2017 NXL season

The 2017 NXL season was the National Xball League's United States tournament season. Its five-event national championship ran from March to November, with Edmonton Impact winning the professional season title and Sacramento DMG winning Semi-Pro.[1]

Calendar

Event	Dates	Venue	Location
Las Vegas Open	17–19 March 2017	Craig Ranch Regional Park	North Las Vegas, Nevada
Texas Open	5–7 May 2017	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
Atlantic City Open	23–25 June 2017	Bader Field	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Chicago Open	8–10 September 2017	Chicago Gaelic Park	Oak Forest, Illinois
World Cup	2–5 November 2017	6000 West Osceola Parkway	Kissimmee, Florida

Sources: official event information.[2][3][4][5][6]

Winter Classic

The 2017 NXL Winter Classic took place on 11–12 February at Austin-Tindall Regional Park in Kissimmee, Florida.[7] Its results were separate from the five-event national championship standings.[1]

San Antonio X-Factor won Open Pro five-player ahead of Paintball Combine AllStars and San Diego Dynasty. NRG Elite 2 won Division 2 five-player, while Paintball Combine Planet Eclipse won Division 4 five-player.[8] Contemporary coverage identified it as the first NXL Winter Classic.[9]

Formats and rules

The main national events offered Professional, Semi-Pro and Division 2–4 X-Ball, alongside separate Division 3–5 five-player and Open ten-player competitions. Mechanical five-player competition appeared at the first four championship events, while pump competition was held at Las Vegas and World Cup.[10][11][12][13][14]

The 2017 NXL rulebook defined X-Ball as a timed, multiple-point format with mercy limits. Professional matches had 16 minutes of playing time and ended early if a team established a seven-point lead. The rulebook specified five-point mercy limits for Semi-Pro and Division 2, and four-point limits for Divisions 3 and 4.[15]

For professional matches tied after regulation, the rules provided for five minutes of sudden-death overtime, followed by one-on-one play if necessary.[15]

The league also emphasised enforcement of its goggle chinstrap requirements in 2017. Players were required to wear the manufacturer's chinstrap properly fastened; failure to do so resulted in elimination.[16]

Professional competition

Four teams won professional events. San Diego Dynasty won Las Vegas, Houston Heat won Texas, and Moscow Red Legion won Atlantic City. Edmonton Impact won the final two events, Chicago and World Cup.[10][11][12][13][14]

Event	Winner	Runner-up
Las Vegas Open	San Diego Dynasty	Edmonton Impact
Texas Open	Houston Heat	Edmonton Impact
Atlantic City Open	Moscow Red Legion	Tampa Bay Damage
Chicago Open	Edmonton Impact	ac DALLAS
World Cup	Edmonton Impact	San Diego Dynasty

Sources: official event placings.[10][11][12][13][14]

Final professional standings

Position	Team	Season points
1	Edmonton Impact	933
2	San Antonio X-Factor	808
3	Tampa Bay Damage	774
4	San Diego Dynasty	768
5	Houston Heat	742

Source: final season standings.[1]

Divisional event winners

Team names below follow the individual event records.

Division	Las Vegas[10]	Texas[11]	Atlantic City[12]	Chicago[13]	World Cup[14]
Semi-Pro X-Ball	Sacramento DMG	Sacramento DMG	MLKings	Sacramento DMG	Sacramento DMG
Division 2 X-Ball	PLUMLIFE	Ralph Boyz	NRG Elite	Gulf Coast Hurricanes	NRG Elite
Division 3 X-Ball	Utah Tropics	TBD Jits	Narcos	Palm Beach Vipers	Carolina Crisis
Division 4 X-Ball	Sacramento DMG GOLD	Texas PhalanX Gray	HVP Wrecking Crew	Project Mayhem	Project Mayhem
Open ten-player	San Diego Aftermath	AAF 2	Fox 4 Darkside	DST Alumni	OUTLAWS
Division 3 five-player	Wicked	West Coast Sharks 3	DC Justice	Sauceboyz	Armagedon GUA
Division 4 five-player	Team Bro Army	Miami DVS	ThunderCats	Hostile Ground	TEAM SPEED GOLD
Division 5 five-player	Extreme XSV Silver	Shut up we're trying	Detroit Action IV	Detroit Action IV	Shut up we're trying
Mechanical Intermediate five-player	THE eNMEy	THE eNMEy	THE eNMEy	THE eNMEy	—
Open pump five-player	Dirtbags	—	—	—	Batteries Not Included

At World Cup, DST Alumni also won Amateur ten-player, while CT Redemption won Amateur 5.5 bps three-player.[14]

Season champions

The following teams finished first in the published season standings for divisions contested across multiple national events.[1]

Division	First-placed team	Season points
Professional X-Ball	Edmonton Impact	933
Semi-Pro X-Ball	Sacramento DMG	464
Division 2 X-Ball	NRG Elite	430.06
Division 3 X-Ball	TBD Jits	427.61
Division 4 X-Ball	Project Mayhem	406.63
Open ten-player	AAF 2	455.79
Division 3 five-player	West Coast Sharks 3	401.42
Division 4 five-player	LVPP OUTKAST	408.83
Division 5 five-player	Detroit Action IV	263.71
Open pump five-player	Batteries Not Included	170
Mechanical Intermediate five-player	THE eNMEy	400

Two-player competition

NXL two-player competition had a separate registration and standings system, encompassing local tournaments and championship events. Greenwich Yacht Club finished first in its published Amateur season standings with 342.47 points.[17]

The NXL 2vs2 World Championship recorded the following winners:[18]

Division	Winner
Championship Amateur	Boe
Female Amateur	Charming Destiny
Novice	MOB 2v2
Youth	Los Cubanasos

Promotion and changes to the professional field

P.C. Katana entered the 2017 professional division following its 2016 Semi-Pro championship.[19]

After winning the 2017 Semi-Pro title, Sacramento DMG moved into the professional division for 2018. Contemporary reporting in December 2017 confirmed the team's promotion.[20]

The professional division expanded from 16 teams to 20 for 2018, adding Sacramento DMG, New York Xtreme, Scottsdale Elevation and MLKings.[21] Seattle Thunder, which finished last professionally in 2017, remained in the 2018 professional field.[1][22]

References