South African Regional Paintball League

South African Regional Paintball League (SARPL) is a South African competitive paintball league established in 2009. The league organised regional and national speedball competitions, including three-player and five-player tournaments, and established the annual Paintball Super Cup as its national championship event.[1][2]

SARPL developed a multi-province tournament structure encompassing Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State. Its competitions included amateur and professional-level divisions, with official tournament records documenting seasons from 2011 to 2021.[2][3]

History

Establishment (2009–2012)

SARPL was established in South Africa in 2009 by Danny de Bruyne, with assistance from ' Paul Grobler. According to a December 2012 announcement by GI Sportz, the league originated as the South African branch of the American Regional Paintball League (RPL), associated with Shawn Walker and Money Paintball USA.[1]

Paul Grobler subsequently became a co-owner and national coordinator of SARPL.

The league developed regional competitions for amateur paintball teams, using three-player and five-player formats divided by competitive classification.

By the 2012 season, SARPL had attracted more than 115 individual teams across its divisions.[1]

The league's 2012 five-player Division 3 championship was won by Reaper, while Dark Legends won Division 4.

The three-player competitions included Division 3, Division 4 and Division 5 categories.[1][4]

National expansion (2013)

The 2013 season marked an expansion of SARPL's national competition structure.

The league operated tournaments across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State, with provincial and national championship standings calculated from teams' strongest tournament results.[2]

The national championship culminated in the inaugural Paintball Super Cup, held at Forever Resort Gariep from 6 to 8 December 2013.

The event attracted more than 50 teams, including 32 three-player teams from South Africa and Namibia and 20 five-player teams from South Africa.[2]

The 2013 national champions included:

Division	Champion	Province
Division 3, 5-Man	Dynamix	Gauteng
Division 4, 5-Man	Brutal Affliction	Gauteng
Division 4, 3-Man	Dalibor Fight	Gauteng
Division 5, 3-Man	Equalizers	KwaZulu-Natal

The championship also featured exhibition matches involving American professional team Houston Heat. International players attending the event included Ryan Greenspan of San Diego Dynasty and Maximus Lundqvist, formerly of Joy Division.[2]

Professional divisions (2014)

In 2014, SARPL introduced a five-player Champions and Challengers competition using a RaceTo-3 format.

Nine teams were announced for the new structure.

The Champions division included Reaper, Dynamix, Xplicit and All Stars.

The Challengers division included Brutal Affliction, Militia, Apocalypse, EspirE and Sonic.[5]

The competition consisted of five events, including the season finale at the Paintball Super Cup in Gauteng.

Dynamix won the 2014 Pro season championship with 470 points, ahead of Reaper on 395.

Brutal Affliction won the Pro Challengers championship with 377.5 points.[6]

Continued competition (2015–2021)

SARPL continued operating regional and national competitions during the following years.

A January 2015 report in Northern Natal News described the league as having more than 500 members and organising approximately 31 regional and national events annually.[7]

The league's documented tournament programme included events in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State.

By 2019, SARPL's five-player competition included Champions and Challengers X-Ball divisions.

Apocalypse won the 2019 Champions season championship, while Legacy won the Challengers championship.[8]

The league continued holding events during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a Paintball Super Cup in December 2020.

Brutal Affliction won the professional division at that event.[9]

In 2021, SARPL held tournaments in Gauteng and Eastern Cape, culminating in the Paintball Super Cup at Boksburg on 11–12 December.

Apocalypse won the Champions Division season championship, ahead of Kingsmen and Reaper.

Kings EC finished first in the five-player Division 4 season standings.[10]

Competition structure

SARPL organised regional competitions in three-player and five-player formats.

During its early years, the league used RaceTo-2 rules derived from the American Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP) tournament system.

Teams were classified into divisions according to experience and competitive level.

The league used the American Paintball Players Association (APPA) system for player classification and tournament administration.[7]

The competition structure evolved over time, introducing additional professional and amateur categories.

Regional tournament results contributed towards provincial and national standings, with the Paintball Super Cup serving as the season finale.

Paintball Super Cup

The Paintball Super Cup was SARPL's national championship event, first held in December 2013.

The inaugural competition took place at Forever Resort Gariep, with its central location chosen to accommodate teams travelling from different parts of South Africa.[2]

The event combined three-player and five-player competitions, with national and provincial titles awarded across multiple divisions.

Subsequent editions were held at venues including Roodepoort, Vanderbijlpark and Boksburg in Gauteng.[3]

The Super Cup also attracted international teams, professional players, sponsors and paintball media representatives.

Selected season champions

Year	Division	Season champion
2012	Division 3, 5-Man	Reaper
2012	Division 4, 5-Man	Dark Legends
2013	Division 3, 5-Man	Dynamix
2013	Division 4, 5-Man	Brutal Affliction
2014	Pro	Dynamix
2014	Pro Challengers	Brutal Affliction
2019	Champions X-Ball	Apocalypse
2019	Challengers X-Ball	Legacy
2021	Champions X-Ball	Apocalypse
2021	Division 4, 5-Man	Kings EC

These are selected division champions rather than a complete record of every SARPL championship. Division names and competitive formats changed between seasons.[4][6][8][10]

Organisation and affiliations

SARPL operated as a tournament organisation separate from the South African National Paintball Association (SANPA).

SANPA's organisational directory identifies SARPL Pty Ltd as a national speedball organiser, with Paul Grobler listed as its representative and January 2013 recorded as the date of its SANPA membership.[11]

SARPL also maintained commercial relationships with paintball equipment manufacturers.

In December 2012, GI Sportz announced a platinum sponsorship agreement for the 2013 SARPL season.[1]

Other companies supporting SARPL events included Planet Eclipse, DYE Paintball, Valken, Empire Paintball, HK Army and Virtue Paintball.[2]

References

External links