English
The entire European paintball community had to wait long months for the first real big game of the season. From July 1st to July 4th the time had finally come. Bertl Wolowitz and his event crew invited to the Big Game scenario in Brozek, Poland, just across the German border. The opening event of this year's big game season was promisingly titled TANKS. Anyone who knows the SBG team knows that the name always says it all at these events, so we headed towards Poland full of anticipation.
It's Wednesday, July 30th, 2021. – Arrival day! We set off with our team from Hanover in the direction of Poland. It goes to the Big Game scenario. Finally paintball in large format again, the anticipation is huge. At this point we would like to briefly address the topic of getting there, because many of our readers have asked questions about it after the last reports. We have therefore summarized the most important information about the SBG here in a few sentences.
The organizers keep all SBG participants up to date on the current corona measures in advance. At the last event, for example, there were test requirements. Here, the organizer quickly set up its own test center to ensure a safe and clean process. There is also a 100% money-back guarantee in the event that the event cannot take place due to official requirements. As a visitor, you are really completely secured at the SBG.
The Big Game scenario takes place on the Battleground playing field in Brozek, Poland. The place is right behind the German-Polish border. Players arriving by car generally have to cross the Neisse river. The Neisse is also the German national border. In Germany you drive onto a bridge and in Poland you drive off the bridge again. After that it goes straight for a few minutes and you can already see the first signs that guide you to the Battleground playing field. So you can't really miss it. So please don't worry when you arrive. The SBG is just over the border, it is well signposted and most of the people there speak good German. So don't worry, you definitely won't get lost 😉
Arriving at the event site, we are once again impressed by the presentation. The SBG team changes the entire appearance of the facility for practically every single Big Game scenario. The last time we were here, everything had an end-of-times look. The containers were rusty, there were wrecked cars and everything looked a bit like the computer game Fallout. A post-apocalyptic world. – There is no trace of that today. The SBG that will take place this weekend is called TANKS. Accordingly, the entire base camp shines powerfully in dark gray armored steel. Everything looks freshly renovated and has been neatly refurbished. We find ourselves in a modern military base and the event feeling of the backdrop spills over to us immediately. Really crude!
Since we, like most other players, had already registered in advance, the on-site registration only takes a few minutes. We give our names to the organization, get our documents handed over directly and can now make our way to the campsite to set up camp. There is already a lot going on there, because this time the SBG was booked out long in advance. After we found a free plot and set up the tents, we fire up the grill and quickly get a few ice-cold beers from the in-house Battleground Restaurant. The evening won't last too long tonight, because tomorrow it's off to the playing fields. We definitely don't want to miss the starting shot.
Thursday, July 1st, 2021 – Here we go… All hell broke loose in the entire facility early in the morning. Hundreds of other players have joined overnight and both the campsite and the staging area are packed. After a decent breakfast, which should give us enough strength for a long day of paintball, we check the equipment one last time and then go to the paint distribution. Without ammunition, nothing works here… The first innovation catches our eye. The organizer has obviously changed the paint brand. This year VICTORY paintballs will be sold at the event. These come from a Polish factory not far away. This should guarantee short delivery routes and good quality. A good alternative, especially in times of corona-related delivery bottlenecks for the big brands. Since we belong more to the MagFed faction, our focus was particularly on the new "Battleballs". A brand new MagFed Paint that comes in a box of 1000, designed to look like a US Army ammo box. The design is really cool.
Freshly loaded up with ammunition, it's off to the entrance to the field with bag and baggage. Only a few minutes left until the start of the game, which was supposed to take place at 1 p.m. Here we notice once again that the SBG crew really does everything to create the right mood for the topic. I have never seen so many tanks and armored vehicles at a paintball big game. But of course, we are also at an event called TANKS. By the way, next to such an armored personnel carrier you feel pretty small, I can tell you that. But when the going gets tough in the game, you can also hide behind it.
After a strenuous first day of play, the event visitors, who still hadn't had enough, were even able to take a side event with them. On Thursday evening there was the so-called MagFed Night for the MagFed faction. A night game with magazine-loaded weapons only. This very tactical area of the sport is really fun and is currently particularly popular with players. Of course we were there too. In general, the SBG Orga attaches great importance to the fact that the players never get bored during their stay on site. You're practically constantly busy from morning to night, so the two other days of the game just flew by. Leaving the tent in the morning with heavy legs from the day before and after a hearty breakfast we went to the fields. One mission follows the next and there is always something going on somewhere. The cool thing about the SBG is "everything can, nothing has to". As a player, you can use the booklet to choose in advance which missions and games you particularly like. The given dates are implemented really well by the organizers and you can rely on the event timeline.
Unfortunately, the feedback on the Victory paintballs sold on site was not as good as the organizer had expected. However, they have already reacted and announced in an official statement that other paintballs (e.g. ProShar) will be sold on site again from the upcoming event. The organizer reacted quickly and easily. We appreciate this responsiveness to player needs, so we wanted to make a point of mentioning it here.
If you don't feel like going on a specific mission, you can use your free time to have a barbecue with your team at the campsite, to explore the staging area with the big stage, or to browse the trade show in one of the numerous shops on site and to shop In addition, there are numerous side events to choose from, such as the MagFed Night mentioned above. So on Friday evening there was a Zombi Night and a pistol challenge. A Greg Hastings TimeTrials course was also available, on which the players had to hit targets in different positions against the clock. TimeTrials is practically a paintball counterpart to modern IPSC shooting. In keeping with the “TANKS” motto, it was also possible to register for a free tank ride across the site. Driving through the terrain with the heavy iron monster is a really cool feeling.
If you wanted to relax a little after a hard day's play, you could use the beach shuttle to take you to the nearby bathing lake and beach volleyball tournament. Another highlight that was very popular with the players. The shuttles were always well filled. Three days of SBG just flew by for us. The Big Game scenario was fully booked again this time. Believe it or not, 1500 guests were in the books at the end, making the SBG currently by far the largest paintball event on European soil. We hope you had as much fun as we did and that we'll see you again at the next SBG. If you are reading these lines, the follow-up event has already taken place. This time it's going to be hearty, organizer Bertl Wolowitz invites you from 02.09. until 05.09.2021 for the SBG Wiesn Special. A Paintball Oktoberfest where lots of fun and in this case Oktoberfest atmosphere is offered. We are curious how you experience the event and look forward to your feedback.
