International Masters

The International Masters was an American tournament paintball competition associated with promoter Jim Lively and Lively Productions. Established during the 1980s, the tournament attracted leading American paintball teams and incorporated several competition formats, including five-player and 15-player events.[1][2]

The International Masters was among the major American paintball tournaments of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was revived in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1998 as the ZAP International Masters.[1]

History

Early tournaments

The International Masters was organised by Jim Lively through Lively Productions.

The competition became associated with leading American tournament teams during the development of organised paintball in the 1980s.

Early editions included woodland competition using multiple team sizes.

The tournament also incorporated individual shooting and skills competitions alongside conventional team matches.[1]

1989 Line SI International Masters

The 1989 International Masters was sponsored by Line SI.

Lords of Discipline won both the five-player and 15-player championships.[2]

The team's achievements at the event were subsequently documented in historical accounts of its competitive record before its merger with Scream to form Chicago Aftershock in 1991.

1990s competition

The International Masters continued to be associated with major American tournament competition during the early 1990s.

Historical accounts identify the All Americans as winners of the ten-player championship in 1992.[3]

Chicago Aftershock also identifies International Masters victories among its early tournament achievements.[4]

The precise dates and results of all editions have not been established from surviving records.

1998 revival

Lively Productions revived the International Masters in 1998.

The ZAP International Masters took place in Nashville, Tennessee, from 8 to 11 October.

The event incorporated three-player and five-player tournaments alongside recreational games, individual competitions and industry discussions.[1]

The programme included a presentation by Hayes Noel, one of the organisers of the first recorded paintball game in 1981.

Noel discussed the development of paintball and its potential as a televised sport.

The event also included separate conferences for players and paintball industry representatives.

The player conference was led by Mike Henry of Paintball 2Xtremes, while John Henry chaired an industry discussion concerning equipment and firing-rate regulations.[1]

Additional activities

The 1998 tournament included several activities beyond conventional team competition.

These included:

Three-player and five-player tournaments.
Recreational big games.
Target-shooting competitions.
Bike 'n Shoot, combining cycling with target shooting.
Equipment demonstrations.
Player and industry conferences.

The programme reflected Lively Productions' approach to combining tournament competition with other paintball activities.[1]

Selected results

Year	Division	Winner
1989	Five-player	Lords of Discipline [2]
1989	15-player	Lords of Discipline [2]
1992	Ten-player	All Americans [3]

The table includes only results identified in available historical sources and is not a complete list of International Masters champions.

Later use of the name

The International Masters name has subsequently appeared in other paintball competitions, including woodland and classic-format tournaments.

The relationship between these later events and the original Lively Productions competition has not been established.

They should not automatically be treated as editions of a continuously operating tournament series.

References

External links