Tony: Well, we had won the first game and then when the second game started the Ironmen took the upper hand, shooting a couple of our players early. Time dwindled down to around a minute left with Ironmen up in a four on two situation. One Ironmen player tried to run down our snake corner player, Zane Yachimec. Josh Ouimet (Impact's dorito corner) prevented the first attempt. Another Ironmen player tried to bunker Zane, this time Zane would catch the player, leaving it two on two. After Zane shot the Ironmen player trying to bunker him, he looked inside to see another Ironman attempting to run through the middle trying to eliminate.
Zane shot him multiple times in the back before he could eliminate Josh - but this player still proceeded to run down Josh with multiple hits. The buzzer sounded and at the end of the game there would be one Ironmen player and one Impact player alive. I could see that a penalty should have be assessed on the running Ironmen player, so I stayed on the field to discuss a penalty.
As soon as the game was over the judges where all called to the middle of the field by the head judge. I tried to talk with the judges but I was told to stay away until they where finished deliberating. After about thirty minutes the head judge and Dave Zinkham ask for Oliver Lang to come on the field. Dave explained what the judges had called in the game, the judges even had a field map drawn out showing which player made which move and who received a penalty. After this was explained, Dave then explained there was a 2-for-1 penalty assessed on the Ironmen and because there was one Ironmen player left on the field, there wasn't enough players to pull for the penalty and that swing points would be awarded to us. We had won the Kansas City tournament. I was then handed the score sheet and signed it, it was then given to Oliver, he signed the sheet and threw the pen down. I then gave the thumbs up to my players on the sidelines to signal we had won.
Josh: Absolutely, the judges where very clear on there call the head judge Dave Zinkham was very clear on agreeing with the judging and both Oliver Lang and I signed the score sheet in front of the head judge and Dave Zinkham.
Bart: We see Josh Davey raising his arms in celebration after coming out of the discussion with the refs. Impact had won the second game on a penalty to the Ironmen for a 2-for-1, it was explained on a piece of paper and both players signed the game card.
Bart: It all started to unravel when Josh was approached by Dave Zinkham and Oliver to play a third game 'for the benefit of paintball' before he left field. Josh refused and was asked three times to agree to it. He stated he would take it up with the team; when I heard the request I just couldn't believe it. I said to my players that they didn't have to play the game as it was already over with the signed card and that we had nothing more gain by playing a third game.
Dave Zinkham approached Josh and I off the field to play the game again and we refused and asked for a better reason than 'for the betterment of paintball' and all we got was 'you have to play the game'. I followed Dave to the corner arguing for a reason and at that point the refs directed my players on to the field to play the third game, as I was arguing the issue.
Josh: The judges told the players to get on the field and that we had to play the game, Bart was still trying to get an explanation from Dave Zinkham on why we were playing the game and did not see the team go onto the field until it was to late. We don't call Bart a Spartan for no reason, he was furious they had just taken our first tournament win away from us 'for the betterment of paintball'.
Bart: After losing we discussed our options as we had had no reason to play the third game. We weren't going to play any further and our only thought was to concede the tournament win to the Ironmen or offer a draw. We told Shane Pestana and Oliver that we weren't going to play the 1-on-1's and that they could have the win or call it a draw as long the league accepted it. The Ironmen accepted the draw; so Josh and Oliver then approached Dave and Shawn Walker who accepted the draw proposal. .
Josh: We were put in a position of no trust, no reason to play game three and why should we play the 1-on-1s. We tried to stop it there, hoping the league would want to know why we were not playing the 1-on-1s. Instead they accepted a draw instead of dealing with the issue as to why we would not play the Ironmen.
Josh: It wasn't fun that was for sure. If I was a fan I would have been very mad, they paid to see a show and the show didn't have a ending, the league should have put their foot down and made us play, or backed up the original call the judges had made in game two.
Josh: All of our sponsors had our back no matter what went down, we have a very strong relationship with all of our sponsors. As for our fans I think a lot of them had our back and some were confused with what went down that day. Most of our fans are in Canada so they have to watch on the web cast so it's tough to see what went down. All of our fans are loyal and will always back us up with our decisions.
Josh: It's frustrating to think that we went back on the field for that third game, we should have not have played that third game without a proper reason or explanation on why we were playing that game.; we're trying to forget about it right now and concentrate on the final event in San Diego. The refs have the job of calling the plays as they see it and the league needs to let them do their job. If a ref makes a mistake of misunderstanding a rule then I can see a reason for overturning a call. I think it may be best to let each team reason with the refs as to why the call should go their way and let them vent it and then make the call after each team has made their point. It may help some of the frustrations to go away and not just say "that's the call". The league puts a lot of effort into promotions and the events themselves, they just better make sure to look after the game itself as 7-Man is a great format. The refs are key as in 7-Man one call can make or break it for a team, maybe investing some more money into the judging would help. The two Pro fields should have the premier judges and they should be rewarded for being the best judges. Then it give the new judges something to aspire to.
Josh: I think it’s a tough decision; Joy has received a lot of penalties this year in the NPPL but I’ve also seen them receive a bunch of penalties in the Millennium Series as well. Some they deserved and some they didn't. I don’t know if it’s enough to quit playing in the league, but it costs a lot of money for them to travel to the US and if they're not enjoying themselves and feel like they're being treated unfairly then I could see why they wouldn't attend next season.
Josh: We've always been a close team and I think we will stay that way. KC has just frustrated us if anything it will bring more intensity to the team and we will work that much harder to win the next tournament and the series. It's going to take a lot of work, Dynasty will not go quietly.
Bart: It's tough when you feel you have been robbed of a win and yet we may still win it. We have been a really close group from the beginning. I really believed we could make a point of an issue that a mistake was made in the call that day. Time will tell as the team has shown great composure from the beginning of the year and we just want to keep on the same trail as we have been on.
