NPPL Super 7

NPPL Super 7, officially the NPPL Super 7 World Series, was an American paintball tournament series operated under the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL). Introduced in 2003, it replaced the league's traditional 10-man competition with a seven-player format and became one of the principal professional tournament circuits in the United States.[1][2]

The series was initially produced by Pure Promotions, a company established by British paintball manufacturer WDP, and was associated with high-profile venues, spectator facilities, trade shows and television coverage. Its inaugural tournament was held at Huntington Beach, California, on 7–9 February 2003.[1]

The original organisation entered liquidation in December 2008. Seven-man competition continued under the separate US Paintball League in 2009 before returning to NPPL branding in 2010. The final documented NPPL Super 7 season took place in 2013.[2][3]

History

Formation (2002–2003)

The NPPL Super 7 developed following disagreements between the National Professional Paintball League and Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP), the organisation responsible for producing the league's major tournaments during the early 2000s.

The two organisations separated following the 2002 season.

PSP continued operating tournaments using five-man and 10-man formats while introducing X-Ball competition.

The NPPL instead established a new seven-man tournament circuit through a partnership with WDP and Pure Promotions.[2]

The new series adopted elements of European seven-man competition, including aspects of the Millennium Series rules.

The NPPL also introduced equipment inspection procedures intended to address electronic marker settings and other technical regulations.[1]

Inaugural season (2003)

The first NPPL Super 7 tournament took place at Huntington Beach, California, from 7 to 9 February 2003.

The event was held on the beach near Huntington Beach Pier, using five inflatable-bunker playing fields and a central competition field equipped for spectators and television production.

San Diego Dynasty won the professional division, with Evil Factory winning the amateur division, Vicious winning novice and Team RM winning rookie.[1]

The inaugural season comprised five American tournaments:

Huntington Beach Open, California
Las Vegas Open, Nevada
Chicago Open, Illinois
New Jersey Open, New Jersey
Commander's Cup, Miami, Florida

Dynasty won the inaugural professional season championship, finishing ahead of the Naughty Dogs.[4]

Expansion (2004–2006)

The Super 7 expanded its tournament presentation during the following seasons.

Pure Promotions introduced improvements to field infrastructure, team staging areas and spectator facilities. The series also used major sporting venues, including Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.[5]

The competition attracted professional teams from North America and Europe, including Dynasty, Sacramento XSV, Los Angeles Infamous, Avalanche, London Nexus and Stockholm Joy Division.

The seven-man format operated alongside the competing X-Ball formats promoted by PSP and the original National Xball League (NXL).

Some teams participated in both American tournament circuits and the European Millennium Series.

Dynasty won the NPPL professional season championship in each of the first four seasons, from 2003 through 2006.[5]

Pacific Paintball ownership (2007–2008)

In January 2007, the NPPL and regional Xtreme Paintball Sports League (XPSL) were acquired by Pacific Paintball LLC.

Shawn Walker became president of the organisation, succeeding the earlier operational structure associated with Chuck Hendsch and Pure Promotions.[2]

The NPPL continued organising major national tournaments and expanded its live internet broadcasting.

At the 2007 Commander's Cup in San Diego, Dynasty won both the professional tournament and the annual series championship. The team had entered the final event behind Edmonton Impact in the season standings.[6]

Dynasty again secured the professional season championship in 2008, winning the final tournament at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

This completed six consecutive NPPL Super 7 professional series championships from 2003 through 2008.[7]

Liquidation (2008)

On 2 December 2008, WARPIG reported that Pacific Paintball and its subsidiaries had announced plans to seek bankruptcy liquidation.

The affected businesses included NPPL LLC, XPSL LLC, PB2X LLC and associated paintball field operations.

Pacific Paintball cited difficulties maintaining a financially viable operation and unsuccessful attempts to obtain additional investment during the economic downturn.[2]

The liquidation ended the original Super 7 organisation.

USPL and revival (2009–2013)

Following the collapse of Pacific Paintball, a group of professional teams established the US Paintball League (USPL) in 2009.

The new organisation continued seven-man competition and retained Huntington Beach as a major tournament venue.

The USPL subsequently obtained rights to the NPPL name, allowing the circuit to return to NPPL branding for the 2010 season.[8]

The revived tournament series retained professional seven-man competition and also offered amateur and five-man divisions.

The NPPL continued organising national tournaments through 2013.

In April 2013, the league announced a professional division containing 15 teams, with seven-man competition remaining its principal professional format.[9]

In February 2014, the NPPL announced that it would suspend its national tournament series while undertaking organisational restructuring.

The Huntington Beach event continued independently that year as the Surf City Paintball Open, organised with the involvement of HK Army.[10]

The established NPPL Super 7 national series did not return.

Competition format

The Super 7 was based on seven-player speedball competition.

Two teams of seven players competed on fields constructed using inflatable bunkers, generally arranged in symmetrical layouts.

Unlike timed, multi-point X-Ball matches, Super 7 games were individual contests in which teams earned points for eliminating opponents, retaining active players and completing flag objectives.

Tournament events generally included preliminary games followed by elimination rounds.

Depending on the season and division, later rounds could include best-of-three matches between qualifying teams.[1][8]

Season championships were determined using points accumulated from tournament placements.

The league operated professional and amateur divisions, with semi-professional and numbered divisional classifications introduced or modified during its history.

Promotion and relegation systems were used during parts of the series to regulate movement between professional and semi-professional competition.[7]

Professional championships

San Diego Dynasty won the first six NPPL Super 7 professional season championships.

Season	Professional series champion
2003	San Diego Dynasty
2004	San Diego Dynasty
2005	San Diego Dynasty
2006	San Diego Dynasty
2007	San Diego Dynasty
2008	San Diego Dynasty

The results are documented in contemporary tournament reporting, including the 2007 and 2008 season-ending Commander's Cup and San Diego events.[5][6][7]

Further professional results from the 2010–2013 seasons are preserved in the historical database Paintball Win Count.[3]

Media coverage

The Super 7 placed emphasis on presenting professional paintball to spectators and television audiences.

The inaugural Huntington Beach tournament incorporated a central competition field, grandstands, trade show facilities and dedicated media infrastructure.

At its annual meeting in December 2003, the NPPL announced a six-part television programme featuring the inaugural Super 7 season.

The programme was scheduled to begin broadcasting on Fox Sports Net on 28 January 2004.[11]

Later seasons incorporated live internet broadcasting and recorded tournament coverage.

Historical records

Tournament reports, rankings, photographs and match results from the NPPL Super 7 are preserved in contemporary paintball publications.

WARPIG maintained extensive coverage of the series, documenting tournament results, professional and divisional standings, rule changes and organisational developments.

Paintball Win Count also maintains a historical results archive covering the NPPL Super 7 competition from 2003 through 2013.[3]

These records distinguish the Super 7 period from the earlier NPPL 10-man tournaments and the separate X-Ball competitions organised by PSP and the NXL.

References

WARPIG – Huntington Beach NPPL 2003. 7–9 February 2003. Contemporary report covering the inaugural Super 7 tournament, rules and results.
WARPIG – NPPL to Be Liquidated. Bill Mills, 2 December 2008. Historical account of the NPPL, Pure Promotions, Pacific Paintball ownership and liquidation.
Paintball Win Count – NPPL Super 7 Series. Historical professional tournament results and season championship archive, 2003–2013.
WARPIG – NPPL Super 7 2003 Year Ranking. Professional and amateur season standings.
WARPIG – NPPL Boston Open 2006. 21–23 July 2006. Historical review of the first four Super 7 seasons.
WARPIG – NPPL Commander's Cup 2007. Dawn Mills, 30 November–2 December 2007. Tournament and series championship results.
WARPIG – NPPL San Diego 2008. 14–16 November 2008. Tournament report and season championship results.
WARPIG – Huntington Beach 2010. 9–11 April 2010. Coverage of the revived seven-man tournament series.
Social Paintball – New Blood in the NPPL Pro Division. Tim Cerruti, 13 April 2013.
Los Angeles Times – Paintball Tournament Smaller but Still a Blast. Anthony Clark Carpio, 8 April 2014.
WARPIG – NPPL Annual Meeting. National Professional Paintball League, 6 December 2003. Announcement of television coverage of the inaugural Super 7 season.

External links