Phantom (New Zealand Paintball Team)

Phantom, also recorded as Phantom 5 and Phantom Five, was a New Zealand tournament paintball team documented in competition from 1998 to 2006. The team placed second at the 2001 Northland Open and competed in national, regional and series events under several squad names.[1][6][13]

History

1998 league

Phantom Five competed in the 1998 National Paintball League Second Division programme. A contemporary information page listed Todd Martin as the team's manager. The published league results placed Phantom Five third with 18 points, although the surviving page does not establish that this was a final season classification.[1]

At the 1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, Phantom 5 finished ninth with 505 points.[2]

1999 season

Phantom 5 entered two squads at the 1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals. Phantom 5 Purple finished third overall with 820 points, behind Paint Contractors and Saints Gold. Phantom 5 Black finished twelfth with 390 points.[3]

The same report identifies Gary of Phantom Five and NeoTech in an event acknowledgement, but does not give his surname or establish a complete playing roster.[3]

2000–2001

Phantom 5 scored 659 points in the preliminary round of the 2000 New Zealand Paintball Nationals, where it was classified in Division One.[4]

The 2001 Valhalla National Rankings record Phantom 5 at the Northland Open, RotoVegas tournament and New Zealand Nationals. The team accumulated 207.8 seven-player ranking points across the season, including 83.9 from the Northland Open.[5]

At the 2001 Northland Open, Phantom finished second with 755 points, behind Saints and ahead of Phoenix.[6]

2002

On 27 January 2002, Phantom finished third at the Combat Zone 3-Man tournament at Ardmore, Papakura, with 510 points. Saints and GPS finished first and second.[7]

Phantom and Kamo Karzi provided referees at the 2002 Northland Open, organised by Wayne Rolleston of Paintball West. Phantom was not listed among the eight competing teams in the tournament report.[8]

A March 2002 report on the 2002 Paintball West 3-Man League identified Rolleston as a member of Team Phantom, the league organiser and the owner of its Sup'Air field.[14]

Rob Maddox's report on the Rotorua Volcanic tournament, held on 1–2 June 2002, also identified Rolleston as a Phantom member. He headed Extreme Events, which had purchased the inflatable field used at the previous year's Rotorua tournament and brought it back for the 2002 event. Phantom finished sixth in the Cup competition with 425 points.[15]

Phantom Menace and other entries

Phantom Menace won the 2003 Hawke’s Bay Triples at the Hawke's Bay A&P Showgrounds in Hastings. The published table gave the team 690 points, and the report recorded a 100–10 victory over Damage Red in the final.[9]

At the October 2003 Volcanic Rotorua tournament, the first-day pool tables listed three separate entries: Phantom Menace with 782 points, Phantom with 507 and Phantom Legion with 249. These were pool scores rather than final tournament placings.[10]

A 2003 discussion concerning a proposed ten-player tournament referred to Phantom 5 and Phantom Menace combining as a Phantoms entry. The discussion records a proposal rather than confirmed participation.[11]

Participant recollections describe Phantom Menace as an evolution of Phantom, but an exact changeover date or complete transfer of players has not been established. Contemporary records show both names entered separately at the same tournament.[10]

Phantom Red and Phantom Blue

Phantom Blue and Phantom Red competed at the 2004 Hawke’s Bay Triples. The preliminary table placed Phantom Blue first with 1,050 points and Phantom Red third with 760. Phantom Menace entered separately and scored 510.[12]

The published results identify Fusion as the tournament winner and Phantom Blue as runner-up. The accompanying narrative calls Fusion's final opponent Menace Blue, creating a naming discrepancy within the source.[12]

Contributor recollection identifies Phantom Blue and Phantom Red as associated Phantom squads. Their exact rosters and whether they were permanent squads or event-specific entries remain unverified.

2006 Super 5s

Phantom finished third in Division One of the 2006 Super 5s season with 3,823 points, behind Menace and XXX and ahead of Saints.[13]

Names and related teams

Phantom, Phantom 5 and Phantom Five were names used for the team. Phantom 5 Purple and Phantom 5 Black were separate squads at the 1999 Nationals.[3]

Phantom Menace was associated with Phantom in participant recollections and the proposed combined ten-player entry discussed in 2003. Nevertheless, Phantom and Phantom Menace competed separately at the October 2003 Rotorua tournament, alongside Phantom Legion.[10][11]

Phantom Fury also appeared in 1999 tournament records, but its relationship to the Phantom organisation has not been established.

Menace was a separate team, identified in contributor recollection as having formed from former Marksmen players. These recollections also associate Gavin Harrison and Matt Storey with Phantom Menace. They do not establish a complete dated roster or a direct organisational succession from Phantom to Menace.

Documented players and management

The following are individually documented associations, rather than complete team rosters.

Year	Name	Documented association
1998	Todd Martin	Listed manager of Phantom Five in the NPL Second Division information page.[1]
1999	Gary	Identified with Phantom Five and NeoTech in the Nationals report; surname and playing role not stated.[3]
2002	Wayne Rolleston	Identified as a Phantom member in the March Paintball West league report and the June Rotorua Volcanic report. Also organised the Paintball West league and headed Extreme Events.[14][15]

Gavin Harrison and Matt Storey's associations with Phantom Menace are recorded in participant recollection, but no dated roster confirming those associations has been established.

Selected results

Year	Event	Published team name	Result
1998	NPL Second Division	Phantom Five	Third in published league table; final season status unconfirmed.[1]
1998	1998 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Phantom 5	Ninth, 505 points.[2]
1999	1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Phantom 5 Purple	Third, 820 points.[3]
1999	1999 New Zealand Paintball Nationals	Phantom 5 Black	Twelfth, 390 points.[3]
2001	2001 Northland Open	Phantom	Second, 755 points.[6]
2002	2002 Combat Zone 3-Man	Phantom	Third, 510 points.[7]
2002	Rotorua Volcanic	Phantom	Sixth in the Cup competition, 425 points.[15]
2003	2003 Hawke’s Bay Triples	Phantom Menace	First.[9]
2004	2004 Hawke’s Bay Triples	Phantom Blue	Second.[12]
2006	2006 Super 5s (New Zealand)	Phantom	Third in Division One, 3,823 points.[13]

References