1998 NPPL Pittsburgh Open

The 1998 NPPL Pittsburgh Open was a National Professional Paintball League paintball tournament held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1998. It featured professional and amateur ten-man competition, together with amateur and novice five-man divisions.[1]

Aftershock won the professional ten-man competition. Lockout won Amateur A, Fusion won Amateur B, Highlanders won the amateur five-man competition and Eclipse I won the novice five-man competition.[1][2][3]

Playing conditions

The tournament was affected by wet weather and standing water. WARPIG's contemporary report described conditions severe enough for players to consider whether their loaders would become submerged when occupying particular bunkers.[1]

In its coverage of the 2000 Pittsburgh tournament, WARPIG recalled that downpours at the 1998 event had submerged parts of the fields, prompting the nickname "SCUBA-ball".[5]

Ten-man competition

The ten-man competition comprised preliminary rounds, semi-finals and separate professional, Amateur A and Amateur B finals.[2]

Aftershock recovered from a seven-point opening semi-final game to qualify for the professional final with 197 points. The team then scored 95, 93 and 93 points in the final round, winning with a total of 281. Image finished second, ahead of Bob Long's Ironmen and Avalanche.[2]

Professional final

Position	Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Total
1	Aftershock	95	93	93	281
2	Image	12	94	14	120
3	Bob Long's Ironmen	7	9	88	104
4	Avalanche	5	82	14	101

Scores and placings are from WARPIG's contemporary results.[2]

Amateur A final

Position	Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Total
1	Lockout	98	97	98	293
2	Xtreme	95	95	4	194
3	Thunderstorm	−26	6	94	74
4	Personal Vendetta	4	10	12	26

WARPIG records the complete final. ClassicScores independently lists Xtreme second, Thunderstorm third and Personal Vendetta fourth.[2][4]

Amateur B final

Position	Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Total
1	Fusion	95	90	98	283
2	Zero Tolerance	93	84	4	181
3	Turbulence	10	14	94	118
4	Green Dragons	14	5	12	31

WARPIG records the scores, while ClassicScores corroborates all four placings.[2][4]

Five-man competition

Five-man teams competed in preliminary and semi-final rounds before separate amateur and novice finals. WARPIG identified the amateur final as Division 1 and the novice final as Division 2.[1][3]

Highlanders won the amateur final with 122 points. The Boyz finished second with 113, one point ahead of Illusion. Eclipse I won the novice final with 173 points.[3]

Amateur final

Position	Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Total
1	Highlanders	57	59	6	122
2	The Boyz	59	0	54	113
3	Illusion	3	60	49	112
4	Fair Warning	2	2	12	16

WARPIG initially placed The Boyz below Illusion because of a calculation error. Its corrected score sheet confirms The Boyz in second place.[3]

Novice final

Position	Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Total
1	Eclipse I	55	59	59	173
2	Team Raptors	58	2	60	120
3	Absolute Carnage	7	8	0	15
4	Voo Doo	4	5	2	11

Scores and placings are from WARPIG's contemporary results.[3]

References

NPPL Pittsburgh 1998. WARPIG, 1998. Contemporary tournament overview.
10 Player Scores — NPPL Pittsburgh 1998. WARPIG, 1998. Preliminary, semi-final and final results.
5 Player Scores — NPPL Pittsburgh 1998. WARPIG, 1998. Includes the correction to the amateur final placings.
ClassicScores. “1998 NPPL — Pittsburgh, PA”. Amateur A and Amateur B ten-man placings.
Smart Parts NPPL Pittsburgh 2000. WARPIG, May 2000. Retrospective description of flooding at the 1998 tournament.