Big Apple Tournament of Champions

The Big Apple Tournament of Champions was a major American paintball tournament held outside Newburgh, New York, in June 1988. Organised by Jerry Braun at the National Survival Game of New York, it was formally the second annual International Air Pistol Open.[1]

The tournament attracted 43 teams and approximately 700 players from the United States and Canada. It combined round-robin play, elimination rounds, a losers’ bracket and a final-four stage, while permitting substantially modified 12-gram paintball markers.[1][2]

The final ended without a decisive game result. Navarone Armageddon and the Lords of Discipline were declared co-champions and shared the first- and second-place prize money. Braun later added the Florida Bushmasters to a three-way tie for first-place honours, although the Bushmasters did not share the leading prize money.[1]

Origins

The Big Apple Tournament of Champions developed from the International Air Pistol Open promoted by the National Survival Game of New York.

The first Air Pistol Open was announced for the weekend beginning 18 July 1987 near New York City. It was planned as a 15-player tournament using paintball pistols, with guaranteed prizes of $15,000 for first place, $5,000 for second and $2,000 for third.[3]

An advertisement published in February 1988 identified Navarone as the winner of the first International Air Pistol Open.[4]

For the second tournament, director Jerry Braun used the name “Big Apple Tournament of Champions”. Contemporary reporting continued to identify the event formally as the second annual International Air Pistol Open.[1]

1988 tournament

Date and location

The second International Air Pistol Open was held at the National Survival Game of New York field outside Newburgh.[1]

The opening paragraph of the Action Pursuit Games report gives the dates as 24–25 June 1988. The same report, however, describes competition on Friday and Saturday followed by the final four on Sunday, while the accompanying tournament notes call it a three-day event. The tournament therefore continued through Sunday, 26 June.[1][2]

Field and format

Forty-three North American teams entered, representing approximately 700 players. The tournament used several wooded playing fields of different dimensions and terrain.[1][2]

Initial round-robin games awarded cumulative points and encouraged teams to pursue flag captures. Later rounds used single-game elimination, in which teams frequently adopted more defensive tactics and allowed the 45-minute time limit to expire after gaining a small advantage in surviving players.[1][2]

The event also included a losers’ bracket. This allowed teams defeated in the main competition to continue playing and potentially return to the prize-winning positions. Action Pursuit Games described it as the first use of such a bracket at a major money tournament.[1]

The combination of round-robin, elimination and losers’ bracket games created a large schedule. Matches were repeatedly delayed, with some afternoon sessions beginning at approximately 5 p.m. and continuing into darkness. Unfinished games were carried over to the following morning.[1]

Paintball markers and equipment

The tournament permitted a broader range of modified equipment than many contemporary events. Each marker was required to:

use one 12-gram CO₂ cartridge;
be .68 calibre;
remain below a three-shot average of 295 feet per second;
have a barrel no longer than 12 inches;
use gravity feed rather than spring feed.[2]

Direct-feed systems, quick-change CO₂ devices, stocks, replacement barrels and box loaders were permitted. External velocity adjusters were also allowed, although tournament officials marked them with silicone to discourage adjustment after chronographing.[1][2]

Teams used modified Nel-Spots, Skirmish SI markers, Carter Comp markers, customised PMI Sheridans, PMI-1s, PGPs and Mag 68s. The Canadian team Express entered with prototype Brass Eagle semi-automatic pistols modified to comply with the gravity-feed requirement, but feeding problems led some players to change to pump-action Model 68 Nightmares.[2]

The tournament reportedly consumed more than 650,000 paintballs. This represented an average of approximately 15,000 paintballs per team and 1,000 per player.[2]

Rules and officiating

The tournament employed between approximately 60 and 90 support staff and referees at different points. Some referees worked more than sixteen hours per day as the schedule fell behind.[1]

Several rules proved controversial:

referees could temporarily exchange a player’s marker for a field rental while the original marker was chronographed;
players could be eliminated for saying the words “hit” or “out”, even when referring to another player;
crossing a boundary tape with any part of the body resulted in immediate elimination;
tools were prohibited in staging areas, preventing players from cleaning or repairing markers after passing the chronograph; and
tie-breaking procedures had not been defined at the captains’ meeting.[1]

Combat Crew withdrew from the tournament after one of its players was disqualified for fighting. No complete team was formally disqualified under the rule covering serious cheating, intimidation or disruption.[1]

Final four

The final four consisted of:

Navarone Armageddon;
Lords of Discipline;
Florida Bushmasters; and
PMI Piranhas.[1]

Navarone Armageddon defeated the PMI Piranhas after breaking through the Piranhas’ defence and hanging the flag. The result assured Armageddon a place in the first- or second-place match.[1]

The Florida Bushmasters and Lords of Discipline finished their game in a scoreless tie. Braun authorised a five-minute, three-player tiebreaker, which also ended 0–0. With no announced procedure available for breaking the second tie, a coin toss was used. The Lords of Discipline won the toss and advanced, despite the Bushmasters remaining undefeated on the field.[1]

The Bushmasters then defeated the PMI Piranhas by taking their flag with approximately two minutes remaining.[1]

Championship decision

The championship game between Navarone Armageddon and the Lords of Discipline ended 0–0 as darkness made continued play impractical.[1]

After the game, paint was observed on the neck and back of a Lords player. Officials could not identify a welt demonstrating that the paint came from a direct hit, and Braun ruled that the player had not been eliminated. The player’s marker was not checked as a possible source of the paint.[1]

No further tiebreaker was played. Braun declared Navarone Armageddon and the Lords of Discipline co-champions and divided the first- and second-place prize money between them.[1]

Braun subsequently ruled that the Florida Bushmasters should share a three-way tie for first-place honours because they had the same win-and-tie record as Navarone. The Bushmasters were not included in the division of the first- and second-place purse.[1]

Team	Recorded final status
Navarone Armageddon	Co-champion; shared first- and second-place prize money
Lords of Discipline	Co-champion; shared first- and second-place prize money
Florida Bushmasters	Won its placement game against PMI Piranhas; later added to the tie for first-place honours, but not the leading prize money
PMI Piranhas	Lost its final placement game to the Florida Bushmasters

Prize money discrepancy

The October 1988 cover and contents page of Action Pursuit Games advertised the event as a $50,000 tournament.[1]

The tournament report stated that, without the tie, first place would have received $25,000, second $20,000, third $5,000 and fourth $2,000, while the teams finishing fifth through twelfth would receive $1,000 each. These figures total $60,000 rather than $50,000.[1]

The surviving report does not explain the discrepancy. It does establish that twelve teams received money and that the first- and second-place allocations were combined and divided between Navarone Armageddon and the Lords of Discipline.[1]

Historical significance

The Big Apple Tournament of Champions demonstrated both the increasing scale and the organisational difficulties of late-1980s tournament paintball. Its large field, extensive equipment modifications, cash prizes, high paint consumption and experimental losers’ bracket reflected the sport’s rapid competitive development.[1][2]

The event also exposed problems involving scheduling, equipment inspection, undefined tie-breaking procedures, playing costs and inconsistent decisions. Contemporary reporter Jessica J. Sparks described the tournament as a landmark event while also criticising its delays, changing rulings and lack of a clear champion.[1]

References