Naughty Dogs

Naughty Dogs was an American professional paintball team from the Pacific Northwest, primarily associated with Oregon and competing under the Portland Naughty Dogs and Seattle Naughty Dogs names. Led by Rocky Knuth, the team became a leading competitor in the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL), Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP) and National Xball League (NXL). [1][2]

Its achievements included four consecutive World Cup five-player championships from 2001 to 2004, victory at the 2003 NPPL Chicago Open and a runner-up finish at the 2006 NXL World Cup. [3][4][5]

History

Origins and amateur competition

The Naughty Dogs name appears in national tournament records from at least 1998. At the NPPL Portland Open that year, Naughty Dogs finished second in the Amateur A ten-player division, behind Ground Zero Gold. [1]

The team's early organisational history is not fully established. In a 2009 interview, longtime player Corey Field recalled that Rocky Knuth had assembled a Naughty Dogs team from former members of Outrage in late 1999. Knuth became the captain of the professional Naughty Dogs organisation. [2]

The team developed a competitive programme involving multiple squads, including Naughty Dogs Silver and Naughty Dogs Jr., which provided opportunities for less experienced players. [2][6]

At the 2001 NPPL Gettysburg Open, Naughty Dogs won the Amateur A ten-player division. [7]

The team also became particularly successful in five-player competition, winning the amateur division at the 2001 World Cup. [3]

2002 season

Naughty Dogs continued competing in the NPPL Amateur A ten-player division during 2002.

The team became one of the principal challengers to Trauma, which won every NPPL Amateur A event that season.

Naughty Dogs recorded three second-place finishes and two third-place finishes, ending the season second overall with 224 ranking points, behind Trauma on 250. [8]

The organisation also won the Amateur five-player division at the 2002 World Cup, securing its second consecutive title in that format. [3]

Following the 2002 season, Naughty Dogs moved into professional competition.

Professional debut and 2003 season

Naughty Dogs entered the professional division of the inaugural NPPL Super 7 series in February 2003.

At the Huntington Beach Open, the team advanced to the professional finals, finishing third behind San Diego Dynasty and Toulouse TonTons. [9]

In March, Naughty Dogs won the professional ten-player division at the PSP Los Angeles Open in Pomona, California. [10]

The team also entered Division 1 X-Ball competition, winning the PSP Las Vegas Open and Chicago Open. [11][12]

NPPL Chicago Open championship

Naughty Dogs achieved its first NPPL Super 7 professional tournament victory at the Chicago Open, held from 6 to 8 June 2003.

The team entered the elimination rounds behind Dynasty in the preliminary standings.

In the professional semi-finals, Naughty Dogs defeated Dynasty in two of their three games, advancing to the championship final against Bad Company.

Naughty Dogs won both games against Bad Company, securing first place in the professional division. Dynasty finished third. [4]

The result ended Dynasty's winning streak through the first two NPPL Super 7 events.

Naughty Dogs continued its strong season with third place at the New Jersey Open. The team finished second in the overall NPPL professional season standings behind Dynasty. [13]

In PSP Division 1 X-Ball, Naughty Dogs finished second in the 2003 season standings behind Team Strange. [14]

Four consecutive World Cup five-player titles

One of the organisation's most significant achievements was its record in World Cup five-player competition.

Naughty Dogs won four consecutive World Cup championships from 2001 to 2004, competing in the amateur division during the first two seasons and the Pro/Am division during the following two. [3]

At the 2003 World Cup, Naughty Dogs defeated Shocktech 2 in the decisive Pro/Am finals game. [14]

The following year, Naughty Dogs again won the Pro/Am five-player division at the PSP World Cup, finishing ahead of Backlash, 3J Skull Hunters and NRG.

Contemporary WARPIG reporting described the fourth consecutive championship as a tournament record. [3]

Professional seven-player and X-Ball competition (2004–2005)

Naughty Dogs continued competing in the NPPL Super 7 professional division.

At the 2004 Huntington Beach Open, the team reached the professional podium, finishing third. [15]

The organisation also competed in PSP Division 1 X-Ball and subsequently Open X-Ball.

In 2005, Naughty Dogs finished second in Open X-Ball at the PSP Orlando Open and third at the Chicago Open, Northeast Open and World Cup. [5]

The team remained a regular competitor against Dynasty, Sacramento XSV, Infamous and other leading professional organisations.

2006 NXL World Cup final

In 2006, Naughty Dogs competed in the NXL professional X-Ball division.

The team also continued participating in the NPPL, reaching the professional final at the 2006 Boston Open.

Naughty Dogs lost the deciding game of that final against Miami Rage, finishing second. [16]

At the PSP World Cup in November 2006, Portland Naughty Dogs advanced through the NXL championship playoffs to reach the final against Boston Red Legion.

Boston won the final 11–3, leaving the Naughty Dogs as NXL World Cup runners-up. [17]

The result was one of the team's most significant achievements in professional X-Ball.

Seattle Naughty Dogs (2007–2009)

The team subsequently competed under the Seattle Naughty Dogs name in the PSP/NXL circuit.

Despite the Seattle designation, tournament registration records continued to identify Albany, Oregon, as the team's home town, with Albany Outdoor Paintball listed as its associated field. [5]

In 2007, Seattle Naughty Dogs finished third at the PSP River City Open and fourth at the World Cup. [5]

The team continued competing in professional X-Ball throughout 2008.

During 2009, its recorded results included eighth place at the PSP Mid-Atlantic Open and seventh place at the NPPL/USPL DC Challenge. [5]

The team's final appearances in the available professional tournament records were during the 2009 season.

Revival as North West Dogs (2017)

In February 2017, Rocky Knuth announced a revival of the organisation under the North West Dogs name.

The revived programme was intended to compete in Division 2 and Division 3, combining experienced former Naughty Dogs players with developing competitors.

Knuth identified returning members including Tyler McCluskey, Blake Bearham, Jesse Frisbee and Phil Veatch.

The team planned to participate in the West Coast Paintball Players League (WCPPL), with its first announced competition scheduled for February 2017 at Camp Pendleton, California. [18]

The revival also involved a new generation of players, including Knuth's son. [18]

Notable players

Documented players associated with the Naughty Dogs include:

Rocky Knuth – Longstanding captain and leader of the revived North West Dogs.
Corey Field – Professional player who progressed through the team's development programme.
Kasey Field – Longstanding member of the professional roster.
Raymond Knuth – Member of the professional roster.
Trevor Hocking – Member of the 2006 professional roster.
Tyler McCluskey – Professional player who returned for the 2017 revival.
Jesse Frisbee – Member of the professional roster and returning player in 2017.
Phil Veatch – Professional player and returning member in 2017.
Hector Cardona – Member of the 2006 professional roster.
Colt Roberts – Member of the 2006 professional roster.
Mapp Chhim – Member of the 2006 World Cup roster.

[2][18][19][20]

Selected tournament achievements

Year	Competition	Division	Result
1998	NPPL Portland Open	Amateur A 10-man	2nd place [1]
2001	NPPL Gettysburg Open	Amateur A 10-man	Champions [7]
2001	World Cup	Amateur 5-man	Champions [3]
2002	World Cup	Amateur 5-man	Champions [3]
2002	NPPL Season	Amateur A 10-man	2nd overall [8]
2003	PSP Los Angeles Open	Professional 10-man	Champions [10]
2003	PSP Las Vegas Open	Division 1 X-Ball	Champions [11]
2003	PSP Chicago Open	Division 1 X-Ball	Champions [12]
2003	NPPL Chicago Open	Professional 7-man	Champions [4]
2003	NPPL Season	Professional 7-man	2nd overall [13]
2003	World Cup	Pro/Am 5-man	Champions [14]
2004	World Cup	Pro/Am 5-man	Champions [3]
2005	PSP Orlando Open	Open X-Ball	2nd place [5]
2006	NPPL Boston Open	Professional 7-man	2nd place [16]
2006	NXL World Cup	Professional X-Ball	2nd place [17]
2007	PSP River City Open	Professional X-Ball	3rd place [5]
2007	PSP World Cup	Professional X-Ball	4th place [5]

Player development

Naughty Dogs operated several squads during its amateur and professional history.

Naughty Dogs Silver and Naughty Dogs Jr. provided opportunities for players to gain tournament experience before joining the leading roster. [2][6]

Corey Field was among the players who progressed through this structure, competing with Naughty Dogs Silver before joining the main team for the 2002 season. [2]

The development programme helped establish the organisation as a prominent competitive team in the Pacific Northwest.

Legacy

Naughty Dogs was among the leading American tournament teams during the transition from traditional ten-player competition to the NPPL Super 7 and modern X-Ball.

Its 2003 Chicago Open championship made it one of the few teams to defeat Dynasty during the inaugural NPPL Super 7 season. [4]

The organisation's four consecutive World Cup five-player championships and 2006 NXL World Cup runner-up finish demonstrated its competitiveness across several tournament formats. [3][17]

The team also provided a pathway for players from the Pacific Northwest to compete nationally and internationally.

Its revival under Rocky Knuth in 2017 continued the Naughty Dogs identity through a new generation of competitive players. [18]

References

External links