2021 NXL season
The 2021 NXL season was the United States tournament season of the National Xball League. Its calendar comprised four major events and two minor events. San Diego Dynasty won the professional season championship, while New Orleans Hurricanes won the Semi-Pro championship and earned promotion to the professional division for 2022. The season also included the first Women's National Xball League exhibition at the World Cup.[1][7][14][15]
Calendar
[edit]The professional and Semi-Pro championship schedules comprised the four majors. The Lone Star Am Open and Golden State Open provided additional divisional competition; Golden State also staged an Open X-Ball division.[1–7]
| Dates | Event | Classification | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19–21 March 2021 | 2021 NXL Lone Star Am Open | Minor | Giant Party Sports Paintball & Airsoft Park, Allen, Texas.[2] |
| 30 April–2 May 2021 | 2021 NXL Sunshine State Major | Major | Brown Ranch, 5000 Oren Brown Road, Kissimmee, Florida.[3] |
| 25–27 June 2021 | 2021 NXL Mid-Atlantic Major | Major | 547 Royersford Road, Royersford, Pennsylvania.[4] |
| 13–15 August 2021 | 2021 NXL Golden State Open | Minor | Capital Edge Paintball Park, Sacramento, California.[5] |
| 17–19 September 2021 | 2021 NXL Windy City Major | Major | Chicago Gaelic Park, Oak Forest, Illinois.[6] |
| 11–14 November 2021 | 2021 NXL World Cup | Major | 6000 West Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, Florida.[7] |
Formats
[edit]The major events offered professional, Semi-Pro and divisional X-Ball alongside separate five-player, three-player and ten-player competitions. The precise programme varied between events.[3][4][6][7]
Professional X-Ball used 15-minute matches with a six-point mercy limit. Semi-Pro and Division 2 used 15-minute matches with a five-point mercy limit; Divisions 3 and 4 used 12-minute matches with a four-point mercy limit; and Division 5 used ten-minute matches with a three-point mercy limit.[4][7]
Separate five-player games had five-minute limits, three-player games had three-minute limits, and amateur ten-player games had ten-minute limits. Classic five-player competition was advertised at 5.5 balls per second.[4]
Golden State's Open X-Ball division used 16-minute matches and a six-point mercy limit. This competition was distinct from the professional division contested at the majors.[5]
The World Cup programme also included mechanical Mounds five-, seven- and ten-player competitions and women's three-player and X-Ball competition.[7]
Professional competition
[edit]Edmonton Impact won the Sunshine State Major, followed by Houston Heat at the Mid-Atlantic Major. San Diego Dynasty won both the Windy City Major and World Cup.[8–11]
| Major | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Sunshine State | Edmonton Impact | Los Angeles Infamous |
| Mid-Atlantic | Houston Heat | Edmonton Impact |
| Windy City | San Diego Dynasty | San Antonio X-Factor |
| World Cup | San Diego Dynasty | San Antonio X-Factor |
Sources: official event results.[8–11]
Edmonton Impact also won Golden State's Open X-Ball competition ahead of ASG All Stars. That result was separate from the four-event professional championship.[1][12]
Final professional standings
[edit]| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Dynasty | 677 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Infamous | 641 |
| 3 | Edmonton Impact | 640 |
| 4 | Houston Heat | 619 |
| 5 | San Antonio X-Factor | 614 |
Source: official season standings.[1]
Divisional event winners
[edit]The following tables summarise event winners. Event titles and season championships were separate awards.
Major events
[edit]| Division or format | Sunshine State | Mid-Atlantic | Windy City | World Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-Pro X-Ball | Hurricanes | Annapolis A-Team | BlastCamp | Carolina Crisis |
| Division 2 X-Ball | TNB | Austin Notorious | Austin Notorious | New England Wreckage |
| Division 3 X-Ball | Philadelphia A's | New York BRAVE | Shutup we're trying | Sac DMG |
| Division 4 X-Ball | Coalition | Coalition | Coalition | Dynamic |
| Division 5 X-Ball | Tropic Thunder | Tropic Thunder | Tropic Thunder | Tropic Thunder |
| Amateur ten-player | New York Wrecking Crew | STRUGGLE | Extreme Rage | Mutiny |
| Division 3 five-player | Blackout | Veteran Militia | Tbd somos lobos | RAMPAGE |
| Division 4 five-player | Mia Outkast | War Goons | P.R. Crew | Voodoo D4 |
| Division 5 five-player | Venomous bloodline D5 | Tropic Thunder 5 | Hostile Ground 2 | PR ALL STARZ D5 |
| Open three-player | XPX | LA All Stars 3 | XPX | The Catalina Wine Mixer |
| Amateur three-player | Destiny | Jungle Cats | 406s Finest | Delta Tango Foxtrot |
| Novice/Division 5 three-player | NQPR2 | 3 Savages | PR ALL STARZ | Ronnie and the beers |
Sources: official event results. The first three events labelled the lowest three-player division Novice; World Cup labelled it Division 5.[8–11]
Additional results included Washington Winstons winning Sunshine State's Open ten-player division and Blastcamp Revolution 4 winning its mechanical 5.5 bps five-player division. Annihilators won Classic five-player at both Mid-Atlantic and Windy City. At World Cup, Extreme Rage won the Mounds five-, seven- and ten-player competitions.[8–11]
Minor events
[edit]| Division or format | Lone Star Am Open | Golden State Open |
|---|---|---|
| Open X-Ball | Not contested | Edmonton Impact |
| Division 2 X-Ball | Cartel Kidz | Colorado BLITZ |
| Division 3 X-Ball | STRUGGLE | Classic |
| Division 4 X-Ball | Psychopaths | Texas Cyclone |
| Division 5 X-Ball | Not contested | Indy Storm X |
| Division 3 five-player | GREED | Veteran Militia |
| Division 4 five-player | Texas Titans | Cen Cal Alliance |
| Division 5 five-player | Malicious | Gods Vengeance |
| Mechanical Open seven-player | Not contested | San Jose Royalty |
Sources: official event results.[12][13]
Season championships
[edit]Professional and Semi-Pro standings combined the four majors. Divisions 2–4 X-Ball and Divisions 3–4 five-player counted each team's best three results; Division 5 X-Ball and five-player counted the best two.[1]
| Division or format | Season champion | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Professional X-Ball | San Diego Dynasty | 677 |
| Semi-Pro X-Ball | New Orleans Hurricanes | 362 |
| Division 2 X-Ball | Austin Notorious | 296 |
| Division 3 X-Ball | Philadelphia A's | 283 |
| Division 4 X-Ball | Coalition | 300 |
| Division 5 X-Ball | Tropic Thunder | 200 |
| Amateur ten-player | Extreme Rage | 329.53 |
| Division 3 five-player | Veteran Militia | 296 |
| Division 4 five-player | 787 CHAOS | 288 |
| Division 5 five-player | Tropic Thunder 5 | 196 |
| Classic 5.5 bps five-player | Annihilators | 200 |
| Open three-player | Wiseguys | 358 |
| Amateur three-player | Sea Bears | 245.62 |
| Division 5 three-player | 787 Chaos | 186 |
Source: official season standings.[1]
Promotion and relegation
[edit]New Orleans Hurricanes secured the Semi-Pro season championship and promotion to the professional division for 2022. Their promotion followed a fifth-place finish at World Cup, rather than a victory at that event.[11][14]
ac Dallas were relegated from the professional division following the season. Contemporary postseason coverage identified their relegation and subsequent rebuilding.[16]
WNXL exhibition
[edit]The World Cup hosted the first WNXL exhibition on 13 November 2021. Two assembled teams, Fire and Ice, played a 20-minute X-Ball match with two-minute intervals between points. Fire won 7–3.[15]
The exhibition introduced the planned women's professional league ahead of its first full season in 2022. It was an exhibition match rather than a 2021 WNXL season championship.[15]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- PBLeagues – National Xball League: 2021 season rankings.
- PBLeagues – Lone Star Am Open: event information, 19–21 March 2021.
- PBLeagues – Sunshine State Major: event information, 30 April–2 May 2021.
- PBLeagues – Mid Atlantic Major: event information, 25–27 June 2021.
- PBLeagues – Golden State Open: event information, 13–15 August 2021.
- PBLeagues – Windy City Major: event information, 17–19 September 2021.
- PBLeagues – World Cup: event information, 11–14 November 2021.
- PBLeagues – 2021 Sunshine State Major: final results.
- PBLeagues – 2021 Mid Atlantic Major: final results.
- PBLeagues – 2021 Windy City Major: final results.
- PBLeagues – 2021 World Cup: final results.
- PBLeagues – 2021 Golden State Open: final results.
- PBLeagues – 2021 Lone Star Am Open: final results.
- Zen and the Art of Paintball – Go Pro, 23 November 2021.
- National Xball League – Fire vs. Ice: The Debut of a Female Professional Paintball League, the WNXL, 18 November 2021; updated 19 November 2021.
- Bunkerkings – 2021 World Cup Recap, 3 December 2021.