2004 NPPL season
The 2004 NPPL season was the second season of the National Professional Paintball League's Super 7 World Series, produced by Pure Promotions. Five United States tournaments offered seven-player competition in Professional and Divisions I, II and III.[1][2][3][4][5]
San Diego Dynasty won the professional series championship, with Sacramento XSV finishing second overall. Dynasty and Infamous each won two American professional events, while The Men won the season-ending Commander's Cup.[6]
Organisation and classifications
[edit]The NPPL continued its seven-player programme separately from Paintball Sports Promotions. Pure Promotions produced the Super 7 tournaments.[1]
Following the league's annual meeting on 6 December 2003, the classifications previously known as Amateur, Novice and Rookie were renamed Division I, Division II and Division III respectively. Professional retained its existing name. The league also announced a reduction in game length to seven minutes.[7]
| 2003 classification | 2004 classification |
|---|---|
| Professional | Professional |
| Amateur | Division I |
| Novice | Division II |
| Rookie | Division III |
The professional division remained open to entrants during 2004. Season rankings also contributed towards qualification for the planned restricted professional division in 2005.[1][5]
United States calendar
[edit]| Round | Event | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Beach Open | 19–21 March 2004 | Beach beside Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington Beach, California |
| 2 | Tampa Open | 21–23 May 2004 | Grass parking areas surrounding Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida |
| 3 | Denver Open | July 2004 | Parking area beside Invesco Field, Denver, Colorado |
| 4 | Las Vegas Open | September 2004 | Grass practice fields outside Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| 5 | Commander's Cup | 12–14 November 2004 | Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California |
Sources: contemporary event reports, the league's calendar announcement and existing event articles.[1][2][3][4][5][7][8]
Event results
[edit]WARPIG's contemporary reports and ClassicScores record the following divisional winners.[1][2][3][4][5][9]
| Event | Professional | Division I | Division II | Division III |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington Beach Open | San Diego Dynasty | Bonebrake Factory | STP Severe | Organized Chaos |
| Tampa Open | Infamous | Evil | Atomix | Doc's Raiders Black |
| Denver Open | Infamous | Texas Storm | Fury | Organized Chaos |
| Las Vegas Open | San Diego Dynasty | Farside | Mox Nix | PTI |
| Commander's Cup | The Men | Regime | Deadbox Factory | Stormfront |
Professional competition
[edit]Dynasty opened the season with victory at Huntington Beach. At Tampa, Infamous, formed by former Miami Effect players, defeated Dynasty in the professional final.[1][2]
Infamous won again in Denver, ahead of XSV. Dynasty returned to first place in Las Vegas, defeating XSV in the final.[3][4]
At the Commander's Cup, The Men defeated Ironmen in two consecutive championship games. Nexus finished third and XSV fourth.[5]
Divisional competition
[edit]Organized Chaos won Division III at both Huntington Beach and Denver. Each Division I and Division II event was won by a different team.[1][2][3][4][5]
The Commander's Cup divisional winners were Regime in Division I, Deadbox Factory in Division II and Stormfront in Division III. These were tournament results rather than a list of season champions.[5]
Season championship
[edit]Dynasty won the professional series championship, with XSV second overall. WARPIG's subsequent review of the early Super 7 seasons attributed XSV's position ahead of Infamous to its more consistent finishes across the season.[6]
Series rankings were distinct from individual tournament results. WARPIG's Commander's Cup report also noted that European Millennium Series results contributed to the professional ranking arrangements.[5]
Developments during the season
[edit]Playing surfaces
[edit]Artificial turf replaced exposed sand on the Huntington Beach playing fields. Denver also used the NPPL's Action Turf, laid over the stadium parking area's asphalt surface.[1][3]
NXL player classification
[edit]By Denver, the National Xball League had relaxed its restrictions on players competing in Super 7 tournaments. The NPPL rules committee classified NXL participants as professional players within its own system.[3]
NXL franchise-name restrictions affected the names used by some entrants. Chicago Aftershock players competed as Shock, Los Angeles Ironmen players as The Men, and Oakland Assassins players as Ironmen.[3]
Qualification for 2005
[edit]The final events carried additional importance because professional rankings helped determine eligibility for the following season's restricted professional division. Thirty-two professional teams entered the Commander's Cup, their last opportunity to earn ranking points during the 2004 season.[5]
See also
[edit]- National Professional Paintball League
- NPPL Super 7
- Pure Promotions
- 2003 NPPL season
- 2005 NPPL season
References
[edit]- “Huntington Beach”. WARPIG, 19–21 March 2004.
- “Super 7 Tampa”. WARPIG, May 2004.
- Bill Mills and Dawn Mills, “Super 7 Denver”. WARPIG, July 2004.
- Dawn Mills, “NPPL Las Vegas”. WARPIG, September 2004.
- “NPPL Commander's Cup 2004”. WARPIG.
- “NPPL Boston”. WARPIG, 21–23 July 2006. Includes a review of the 2003–2005 professional series championships.
- National Professional Paintball League, “NPPL Annual Meeting”. Report of the meeting held on 6 December 2003, published by WARPIG. Classification changes, game length and initial 2004 calendar.
- “2004 NPPL Commander's Cup”. WikiPaintball. Existing event article, citing the San Diego Reader announcement of 11 November 2004 for the 12–14 November dates.
- ClassicScores. Historical 2004 NPPL seven-player results for Huntington Beach, Tampa, Denver, Las Vegas and the Commander's Cup.