can safely say that NEVER have I tasted so much delicious meat; if you’re a vegetarian then Brazil is definitely NOT the place for you! Sunday rolled round and the Jungle Boys, although slightly off the pace were still in contention and eager to usurp the home team, but the Ninjinhas had other ideas. Some superb games were played throughout the day and Brazilian paintball certainly is not lacking in either pace or flair with the majority of games aggressive and fluid throughout. Jungle Boys and Ninjinhas leapfrogged each other throughout the day, meaning that it came down to the very final game of the event to see the Ninjinhas Bravo romp home to take the final event leaving Ninjinhas Delta to take the series championship in the process.


The results for the event were as follows:
Pro Division:
1st: Ninjinhas Bravo
2nd: JBZ
3rd: Ninjinhas Delta
4th: Berzerkers
5th: Rapinhas

Amateur Division:
1st: Ninjinhas Black
2nd: Ninjinhas Junior
3rd: JBZAM
4th: Braves Red
5th: Minas des Gerais

Brazil was a fantastic country to visit; the people, culture, food and lifestyle coupled with such gracious hosts mean that I’m already looking forward to my next opportunity to visit there! For anyone needing Eclipse Technical Support in Brazil, Megaplay are our Eclipse Service Centre for the entire country and as such Marcelo can be contacted on: paintballguntech@gmail.com