;MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Hundreds of servicemembers from Marine bases all over California gathered at the paintball fields here Saturday to see who was the best in the West in military paintball.

The event, aptly name Paintball Persecution, was a five-on-five, capture the flag tournament, in which 19 teams battled it out for more than seven hours on three different courses.

However, before the games even began, tension started to grow as players started revealing their equipment, some of which cost more than $1,000 per gun.

"Some of these guys out here have suitcases full of equipment, which makes me wonder if I even have a chance," said Cpl. Jan Bender, a combat correspondent with Camp Pendleton's KPEN news program. "It doesn't really matter though because whether you win or lose it is still going to be good training and a lot of fun."

As the games began, the competition level started to rise as teams battled to move to the top of their division for a shot at the finals. To compete in the tournament finals, a team must have been in first place in their division at the end of regulation play.

There was also one slot open for a wildcard team, the team with the highest amount of points after regulation play, that had not already made it into the paintball finals.

Although not every team would be able to win a trophy, for some Marines, like Lance Cpl. Robert Beard, a combat engineer with the Marine Ready Company, Combat Service Support Battalion 10 in Camp Pendleton, the combat style training was enough to make the day worthwhile.

"It was a lot of fun out here and there was a lot of good action and good training," he said. "I just got back from Iraq and will probably be going back soon, so this will keep me ready by practicing team movements and rushing in to take cover behind anything you can find."

Training is just one reason why sponsors such as the Single Marine Program put on events like this, but the main reason is to just brew up some good, friendly competition.

"This is our fourth tournament, and it is the best turnout yet," said Alisa Hertzler, Miramar SMP coordinator. "Paintball is very popular amongst Marines and I think they are really into the competitive aspect of it. Marines are always good at sports and events that are very competitive, especially when they have to work as a team."

At the end of the day, it was evident who was able to work the best as a team as Hertzler and a representative from the Camp Pendleton Paintball Park handed out the first place trophy to Team Renegade, a walk-on civilian team, second place to Team Ghost, a group of Camp Pendleton corpsmen, and third place to Team Miramar Combat Correspondents, a group of Miramar's own combat correspondents.

Sgt. Joshua Stueve, a first time paintball player with Team MCC, walked away from the tournament not only with a third place trophy, but also a new found appreciation for the sport.

"I think we did really well for having a team full of Marines that haven't really played too much paintball," he said. "It was my first time playing and I had a blast. I can't wait to get out there and do it again."