Back to BlastCamp: Chasing Greatness in the Midwest

By Chad Figuerado
July 26th, 2025
Hobart, Indiana

The air was thick with that familiar mix of paint and adrenaline as we rolled into BlastCamp  this past weekend. It wasn’t just another tournament. This was Event #3 of the 2025 MAX Series—the Region’s most competitive paintball league. Our crew, stitched together from three different states, wasn’t here just to play. We came to see if we had what it takes to come out on top with the best teams in the Midwest.

But the real story, that started long before the first horn.

It was Summer 2021. I was just a guy chasing extra reps, willing to drive five hours to a random Wednesday night drill session with no big expectations. I didn’t know a single person. I just wanted to sharpen my game before a national event.

I had no idea that night would change everything.

Virgil, the owner of BlastCamp, greeted me with the kind of warmth that made me feel like I’d known him for years. His son Jackson, Kyle Baran, and Trevor Stewart were there too—guys who had already been making waves in the paintball scene. We started with 1v1s that went better than I expected, we broke down the field together like we were plotting a heist, and wrapped it all up with pickup games until the sun went down.

It felt like kids playing basketball at the park. Pure. Raw. Unfiltered.

By the time I climbed back into my car for that long drive home, something had shifted. I didn’t know it yet, but I had just found my people.

Those extra reps paid off. Both of the teams I was connected to podiumed at NXL Philly shortly after—wins that were captured in Doug the Media Guy’s documentary. (Seriously, watch it: here).

When BlastCamp launched its own league, there was no question. We had to be a part of it.

Year one was brutal. We took our lumps… hard. Success at other events meant nothing here. These were the killers of the Midwest, and we were fighting uphill every match. But we learned. By year two, we started to click, thanks in part to Adrian and Carlos flying all the way in from Puerto Rico to grind with us. Twice, we clawed our way to the finals… and twice, we lost in overtime.

The sting of those losses never really goes away.

This season, I stepped back to coach, a role I quickly learned is much harder than solving problems with a marker in your hands. After an 0-4 finish at Event 2, the team was spiraling and mentally tanking. Key players couldn’t make the next event. Quiet questions started floating: Is this even worth it? Should we just be done?

But there was no way we were walking away. Not after everything. Not when this team was built to honor our friend Makala Brooks.

So, I started making calls. Friends from across the country answered, and suddenly we had a team for Event 3, a ragtag crew that had never played together before. The first match was rough. Disjointed. Ugly. But something did actually click.

We remembered why we were here.

Coach Rick kept hammering it home: We are the best team here. And for the first time in weeks, we started to believe it.

Step one: Get out of prelims. Check.

Step two: Take down the league leaders in the quarterfinals. Check. We won a 1v3 in the second point that changed everything. The energy shifted. We could feel it.

Step three: Beat the team that embarrassed us that morning. Check. Ten minutes. Single point. We clutched it out with three seconds left on the clock and the pits were going crazy!

And then… the finals.

It was a war. Back-and-forth. Trading points like heavyweights in the late rounds. And just like the two finals before, we lost in overtime.

Another heartbreak. Another near miss.

Raze took what was ours—they came from behind and earned it. But in the quiet aftermath, when the crowds had left and the field was still, I couldn’t shake the question: Why can’t we win this league?

This game is a drug. The highs at the top of the mountain are like nothing else. But when you fall short… it’s a ripping, gnawing emptiness in your chest.

And maybe that’s what makes it worth it.

By all accounts, we pulled off something incredible with this patchwork roster. But it’s not enough. Not for us. Not when we’ve come this far.

The finale is in September.

And all I can say is… if you thought this chapter was intense, you won’t want to miss what’s coming next.