2008 Millennium Series Iberian Cup

The 2008 Millennium Series Iberian Cup, also known as the Málaga Iberian Cup, was a Millennium Series paintball tournament held at Playa del Castillo in Fuengirola, Málaga province, Spain, from 4 to 6 April 2008. It opened the 2008 Millennium Series season.[1][2]

Joy Stockholm won the professional Champions Paintball League (CPL) competition, defeating Copenhagen Ducks 5–0 in the final. Budapest Bullets finished third and Frankfurt Syndicate fourth.[2][3]

Venue and organisation

The tournament took place on Fuengirola's Playa del Castillo. Mercury Paintball was identified in contemporary Spanish coverage as the event's organiser in Spain.[1]

The announced venue arrangements included artificial turf laid over the beach sand, four playing fields measuring 50 metres by 50 metres, spectator stands accommodating 800 people and an accompanying recreation area.[1]

A pre-event report in Diario Sur announced an expected field of more than 160 teams, approximately 1,300 players and 60 referees from 35 countries. These were advance participation figures rather than a published final attendance count.[1]

The advertised programme scheduled preliminary competition for Friday 4 and Saturday 5 April, followed by semi-finals and finals on Sunday 6 April.[1]

Champions Paintball League

Professional final

Joy Stockholm entered the season as the reigning 2007 CPL champions. The Swedish team began its title defence with a 5–0 victory over Denmark's Copenhagen Ducks in the Iberian Cup final.[2]

Contemporary reporting described the CPL format as a 15-minute match with a target of five points.[2]

Match	Winning team	Score	Losing team
CPL final	Joy Stockholm	5–0	Copenhagen Ducks

Final standings

The archived official CPL ranking table records the following Málaga event placings and championship points. These points contributed to the season championship and are distinct from individual match scores.[3]

Position	Team	Championship points
1	Joy Stockholm	100
2	Copenhagen Ducks	88
3	Budapest Bullets	80
4	Frankfurt Syndicate	72
5	Vision PPC Grenoble	64
6	Moscow Phoenix	56
7	London Shock	48
8	Marseille Icon	40
9	Chilli Peppers Riga	32
10	London Nexus	28
11	Philly Dogs	24
12	Stockholm Ignition	20
13	Consilium Dei Zurich	16
14	Oslo Menace	12
15	Moscow Caste	8
16	Influence Montpellier	4

Division 1

Contemporary local reporting recorded a third-place Division 1 finish for Notorious London. Club Calibre 68 published its account on 9 April, identifying the team as a podium finisher at the tournament.[4]

Championship position

As the opening round, the Iberian Cup established the initial CPL championship standings. Joy Stockholm led with 100 points, followed by Copenhagen Ducks on 88 and Budapest Bullets on 80.[3]

Joy ultimately won the 2008 season championship with 412 points. The Iberian Cup was its only CPL event victory that season, supplemented by podium finishes in London, Germany and Paris.[3]

Second place at Málaga was Copenhagen Ducks' highest finish of the season. Frankfurt Syndicate's fourth place and Vision PPC Grenoble's fifth were also their respective best event results that year.[3]

The series continued with the Campaign Cup in London in May, followed by Toulouse, the Nürburgring and Paris-Disney.[3]

References

Unos 1.300 jugadores participarán en el Europeo de Paintball — M. J. Cruzado, Diario Sur, 28 March 2008; reproduced by Club Calibre 68 on 29 March 2008.
Sverige vann Malaga Iberian Cup en deltävling i Champions Paintball League 2008 — Svenska Magasinet, 7 April 2008; event dates, CPL final and competition format.
CPL ranking 2008 — The Millennium Series, archived official event placings and season standings.
Notorius podium en Millenium — Club Calibre 68, 9 April 2008; Division 1 third-place report.