Nominees for the Icon of the Year Award
The Icon of the Year Award focuses on honoring the most iconic player of the 2022 season. These players transcended the game both on and off the field and provided a major contribution for their team's success. To be an Icon means many things; they are an elite player, the command widespread respect among the leagues best players, and achieve keystone performances that define a season.
Ryan Greenspan spent the 2022 season producing a high level of eliminations and pressure in the center of the field during Dynasty's three event wins and third straight Season Title. On the field, he is the poised and dedicated leader of the best team in the sport; off the field he is one of paintball's greatest ambassadors. Ryan relentlessly travels the world teaching paintball and promoting the sport, and his leadership on Dynasty in 2022 brought the team to the forefront of paintball to consumers worldwide. His precence on the field for Dynasty was critical in their success; one of the best closers in the game, Ryan was the one Dynasty turned to when they needed games to be saved and he played the vast majority of Dynasty's points throughout the year.
Justin Rabackoff is the quiet and reserved player that anchored the backline for some of the best performances of the 2022 year. After his critical effort to take the Saints to the finals in just their first event, he returned to Impact and played a role in which he was the jack-of-all-trades for one of the most talented rosters in the NXL. Justin was highly impactful and played nearly every critical point during 4 finals appearances, and two event wins in 2022. He plays a role that sometimes gets pushed to the back of the highly offensive Impact roster, but it is arguably the most critical in that it provides his attackers the freedom to take risks in front of his elite field vision and control.
Archie Montemayor made waves when he joined Dynasty for the 2022 season, and he rode those waves to one his best seasons ever during his nearly two decade long pro career. Becoming the primary snake attacker for the top ranked team in the World, Archie redefined the position on the field through his elite timing, gun dominance, and best-in-class decision making. In addition to his three event wins and World Title, Archie spends his time off the field creating some of the sports most unique creations with his company, Project. At the forefront of the new-age, player-built custom market, Archie was critical in changing the way companies are built and operate and inspired the next generation of player creativity in the product market.
Tyler Harmon, arguably the games greatest gunfighter, is a highly poised and defensive-minded player who anchors the second best team in the world, Houston Heat. Through his dominating gun-skills, elite zone control, and dozens of 1v1 and 1v2 victories throughout the season, he continued his reign as one of the games top players. On the field, Tyler held together the Heat roster and played nearly every single point of the 2022 season that saw Heat make the podium three times with two finals appearances. His highly popular show, Play the Game Podcast, made a huge off field impact, being the largest paintball podcast in the World and in the top 1% of all podcasts in the United States. His show has helped preserve the history of the sport, and his travels across the country teaching paintball has exposes tens of thousands to the sport of paintball.
Jacob Edwards is arguably the best player in the league under 30 years old, and his style is one of the most unique in the current NXL landscape. Jacob brings elite gunfighting, dominate zone control, and versatile offense to the surging Tampa Bay Damage franchise that won their first event in a decade in 2022 and earned two finals appearances. His style is based around playing the field at all levels and a fearless aggression to bully his opponents into submission. Jacob had one of the best moments of the season during the 2022 NXL Lonestar Open where he secured the event win for his team in a sudden death 1v1, displaying an incredibly high level of poise and ability. With the entire weight of his franchise on his shoulders during the tense moment, his victory broke the Tampa Bay dry-spell and secured their first pro win since the 2013 season.
Justin Rabackoff is the quiet and reserved player that anchored the backline for some of the best performances of the 2022 year. After his critical effort to take the Saints to the finals in just their first event, he returned to Impact and played a role in which he was the jack-of-all-trades for one of the most talented rosters in the NXL. Justin was highly impactful and played nearly every critical point during 4 finals appearances, and two event wins in 2022. He plays a role that sometimes gets pushed to the back of the highly offensive Impact roster, but it is arguably the most critical in that it provides his attackers the freedom to take risks in front of his elite field vision and control.
Archie Montemayor made waves when he joined Dynasty for the 2022 season, and he rode those waves to one his best seasons ever during his nearly two decade long pro career. Becoming the primary snake attacker for the top ranked team in the World, Archie redefined the position on the field through his elite timing, gun dominance, and best-in-class decision making. In addition to his three event wins and World Title, Archie spends his time off the field creating some of the sports most unique creations with his company, Project. At the forefront of the new-age, player-built custom market, Archie was critical in changing the way companies are built and operate and inspired the next generation of player creativity in the product market.
Tyler Harmon, arguably the games greatest gunfighter, is a highly poised and defensive-minded player who anchors the second best team in the world, Houston Heat. Through his dominating gun-skills, elite zone control, and dozens of 1v1 and 1v2 victories throughout the season, he continued his reign as one of the games top players. On the field, Tyler held together the Heat roster and played nearly every single point of the 2022 season that saw Heat make the podium three times with two finals appearances. His highly popular show, Play the Game Podcast, made a huge off field impact, being the largest paintball podcast in the World and in the top 1% of all podcasts in the United States. His show has helped preserve the history of the sport, and his travels across the country teaching paintball has exposes tens of thousands to the sport of paintball.
Jacob Edwards is arguably the best player in the league under 30 years old, and his style is one of the most unique in the current NXL landscape. Jacob brings elite gunfighting, dominate zone control, and versatile offense to the surging Tampa Bay Damage franchise that won their first event in a decade in 2022 and earned two finals appearances. His style is based around playing the field at all levels and a fearless aggression to bully his opponents into submission. Jacob had one of the best moments of the season during the 2022 NXL Lonestar Open where he secured the event win for his team in a sudden death 1v1, displaying an incredibly high level of poise and ability. With the entire weight of his franchise on his shoulders during the tense moment, his victory broke the Tampa Bay dry-spell and secured their first pro win since the 2013 season.