Expendables (New Zealand Paintball Team)
Expendables Feilding, also known as Expendables, The Expendables, Expendables Paintball or NZ Expendables, is a competitive paintball team from the Manawatū region of New Zealand. The team is documented in domestic competition from 2011 and has competed in Australia, Europe, Asia and the United States.[1][2][9][13][19][20][23][24]
Its achievements include the 2017 Millennium Series Semi-Professional championship, the 2018 Australian Super 7s Professional season championship and victory in Professional X-Ball at the 2018 NXL Europe Prague Open.[9][12][15]
The team has included members of San Diego Dynasty in its international rosters.[3][5]
History
[edit]Early records
[edit]The earliest confirmed result in the recovered records is from Southern Series II at Ashburton on 24 April 2011. Listed as Expendables of Palmerston North, the team placed fifth in the round-robin standings with 1,486 points.[23]
Expendables subsequently finished fourth in the Cup at the 2011 NZPPL Rotorua Tournament on 4–5 June.[24] The day-one score table used the spelling “The Expendables” and reported the team fourth with 609 points. The visible game scores total 523 rather than 609; this article retains the contemporary source's published total instead of recalculating it.[24]
An October 2011 pre-event list included Expendables among 19 entries for the NZPPL Nationals.[25] The surviving discussion does not provide a complete result or independently confirm that every listed team started the tournament.
The team's PBLeagues profile records Feilding as its hometown and Run and Gun Feilding as its associated field. Its database registration is dated 2 January 2015; this is a registration date rather than the team's founding date.[1]
European fundraising
[edit]David and Diane Hopkins established the Expendables Europe Trip fundraising campaign on 17 April 2017. It described Expendables as a Feilding-based team competing in Australia and Europe and reported victories at the opening rounds of both series that year. Funds were sought for airfares and accommodation.[2]
New Zealand competition
[edit]2011 tournaments
[edit]Expendables placed fifth in the round-robin standings at Southern Series II in Ashburton on 24 April 2011, recording 1,486 points.[23] At the 2011 NZPPL Rotorua Tournament on 4–5 June, the team finished fourth in the Cup behind Disposal Unit, Hybrid and Arachnids.[24]
Auckland tournaments, 2015–2016
[edit]Expendables finished third in Open X-Ball at the 2015 Auckland Paintball Cup, held on 7–8 March.[1]
The team returned for the 2015 Asylum Paintball Cup on 26–27 September. Recorded preliminary results include a 3–2 victory over Phoenix Tahiti and a 2–2 draw with Hard2Overcome. A final placing has not been established from the recovered records.[6]
At the 2016 Auckland Paintball Cup on 16–17 April, Expendables finished second in Division 2 X-Ball. It defeated Phoenix Tahiti 5–1 and ADHD 4–3 before losing the final 4–2 to Disposal Unit.[7]
September 2016 registration
[edit]PBLeagues preserves an Expendables registration for an Asylum Paintball Cup listing dated 3–4 September 2016. The listing was inactive in the recovered database record. Registration alone does not establish that the event took place or that Expendables competed.[1][22]
New Zealand Race Series, 2023
[edit]Expendables competed in the 2023 New Zealand Race Series. Ralph Tsing represented the team during the first two rounds before assembling a Phoenix Tahiti entry for the final round at Arena Paintball in October.[8]
According to Tsing's contemporary interview with Air Tahiti Nui, Expendables defeated Ballistics Unit 3–0 in the final and won the overall series championship.[8]
Arena series, 2026
[edit]An Arena Paintball standings update dated 12 July 2026 recorded Expendables fourth after two rounds of the 2026 series with 303 points. Manawatu Titans, Sydney SWAT and Cult occupied the first three positions.[21]
Expendables and Manawatu Titans appeared as separate entries in those standings.[21]
Australian Super 7s
[edit]Expendables' recorded Australian Professional results include third overall in 2017, the championship in 2018 and second overall in 2019.[9]
| Season | Recorded result |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Fourth-round entry; 40 ranking points |
| 2017 | 3rd overall; 106 points; won round one |
| 2018 | Champions; 112 points |
| 2019 | 2nd overall; 100 points |
| 2020 | Opening-round entry; 20 points |
| 2021 | Opening-round entry; 24 points |
Source: official Super 7s historical standings.[9]
The 2018 championship was secured ahead of Sydney SWAT on 110 points and Perth Crisis on 100. Expendables' four round totals were 30, 26, 28 and 28 points.[9]
The published 2020 and 2021 tables record points from only one round for Expendables.[9]
European competition
[edit]Millennium Series, 2017
[edit]Expendables competed in the 2017 Millennium Series Semi-Professional division with a multinational roster.[3]
The team won the Mediterranean Cup in France, the European Masters in Germany and the Campaign Cup in the United Kingdom.[3][4][10][11] Ryan Greenspan's account of the Campaign Cup described a 4–0 final victory and confirmed the team's third consecutive event win.[11]
Expendables Feilding finished first in the final Semi-Professional season standings, ahead of Cologne Hurricanes and Bad Boys Oss.[12]
NXL Europe, 2018
[edit]Expendables entered Professional X-Ball in NXL Europe during 2018. The original season standings record fifth overall with 533 points.[13]
| Event | Dates | Placing |
|---|---|---|
| Chartres Open, France | 13–15 April 2018 | 4th of 18 |
| Prague Open, Czech Republic | 25–27 May 2018 | 1st of 18 |
| Basildon-London Open, United Kingdom | 5–8 July 2018 | 9th of 18 |
| Paris-Chantilly Open, France | 27–30 September 2018 | 15th of 18 |
Sources: original season standings and tournament records.[5][13][14][16][17]
Prague Open victory
[edit]Expendables won the 2018 Prague Open Professional division, defeating Edmonton Impact 5–4 in the final.[5][15]
Its elimination-round victories included PPArena Pilsen, 6–3; Moscow Red Legion, 6–5; and Toulouse TonTons, 6–1.[5]
The registered players were:[5]
- Ivan Christison
- Ryan Greenspan
- Tyler Harmon
- Thomas Hopkins
- Matthew Kling
- Marcello Margott
- Yosh Rau
- Blake Yarber
Rusty Glaze was registered as staff.[5]
San Diego Dynasty collaboration
[edit]Ryan Greenspan documented Expendables' recruitment of himself, Marcello Margott and Yosh Rau for its 2017 European campaign. He also described Blake Yarber's earlier coaching involvement with the team.[3]
Greenspan, Margott, Rau, Harmon and Yarber were all registered for Expendables at the 2018 Prague Open.[5]
The team's New Zealand personnel recorded during the 2018 European season included David Hopkins, Thomas Hopkins and Ivan Christison. Australian player Matthew Kling appeared in all four event registrations.[5][14][16][17]
Laura Bolam was registered as staff at Basildon-London and as a player at Paris-Chantilly. Rusty Glaze appeared as registered staff at Chartres, Prague and Basildon-London.[5][14][16][17]
These registrations describe individual event rosters rather than an unchanged season-long playing line-up.
Asian competition
[edit]World Cup Asia, 2018
[edit]Expendables finished second in the Professional division at the 2018 Paintball World Cup Asia in Langkawi, Malaysia, held on 7–9 December.[18][19]
Russian Legion won the division, with Expendables second, KTM X-Bow third and Datis fourth. The result was recorded in contemporary AXMedia coverage and a Planet Eclipse report published in January 2019.[18][19]
United States competition
[edit]NXL World Cup, 2025
[edit]Expendables finished second in Open 3v3 X-Ball at the 2025 National Xball League World Cup in Kissimmee, Florida.[20]
The team defeated BLK 3–2 in the semi-final before losing 3–0 to Wyldside Distortion in the final. Four teams entered the division.[20]
Associated fields
[edit]The team's early PBLeagues profile listed Run and Gun Feilding as its field.[1]
Arena Paintball subsequently described itself as the home of Expendables. The venue hosts tournament paintball on Kimbolton Road in Feilding.[21]
Selected results
[edit]| Year | Competition | Division | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Southern Series II — Ashburton | Open five-player round robin | 5th; 1,486 points[23] |
| 2011 | 2011 NZPPL Rotorua Tournament | Cup | 4th[24] |
| 2015 | 2015 Auckland Paintball Cup | Open X-Ball | 3rd[1] |
| 2016 | 2016 Auckland Paintball Cup | Division 2 X-Ball | 2nd[7] |
| 2017 | Australian Super 7s season | Professional | 3rd[9] |
| 2017 | Millennium Mediterranean Cup | Semi-Professional | 1st[4] |
| 2017 | Millennium European Masters | Semi-Professional | 1st[10] |
| 2017 | Millennium Campaign Cup | Semi-Professional | 1st[11] |
| 2017 | Millennium Series season | Semi-Professional | Champions[12] |
| 2018 | NXL Europe Prague Open | Professional X-Ball | 1st[5][15] |
| 2018 | NXL Europe season | Professional X-Ball | 5th[13] |
| 2018 | Australian Super 7s season | Professional | Champions[9] |
| 2018 | World Cup Asia | Professional | 2nd[18][19] |
| 2019 | Australian Super 7s season | Professional | 2nd[9] |
| 2023 | New Zealand Race Series final round | Race format | 1st[8] |
| 2023 | New Zealand Race Series season | Race format | Champions[8] |
| 2025 | NXL World Cup | Open 3v3 X-Ball | 2nd[20] |
See also
[edit]- Arena Paintball
- Manawatu Titans
- San Diego Dynasty
- Paintball in New Zealand
- Millennium Series
- NXL Europe
- Australian Super 7s
References
[edit]- PBLeagues: Expendables — team profile and tournament history.
- Expendables Europe Trip. Givealittle, campaign organised by David and Diane Hopkins, 17 April–10 September 2017.
- A Whirlwind Adventure. Ryan Greenspan, 16 June 2017.
- Edmonton Impact Win Mediterranean Cup; Results. Paintball Ruined My Life, 26 March 2017.
- PBLeagues: Expendables at the 2018 Prague Open — registered roster and match results.
- PBLeagues: Expendables at Asylum Paintball Cup 2015 — match records.
- PBLeagues: Expendables at Auckland Paintball Cup 2016 — match records.
- Paintball : Ralph Tsing enchaine les bons résultats. Air Tahiti Nui, 31 October 2023.
- Australian Super 7s: historical results. Official organiser's archive.
- A Month of Paintball: Dynasty, Team USA, Expendables. Marcello Margott, 7 July 2017.
- Hat Trick. Ryan Greenspan, 10 July 2017.
- Millennium Series: official historical rankings. 2017 Semi-Professional standings.
- PBLeagues: original NXL Europe 2018 season rankings.
- PBLeagues: Expendables at Chartres Open 2018 — registered roster and match records.
- Expendables Prahan NXL-turnauksen voittoon 2018. Kimmo Kainulainen, Paintball.fi, 27 May 2018.
- PBLeagues: Expendables at Basildon-London Open 2018 — registered roster and match records.
- PBLeagues: Expendables at Paris-Chantilly Open 2018 — registered roster and match records.
- Paintball World Cup Asia 2018 – Langkawi. AXMedia / Bob Tahar, 16 December 2018.
- WCA 2018. Planet Eclipse HQ Blog, 13 January 2019.
- PBLeagues: NXL World Cup 2025 — tournament results.
- Arena Paintball — venue information and “Series points after round 2” update, 12 July 2026. Organiser's social media material reproduced by FindGlocal.
- PBLeagues: Asylum Paintball Cup 2016 — event listing. Recovered as an inactive listing; registration is not confirmation of participation. Accessed 25 October 2026.
- NZ P8NT: “Southern Series II — Ashburton”, organiser-posted results, 24 April 2011; archived 7 February 2013.
- NZ P8NT: “Scores from Rotorua”, day-one scores and reported final placings, 5–6 June 2011; archived 7 February 2013.
- NZ P8NT: “2011 NZPPL Nationals Teams attending”, pre-event list posted 15 October 2011; archived 7 February 2013.