When our Editor called me and asked the question ‘Would you
like to go to Taiwan to cover the G&G CQB Championships this year?’ I
literally jumped for joy and squealed down the phone. The G&G World Cup CQB
Shooting Competition is the World’s first Airsoft electronic target shooting
competition where contestants from around the world compete in a series of
stages including the G&G 5x5 MET system for the title of world champion in
the gorgeous city of Taipei in Taiwan. In 2015, 38 contestants from 12
countries around the globe competed in the first ever CQB shooting competition
and this year the competition is bigger, better and more intense - with 60
contestants from 25 countries including Taiwan, USA, UK, France, Switzerland
etc all competing for the title and the first prize of $10,000 USD! Teams are
chosen from qualifying events in their respective countries and those who
qualify are rewarded by G&G with paid flights/accommodation to the competition
in Taiwan and the chance to compete for the title of World Champion.
So what exactly does the competition involve? The G&G
World Cup CQB Shooting Competition has 4 stages, and they are as follows:
· STAGE
ONE: M.E.T 5x5
The M.E.T 5x5 stage is the first stage of
the competition, where contestants use the G&G CM16 – SRS rifle to
eliminate the 25 targets until completion – what’s the catch? The target
changes every 1.5 seconds. Each shooter is given a lane adjacent to their
partner and must use the provided RIF to eliminate all of the targets in the
quickest time possible.
· STAGE
TWO: Humvee Sniper
The Humvee Sniper stage is the second stage
of the competition and is one of the more elaborate stages as the name
suggests. The spotter sits in the front passenger seat of the Humvee with a
GPM-92 pistol (hands on console to begin) and the second competitor sits in the
front driver seat (with hands on steering wheel to begin) and when the M.E.T is
activated, the sniper mounts the back bed of the Humvee with a G960SV sniper.
Each contestant must eliminate their targets (sniper 2x3 and the spotter 3x3)
· STAGE 3: Search
& Destroy
Search & Destroy is the third stage of
the competition and is linked to the Humvee Sniper stage. Upon completion of
the previous stage the competitors leave the Humvee and their previous weapons
in the car, pick up their CM16 – SRS rifles and activate the M.E.T system.
During Search & Destroy the targets light up and emit a sound until cleared
– more than one target may light up and emit sounds at a different location at
the same time. Contestants during this stage are allowed to move around the
whole field but shooting can only take place in the designated shooting areas.
· STAGE
FOUR: CQB
The CQB element is the final and most
physically demanding stage of the competition. This stage is also completed
using the CM16 – SRS rifle. It is a tough CQB course littered with the M.E.T
system targets. The first competitor activates the system and the stage begins,
each area is activated on completion of the last and the contestants must
retrieve the document case
There are DQs (disqualifiers) for each stage and each stage
has it’s own particular set of rules which contestants must adhere to.
Countries that have the M.E.T 5x5 system and the full CQB course set up send 2
teams to the world shooting cup, countries who just have the M.E.T 5x5 system
like the UK are only permitted to send one team.
So what exactly happens in the competition? Most of the
contestants arrived in Taiwan from their respective countries on Thursday 8th
June ready for the competition to kick off on Friday 9th. Due to the
flight times from Heathrow I arrived in Taiwan on Friday 9th just 2
hours before the competition was due to commence, so it was a mad rush for me
to get from the Airport to the Hotel the contestants were staying in and
eventually to the Expo centre itself! The Riviera hotel is a luxurious hotel in
the centre of Taipei, located close to the expo centre. All the contestants
stay at the hotel so it is like a big sleepover and no expense is spared on the
experience. Upon walking into your room you are greeted by a G&G care
package which includes tonnes of G&G branded swag such as a personalised
hat, a towel, a small hard case and other bits and bobs which is a really nice
touch! Luckily I got to the Expo centre with time to spare and had the chance
to catch up with the team from G&G and the international media that were in
attendance over a lunchbox of traditional Taiwanese cuisine. The Expo centre
had been decked out for the event with no expense spared – it had a huge
branded stage, G&G branded gazebos for the operations, medical and
maintenance teams (the contestants are very well taken care of by the team) and
all of the competitors. The competitor tents were decorated with bunting and
flags of the teams countries which gave the whole event a very patriotic feel!
The official start of the competition was signalled by
lights and music coming from the main stage, quickly followed by dancers in
inflatable costumes performing a lively little number before the G&G CEO
himself, Mr James Liao took his place on stage to welcome the competitors. The
very first day of the competition is a chance for the teams to meet and get to
know the G&G team, the rival teams, set up their weapons/get to grips with
them, to test them out on the M.E.T and to ensure there are no gun issues prior
to the competition started. For the competition, each team gets 2 CM16-SRS
rifles, a GPM-92 pistol and a G960SV sniper rifle – all of which are straight
out of the box. No expense is spared during the competition. I spent Friday
mingling with the teams and the international media, including the awesome guys
from GSP, The House Gamers and Airsoftology.
The second day of the competition is where the competitors
qualified for their ranking the next day – those who came higher up in the
rankings would go later in the day. Each team gets two attempts to run through
each stage and their best time is used as their ranking for the finals. The day
started at 9am with all contestants ready to get their rankings and the day
went off without a hitch and all the teams were on great form which can be seen
in their scores. The second day was also when G&G held the ‘Contestants
Banquet’, after the day was over all the contestants made their way to their
designated mini buses (dubbed the party buses) and we were on our way to The
Grand Hotel in Taipei – one of the most famous hotels in the city. The hotel is
absolutely gorgeous, as you walk up the marble steps it gives way to a luscious
scarlet red carpet that spans the entire length of the foyer of the hotel. It
is decorated in with lanterns and ornate patterns and dripping in the
traditional oriental colours of red and gold. As we made our way through the
hotel into the banquet hall itself, there were banners and flags lining the
walls. The banquet was a great evening with lots of traditional Taiwanese
cuisine and the contestants are treated to Taiwanese beer and rice wine. The
banquet is a super enjoyable event with a lot of laughter and camaraderie all
round. After the evening is over, everyone was transported to the Riviera Hotel
to carry on an evening of camaraderie and drinks.
As I was only there for 4 days, my nights were spent exploring
the city of Taipei – after all, how often do you get to fly to the opposite
side of the world? During the evenings we explored downtown Taipei, from the
Shiling night market which was alive with colour, people and the smell of
street food, to the quiet little artisan beer bars in the expo centre, to the
famous beef rice bowl restaurant a short ride into the city on the MRT. Taiwan
is a stunning country full of life, colour and scents that really make you feel
alive. My only complaint, is the heat (typical Brit!) most days the temperature
was hitting 35-40 degrees and it is really humid so shorts are an absolute
must!
The third and final day of the competition is where the
teams would secure their final scores that would decide their fate in the
competition. The day started at 8.30am and all the contestants were at their
stations ready to take on the day – first up was the M.E.T 5x5 final, followed
shortly by the Humvee Sniper and Search & Destroy final and finishing up
with the CQB finals. The day went well and the competition was intense, with
crowds of people coming to watch the CQB finals from the stands, the whole expo
was alive with activity and cameras flashing recording the event. It is to my
understanding that there were a few gun fails during the last day but these
were quickly resolved by the G&G Maintenance team.
The Finale was a
spectacular event and definitely the highlight of the competition. After the
competition was complete and the scores had been counted, all of the
contestants lined up with their respective countries sign and flag awaiting the
results of the competition. Music began to play and Mr Liao started to present
the winning teams with their awards and of course the coveted prize funds. The
overall winners of the 2017 competition were Chile Team B coming in 1st winning
a very handsome $10,000 USD, Taiwan coming in 2nd and taking home
prize money of $5,000 USD and Hong Kong coming in 3rd taking home a
fab $2,000 USD. There are also monetary prizes for the winners of the
individual stages. Germany took the prize for Stage 1 – M.E.T 5x5, Hong Kong
took the prize for Stage 2 – Humvee Sniper, Chile team A were crowned the
champions for Stage 3 – Search & Destroy and Chile team B took first for
Stage 4 – CQB.
At the end of the ceremony we faced to turn the ranking
flags with the Chile national anthem being played as their flag rose to the top
of the pack, the most poignant memory I have of this moment was the Chile team
– hands over their hearts, pride in their eyes and singing their hearts out to
their anthem. It was an amazing sight to see and a very well deserved win by
the Chile team.
The UK team is sponsored by none other than Zero One Airsoft
– the shop/site where the UK M.E.T 5x5 system is based. Our UK team is chosen
from 2500 people who attend the National Airsoft Festival at Ground Zero in
Ringwood on the bank holiday weekend in August. Players over the weekend
compete in teams of two to eliminate the 5x5 in the quickest time possible –
which is no easy feat with so many competing for the chance to go to Taiwan.
Ian Cobbledick and Gavin Andrewartha from Cornwall qualified for the 2017
G&G World Shooting Cup during the 2016 NAF with the fastest time over the
weekend. During the competition they ranked an impressive 13th in
the qualifiers and 24th overall. Their plans moving forward are to
train on their very own M.E.T system and defend their title of national
champions at the Nation Airsoft Festival 2017. The guys were great competitors,
fun to chat to and did their best in the stages.
The G&G World Cup CQB Shooting Competition is held at
the same time as the Taiwan Camo Festival where stores and manufacturers come
together to put on an expo like event where players can come to try out new
guns, run stages and compete in mini competitions for prizes and of course
purchase new shiny camo and Airsoft goodies. Companies in attendance included
WE Airsoft, Modify, ICS Airsoft, VFC and Armourer Works. The Camo festival
brings hundreds of visitors every year to view new products etc. It was fun to
walk around taking in the sight of all the different camos and to try out the
marksmanship challenges that were dotted around the exhibition. There was a lot
of kit there that I REALLY fancied bringing home but my case was already filled
with swag thanks to the team at G&G so nothing more would fit in my
suitcase!
Overall, the event was a spectacular show of skill and determination
from the contestants. It was an enjoyable event filled with camaraderie and
sportsmanship and really epitomised the best aspects of the Airsoft community –
friendly competition, honest play and sportsmanship. The trip itself is the
trip of a lifetime. The competitors did great in the competition and many
international friendships were forged. It was great to meet so many people from
different cultures and learn about their customs, languages and Airsoft
communities. One thing that is clear to see is just how much time, passion and
funds G&G invest in this event - I
am so grateful to Airsoft Action for allowing me to represent them at the 2017
World Cup CQB Shooting Competition and to G&G Armament for flying me out,
being such fantastic hosts and giving me the experience of a lifetime.
The final scores/places were:
·
30th – Paraguay
·
29th – Bolivia
·
28th – Mexico
·
27th – Finland
·
26th – Romania
·
25th – French Polynesia
·
24th – United Kingdom
·
23rd – Philippines
·
22nd – France Team A
·
21st – Spain Team A
·
20th – New Zealand
·
19th – Colombia
·
18th – United States Team A
·
17th – Switzerland
·
16th – Netherlands
·
15th – Canada
·
14th – Poland
·
13th – France Team B
·
12th – Spain Team B
·
11th – United Arab Emirates
·
10th – Argentina
·
9th – Germany
·
8th Chile Team A
·
7th – Republic of China (Taiwan) Team
A
·
6th – United States Team B
·
5th – Japan
·
4th – Brazil
·
3rd – Hong Kong
·
2nd – Republic of China (Taiwan) Team
B
·
1st – Chile Team B
Hardwick, K. (2017). G&G World Cup CQB Competition 2017. Airsoft Action. 78 (September), 20-23.
