Ballbusters

Ballbusters was a Malaysian tournament paintball team from Kuala Lumpur. The team won the Division 2 championship of the 2008 Malaysian National Paintball League (MY-NPL), including victories in four of the season's five events.[1][2][3]

Contemporary records also styled the organisation Kelab Ball Buster.[4] Its relationship with the earlier name Sogo Ballbusters has not been established.

History

2008 MY-NPL season

Ballbusters competed in Division 2 of the 2008 Malaysian National Paintball League. It won the opening event ahead of No Mercy, Ronin Legion and Titanz, and repeated the result at the second event in Kuantan.[1]

At the third event, held at the Malaysian Paintball Academy in Petaling Jaya on 31 May and 1 June, Ballbusters placed fourth behind No Mercy, Ronin Legion and Titanz.[2] An MY-NPL press release stated that this result ended the team's control of the division during the first two events. After the third round, Ballbusters was second in the season standings with 140 points, two points behind No Mercy and eight ahead of Ronin Legion.[5]

Ballbusters returned to first place at the fourth event, held at Dataran Pahlawan in Malacca on 2 and 3 August. Raiders placed second, followed by No Mercy and Rainforest 7 Tigers.[6]

At the season finale at the Malaysian Paintball Academy in November, Ballbusters again won Division 2, ahead of No Mercy, PMB and Rainforest 7 Tigers. The result secured the 2008 MY-NPL Division 2 overall championship.[3]

Division 1 and naming continuity

A January 2009 season preview reported that the team promoted from Division 2 had adopted the name KL Locked Down and was preparing to compete in Division 1. The report expressly identified the team as having previously competed as Ballbusters.[7]

However, an MY-NPL press release later in 2009 continued to list Ballbusters among the teams competing for the Division 1 championship.[8] The surviving records therefore do not establish whether KL Locked Down was a complete renaming of Ballbusters, a successor squad formed around part of its roster, or a separate entry. Results recorded under the KL Locked Down name are not included in this article.

Tournament results

Year	Tournament	Division	Result
2008	Malaysian National Paintball League, event 1	Division 2	Champion
	Malaysian National Paintball League, event 2	Division 2	Champion
	Malaysian National Paintball League, event 3	Division 2	Fourth
	Malaysian National Paintball League, event 4	Division 2	Champion
	Malaysian National Paintball League, event 5	Division 2	Champion
	Malaysian National Paintball League season	Division 2	Overall champion

Players

A Malaysian press profile published during the 2008 season identified television presenter Azahari Mohd Zain as a member of Kelab Ball Buster. The report stated that he had begun taking paintball seriously in 2006.[4] A complete contemporary roster has not been located.

Related names

The name Sogo Ballbusters appeared in the results of the 2007 MY-NPL season. That entry placed third in Division 2 at the season finale in Petaling Jaya.[9] A Singapore paintball report subsequently described Sogo Ballbusters as a Malaysian women's team.[10]

Available records do not demonstrate that Sogo Ballbusters was the same entry as the Ballbusters team that won the 2008 Division 2 championship. Its result and reported identity are therefore not included in the Ballbusters competitive record.

References