2018 NXL season
The 2018 NXL season was the National Xball League's United States national tournament season, comprising five events from March to November. Houston Heat won the professional season championship, while San Diego Aftermath won Semi-Pro.[1]
Calendar
[edit]| Event | Dates | Venue | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Open | 9–11 March 2018 | Craig Ranch Regional Park | North Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Texas Open | 4–6 May 2018 | Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Atlantic City Open | 22–24 June 2018 | Bader Field | Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Chicago Open | 14–16 September 2018 | Chicago Gaelic Park | Oak Forest, Illinois |
| World Cup | 8–11 November 2018 | 6000 West Osceola Parkway | Kissimmee, Florida |
Sources: official event information.[2][3][4][5][6]
Professional expansion
[edit]The professional division expanded from 16 teams to 20 for 2018. Sacramento DMG, New York Xtreme, Scottsdale Elevation and MLKings joined the professional field.[7]
Seattle Thunder retained a professional place through the expansion after finishing last in the 2017 standings. The league's broadcaster subsequently described Thunder as having been saved from relegation by the expansion.[8]
Formats
[edit]The national programme included Professional, Semi-Pro and Division 2–4 X-Ball, separate Division 3–5 five-player competitions, Open and Amateur ten-player divisions, and Open and Amateur three-player competitions. Selected events also offered pump and mechanical five-player competition.[9][10][11][12][13]
The 2018 NXL rulebook specified timed, multiple-point X-Ball matches with division-specific mercy limits.[14]
| Division | Regulation playing time | Mercy-rule lead |
|---|---|---|
| Professional | 15 minutes | Six points |
| Semi-Pro | 15 minutes | Five points |
| Division 2 | 15 minutes | Five points |
| Division 3 | 12 minutes | Four points |
| Division 4 | 12 minutes | Four points |
For the expanded professional division, ten teams advanced from the preliminary round. Six advanced directly to the quarter-finals, while four entered a wildcard round to determine the remaining two quarter-finalists.[14]
World Cup also included separate championship divisions and competitions played on mounds fields.[13]
Professional competition
[edit]Edmonton Impact won Las Vegas and Atlantic City, Houston Heat won Texas and World Cup, and Moscow Red Legion won Chicago.[9][10][11][12][13]
| Event | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Open | Edmonton Impact | San Antonio X-Factor |
| Texas Open | Houston Heat | Edmonton Impact |
| Atlantic City Open | Edmonton Impact | ac DALLAS |
| Chicago Open | Moscow Red Legion | Los Angeles Ironmen |
| World Cup | Houston Heat | Moscow Red Legion |
Sources: official final placings.[9][10][11][12][13]
The professional World Cup final also decided the season championship. Houston Heat needed to win the final to secure the series title; a Moscow Red Legion victory would instead have given the season championship to Edmonton Impact.[15]
Final professional standings
[edit]| Position | Team | Season points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Heat | 873 |
| 2 | Edmonton Impact | 871 |
| 3 | Moscow Red Legion | 808 |
| 4 | ac DALLAS | 800 |
| 5 | San Diego Dynasty | 786 |
Source: final season standings.[1]
Divisional event winners
[edit]Team names below follow the individual event records.
| Division | Las Vegas[9] | Texas[10] | Atlantic City[11] | Chicago[12] | World Cup[13] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-Pro X-Ball | San Diego Aftermath | San Diego Aftermath | Indianapolis Mutiny | San Diego Aftermath | Indianapolis Mutiny |
| Division 2 X-Ball | Camp Pendleton Raiders | Preferred mob | Carolina Crisis | Camp Pendleton Raiders | Gulf Coast Hurricanes |
| Division 3 X-Ball | TOG | Str8Killas | Royal City Seadogs II | Blastcamp Revolution | Raw Material |
| Division 4 X-Ball | PaintballFIT.com | PaintballFIT.com | Annapolis A-Team RBC | PaintballFIT.com | DSO |
| Open ten-player | Boom | Los Angeles Ironmen 10 Man | Washington Winstons | FCK Cancer Allstarz | Boom |
| Amateur ten-player | Tsunami | Narcos | TJ Evans Turrets | GOATMOB | T.B.L |
| Division 3 five-player | TNB | Veteran Militia | Richmond Rage | Veteran Militia | Veteran Militia |
| Division 4 five-player | A.M.H | Cen Cal Alliance | Super Fast | Thunderstruck | TBD AH-SO |
| Division 5 five-player | Austin Chaos D5 | Renegades | Austin Chaos D5 | Austin Chaos D5 | DeaD RaBBiTs |
| Open three-player | UNDR BOIS | OUTLAWS | Wild Dogs | CD3 BSB | G.O.A.T.S |
| Amateur three-player | Veteran Militia Bravo | Fox Brothers BATTALION | XPX | Destiny X | WKIT |
Scorpions won Mechanical Open five-player at Las Vegas and Texas. Steve the Pirates Wrecking Crew won the division at Chicago. Atlantic City's record listed Scorpions first without ranking points.[9][10][11][12]
LA Hitmen.com won Open pump five-player at Las Vegas, while SOS won the division at World Cup.[9][13]
Additional World Cup results
[edit]| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| Championship Division 3 X-Ball | LVPP Icemen NAC |
| Championship Division 4 X-Ball | Dead Rabbits NAC |
| Championship Division 4/5 RaceTo-2 five-player | Take Notes NAC |
| Mounds Open ten-player | Saberwolves |
| Mounds Open five-player | All Americans |
Source: World Cup final placings. These were separate competitions from the regular divisional season standings.[13]
Season champions
[edit]The following teams finished first in the published standings for divisions contested across multiple national events.[1]
| Division | First-placed team | Season points |
|---|---|---|
| Professional X-Ball | Houston Heat | 873 |
| Semi-Pro X-Ball | San Diego Aftermath | 473.08 |
| Division 2 X-Ball | Camp Pendleton Raiders | 430.05 |
| Division 3 X-Ball | VINTAGE | 452.66 |
| Division 4 X-Ball | Noobies | 426.8 |
| Open ten-player | Washington Winstons | 270.71 |
| Amateur ten-player | Tsunami | 169.14 |
| Division 3 five-player | Veteran Militia | 362.14 |
| Division 4 five-player | Cen Cal Alliance | 326.99 |
| Division 5 five-player | Austin Chaos D5 | 392.5 |
| Mechanical Open five-player | Scorpions | 255 |
| Open three-player | G.O.A.T.S | 229.29 |
| Amateur three-player | LOS BOLSONES | 357.14 |
San Diego Aftermath finished 0.49 points ahead of Indianapolis Mutiny, which accumulated 472.59 points.[1]
Promotion and relegation
[edit]The 2018 rulebook provided for the last-placed professional team to be relegated to Semi-Pro and the first-placed Semi-Pro team to be promoted for the following season.[14]
Chicago Aftershock finished twentieth professionally and was relegated. Semi-Pro champion San Diego Aftermath moved into the professional division for 2019.[1][7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- PBLeagues – National XBall League: 2018 season rankings.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Las Vegas Open: event information.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Texas Open: event information.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Atlantic City Open: event information.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Chicago Open: event information.
- PBLeagues – 2018 World Cup: event information.
- Zen and the Art of Paintball – Retrospective comparison of professional newcomers, including the 2018 expansion and Aftermath's replacement of relegated Aftershock in 2019.
- Major League Paintball Plus – Thunder: Scouting Report.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Las Vegas Open: final rankings.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Texas Open: final rankings.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Atlantic City Open: final rankings.
- PBLeagues – 2018 Chicago Open: final rankings.
- PBLeagues – 2018 World Cup: final rankings.
- National Xball League – NXL Rules 2018, version 1.0, sections 5 and 8; copy hosted by Canyon Paintball.
- GoSports, archived by Major League Paintball Plus – 2018 broadcasts, including “Sunday Set 10 – Red Legion vs Heat”.