Drakaina
Drakaina is a Norwegian women's competitive paintball team based in Skarnes, Norway. The team competes in the European Women's National Xball League (WNXL) and has also participated in the Norwegian Paintball League (NPL).[1]
Drakaina won the inaugural full-season WNXL Europe championship in 2023, securing victories at both the British Invitational and European Championships. The team subsequently finished second in the 2024 championship and third in 2025 and 2026.[2][3][4][5]
History
[edit]Early competition (2022)
[edit]Drakaina was registered with PBLeagues on 19 August 2022, with Skarnes recorded as its home town. Its earliest documented NXL tournament appearance was at the 2022 European Championships in Dreux, France.[1]
The tournament featured a two-team women's Xball competition between Drakaina and Karma. Drakaina won all three matches, recording victories of 7–2, 5–0 and 5–3 to finish first.[6]
European championship (2023)
[edit]Drakaina competed in the inaugural full season of WNXL Europe in 2023.
The team opened the season with second place at the Netherlands Invitational, losing the final to Belladonna. It subsequently won the British Invitational in July, defeating Belladonna 3–1 in the final.[1][7]
At the European Championships in Dreux, held from 30 August to 3 September 2023, Drakaina advanced to the semi-finals, where it defeated HBI W 4–3. The team then defeated Belladonna 4–2 in the final to claim the European Championships event title.[8]
Drakaina finished the season with 296 championship points, ahead of Belladonna on 292 and Karma on 279, becoming the first full-season WNXL Europe champion.[2]
Following its European success, Drakaina competed at the 2023 NXL World Cup in the United States, finishing tenth among twelve teams in the women's professional division.[1]
Continued competition (2024–2025)
[edit]Drakaina returned for the 2024 WNXL Europe season, finishing second at both the Portugal Invitational and British Invitational before placing third at the European Championships.
These results secured second place in the overall season standings with 285 points, five behind Belladonna.[3]
The team's 2024 Portugal Invitational squad included Finnish player Senja Marjamaa, who made her first appearance with Drakaina at the event. The team defeated HBI W 5–0 in the semi-finals before losing the final to Belladonna 3–1.[9]
Drakaina also competed domestically in Norway, winning the opening Elite division event of the 2024 Norwegian Paintball League season.[1]
In 2025, Drakaina finished third at the Portugal Invitational, second at the Contenders Cup in the Czech Republic and fourth at the European Championships.
At the Contenders Cup, Marjamaa again represented Drakaina as the team reached the final against Belladonna.[10]
Drakaina finished third in the 2025 European season standings with 279 points.[4]
2026 season
[edit]Drakaina continued competing in both the WNXL Europe and Norwegian Paintball League in 2026.
The team finished third at the WNXL Czech Cup before winning the British Invitational in July. It subsequently finished fifth at the European Championships in Dreux.[1]
Drakaina ended the WNXL Europe season in third place with 279 points, tied on points with second-placed Karma but ranked behind the Spanish team.[5]
In domestic competition, Drakaina won the Division 1 event at the Norwegian Paintball League's second round in Molde in June 2026.[11]
Players and personnel
[edit]Drakaina is registered as a Norwegian team but has included players from other countries in its competitive roster.
Finnish player Senja Marjamaa joined the team's WNXL competition roster in 2024 and continued representing Drakaina in 2025.[9][10]
Players associated with Drakaina in the NXL's 2026 European awards nominations included Mina Amundsen, Julie Colau, Linda Graue, Warinda Simensen, Louise Ukkelberg and Julia Haugberg Anderson.
Daniel Fugera was identified as the team's coach in the 2026 WNXL Europe Coach of the Year nominations.[12]
Tournament results
[edit]WNXL Europe and World Cup
[edit]| Year | Tournament | Division | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | NXL European Championships | Women Xball | 1st of 2 |
| 2023 | NXL Netherlands Invitational | WNXL Xball | 2nd of 3 |
| 2023 | NXL British Invitational | WNXL Xball | 1st of 4 |
| 2023 | NXL European Championships | WNXL Xball | 1st of 5 |
| 2023 | NXL World Cup | WNXL Xball | 10th of 12 |
| 2024 | NXL Portugal Invitational | WNXL Xball | 2nd of 4 |
| 2024 | NXL British Invitational | WNXL Xball | 2nd of 3 |
| 2024 | NXL European Championships | WNXL Xball | 3rd of 6 |
| 2025 | NXL Portugal Invitational | WNXL Xball | 3rd of 3 |
| 2025 | NXL Contenders Cup | WNXL Xball | 2nd of 3 |
| 2025 | NXL European Championships | WNXL Xball | 4th of 5 |
| 2026 | NXL Czech Cup | WNXL Xball | 3rd of 4 |
| 2026 | NXL British Invitational | WNXL Xball | 1st of 4 |
| 2026 | NXL European Championships | WNXL Xball | 5th of 5 |
Results are based on official PBLeagues tournament records and season standings.[1][2][3][4][5]
European season standings
[edit]| Season | Position | Championship points |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1st | 296 |
| 2024 | 2nd | 285 |
| 2025 | 3rd | 279 |
| 2026 | 3rd | 279 |
Norwegian competition
[edit]Alongside international women's tournaments, Drakaina has participated in open divisions of the Norwegian Paintball League.
The team is associated with Glåmdal Paintballklubb in the Norwegian Paintball Federation's competition records.[11]
Its documented domestic results include winning the opening Elite division tournament in 2024 and the second Division 1 tournament in 2026.
See also
[edit]- Women's National Xball League
- Women's paintball
- NXL Europe
- Norwegian Paintball League
- Belladonna
- Karma
- HBI W
References
[edit]- PBLeagues, "Drakaina", official team profile and tournament history.
- PBLeagues, "2023 Season Rankings: NXL Europe".
- PBLeagues, "2024 Season Rankings: NXL Europe".
- PBLeagues, "2025 Season Rankings: NXL Europe".
- PBLeagues, "2026 Season Rankings: NXL Europe".
- PBLeagues, "2022 European Championships", official tournament rankings.
- PBLeagues, "2023 British Invitational", match scores and results.
- Malta Paintball, "Jovana Reaches the Women's Semi-Finals at the 2023 NXL European Championships", 5 September 2023.
- Paintball.fi, Kimmo Kainulainen, "Drakaina ja Senja Marjamaa kakkoseksi WNXL:ssä Portugalissa", 19 May 2024.
- Paintball.fi, Kimmo Kainulainen, "NXL Europe Contenders Cup tulokset 2025", 9 June 2025.
- Norges Paintballforbund, official Norwegian Paintball League results.
- Major League Paintball, "2026 EU Summit Awards", official nominees.