Russian Legion takes their first professional win here in the United States in 6 years since losing their three star players to Houston Heat in the off season of 2011. Russian Legion defeated Tampa Bay Damage at the National Xball League (NXL) Atlantic City event staying ahead on points for the entire match and capitalizing on the importance of the center Win (wall) bunker. RL only lost by one point, but they were dominant and ahead the entire match. Russian Legion recently won a Millennium Series event in Bitburg, Germany, but this is their first ever modern NXL win. Read on for a blow by blow recounting of the final match!
The first point went long with Russian Legion getting in all 5 alive (including the loan player in the center) and Tampa Bay Damage losing only Cortes off the snake side. Damage didn't shoot a single RL player until they crossed to their side of the field and RL took the first point.
Damage pulls a very questionable minor penalty while diving into the snake even though he immediately left without shooting his gun to start the second point. Legion cleans up fast and takes the second point.
Legion again shoots the snake player off the break to start the third point. Damage quickly shoots a snake side player off of Legion to even up the bodies 4 to 4. Alexander "Malloy" Berdnikov dies going into the small Win bunker in the snake but Tim Montressor and Jacob Edwards of TBD get eliminated quickly out of their bunkers followed by the rest the team. Russian Legion stays dominant and goes up 3 to 0 with less than 7 minutes on the clock after another long point.
Tampa Bay Damage takes the center Win (wall) for the first time in the finals and trades out with the center and RL sends one with a second player going into the small center Win bunker. Both get eliminated quickly by Daniel Holliday who trades out with the second. Damage stays up bodies and takes their first point to make it 3 to 1.
RL shoots Holliday out of the center before he makes it to the center wall and takes both the center and the tall tower on the snake side. Damage concedes the point after losing more bodies out of their bunkers and Russian Legion goes up by three points again: 4 to 1. Russian Legion is taking the center all alive every point.
TBD loses Holliday again going to the center but Cortes takes the center mini Win and eliminates the Russian player at the big center Wall. Damage wins a quick two on one against Axel Gaudin with just over 2 minutes left on the clock making the score 4 to 2.
RL sends two to the center wall and TBD trades with one but Krill stays alive in the center. Cortes goes down the snake and TBD wins a two on two but with only 14 seconds on the clock taking it to a one point game.
Tampa Bay Damage runs to their deaths trying to take a miracle point, but RL runs through on them off the break and manages to hold them off to win!
