Jacksonville Warriors

Jacksonville Warriors, also known as Jax Warriors, was an American tournament paintball team based in Florida. Active from at least 1992, the team competed in major national events throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) World Cup.[1][2]

Jacksonville Warriors won the 1997 World Cup professional five-player championship and the 1998 World Cup Amateur A five-player championship. The team also won Amateur A 10-man titles at the 1999 NPPL Chicago Open and 2000 NPPL Nashville tournament.[3][4][5][6]

The organisation was captained by Paul "PGP" Bollenbach and operated multiple competitive squads.[7][8]

History

Early competition

Jacksonville Warriors was competing in Florida tournament paintball by 1992.

Historical results compiled by ClassicScores record the team finishing third at the 1992 Florida State Open in Oldsmar, Florida, behind the Maniacs and Stingers.[1]

The team subsequently entered national NPPL competition.

At the 1996 World Cup in Orlando, Jacksonville Warriors finished third in the professional five-player division and seventh in the professional 10-man division.[2][9]

The organisation also entered a separate amateur five-player squad.

World Cup championships (1997–1998)

Jacksonville Warriors achieved its first documented World Cup championship in October 1997.

At the NPPL World Cup in Kissimmee, Florida, the team won the professional five-player division.

Jacksonville Warriors finished the professional finals with 106 points, ahead of the All Americans (85), Rage (72) and All Americans II (64).[3]

The following year, Jacksonville Warriors won the Amateur A five-player division at the 1998 NPPL World Cup.

The team defeated a field that included Brass Eagle, Hellwood and TNT, finishing the final round with 162 points.

Brass Eagle finished second with 74 points.[4]

Contemporary WARPIG coverage described the result as Jacksonville Warriors' second consecutive five-player World Cup championship, although the victories were achieved in different competitive divisions.[4]

National amateur success (1999–2000)

Jacksonville Warriors continued competing successfully in the NPPL Amateur A division.

At the 1999 Chicago Open, held at Badlandz Paintball in Illinois, Jacksonville Warriors won the Amateur A 10-man championship.[5]

At the 1999 World Cup in Orlando, Jacksonville Warriors finished second in the Amateur A five-player division, behind the Naughty Dogs.

The result ended the team's run of consecutive five-player World Cup titles.[10]

Jacksonville Warriors won another national tournament at the 2000 NPPL Nashville event, held at Nashville Paintball Sports in Lebanon, Tennessee.

The team finished first in the Amateur A 10-man final with 210 points, ahead of Addicted, Naughty Dogs and Ground Zero Gold.[6]

Professional competition (2001–2002)

Jacksonville Warriors returned to the NPPL professional 10-man division for the 2001 season.

Team captain Paul Bollenbach told WARPIG that the change was intended to reduce the loss of players to other professional organisations.

During 2000, Kenny Klamper had joined Chicago Aftershock, while Chris Huffnagle and Kevin Ackman had played for the All Americans.

Huffnagle and Ackman returned to Jacksonville Warriors for the 2001 season, alongside Chris Wright, who had previously played for Aftershock.[7]

The team's published 2001 professional roster included Bollenbach, Ackman, Huffnagle, Wright, Matt Davis, Greg Randall and other players.[8]

Jacksonville Warriors qualified for the professional 10-man semi-finals at the 2001 NPPL World Cup.[11]

The team continued competing professionally in 2002.

At the beginning of the season, Jacksonville Warriors changed its equipment sponsorship from Airgun Designs (AGD) to Worr Game Products (WGP).

Former All Americans player Frank Connell joined the roster during this period.

Contemporary reporting noted that Jacksonville Warriors regularly practised at Connell's field in Titusville, Florida.[12]

Jacksonville Warriors finished fifteenth in the 2002 NPPL professional 10-man season standings with 74 ranking points.[13]

The organisation also operated a development squad, Jax Warriors B, which competed in the novice division during 2002.[13]

The team's subsequent competitive history has not been conclusively established.

Equipment and sponsorship

Jacksonville Warriors was closely associated with Airgun Designs during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

At the 2000 NPPL Nashville tournament, the team used the new AGD E-Mag electronic paintball marker.

WARPIG reported that AGD president Tom Kaye provided technical support during the event.

Two Jacksonville Warriors players also used the AGD Warp Feed loading system.[14]

The team subsequently switched to Worr Game Products equipment for the 2002 season.[12]

Notable players and personnel

Documented members of Jacksonville Warriors include:

Paul "PGP" Bollenbach – Team captain and co-owner during the early 2000s.
Kevin Ackman – Played for the All Americans before returning to Jacksonville Warriors in 2001.
Chris Huffnagle – Former All Americans player who returned to Jacksonville Warriors in 2001.
Chris Wright – Joined Jacksonville Warriors after playing part of the 2000 season with Aftershock.
Matt Davis – Member of the 2001 professional roster.
Greg Randall – Member of the 2001 professional roster.
Frank Connell – Former All Americans player who joined Jacksonville Warriors in 2002.[7][8][12]

Selected tournament results

Year	Tournament	Division	Result
1992	Florida State Open	10-man	3rd [1]
1996	NPPL World Cup	Professional 5-man	3rd [2]
1996	NPPL World Cup	Professional 10-man	7th [9]
1997	NPPL World Cup	Professional 5-man	1st [3]
1998	NPPL World Cup	Amateur A 5-man	1st [4]
1999	NPPL Chicago Open	Amateur A 10-man	1st [5]
1999	NPPL World Cup	Amateur A 5-man	2nd [10]
2000	NPPL Nashville	Amateur A 10-man	1st [6]
2001	NPPL World Cup	Professional 10-man	Semi-finalists [11]
2002	NPPL season standings	Professional 10-man	15th overall [13]

References

External links