Editing 1993 APL Tournament Championships

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The '''1993 APL Tournament Championships''' was the national amateur championship of the [[American Paintball League]]’s 1993 regional tournament series. Eighteen teams contested the event at Splat One Adventures in Knoxville, Tennessee. '''Runnin’ Rebels''' were declared national champions after a penalty reversed the apparent result of their final against the '''Green Dragons'''.[1]

The tournament combined divisional woodland games with a single-elimination championship stage played on an expanded speedball court.[1]

== Venue and coverage ==

The championships were hosted by Splat One Adventures, operated by Randy Baxter. The tournament concluded the American Paintball League’s 1993 programme of regional amateur events.[1]

Unlike the league’s preceding tournaments, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and placement games were moved from the woodland fields to an enlarged speedball court. The more open setting was chosen partly to facilitate filming for Bob McGuire’s ''American Paintball League'' cable television programme, which was carried by SportsChannel America and regional affiliates.[1]

== Format ==

The eighteen teams were initially divided into four groups. The winner of each division advanced directly to the quarter-finals.[1]

The remaining fourteen teams were then rearranged into new divisions for a second preliminary round. The four second-round divisional winners joined the original four qualifiers in an eight-team, single-elimination championship bracket.[1]

The original divisional winners were:

* Lone Wolf;
* Shadow Company;
* Green Dragons; and
* Runnin’ Rebels.[1]

The second preliminary round was won by:

* Demon Lords;
* Rad Busters;
* CIA Widowmakers; and
* Vortex.[1]

The Renegades, a local teenage team, withdrew after their first two games of the second preliminary round. Their scheduled third opponent, the Rad Busters, consequently received an automatic 80 points.[1]

== Elimination rounds ==

Rain began as the eight qualifying teams moved from the woodland fields to the speedball court.[1]

=== Quarter-finals ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Winner
! Defeated
|-
| Lone Wolf
| CIA Widowmakers
|-
| Runnin’ Rebels
| Rad Busters
|-
| Demon Lords
| Shadow Company
|-
| Green Dragons
| Vortex
|}

=== Semi-finals ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Winner
! Defeated
|-
| Runnin’ Rebels
| Lone Wolf
|-
| Green Dragons
| Demon Lords
|}

Lone Wolf subsequently defeated the Demon Lords in the third-place game.[1]

== Championship game ==

The final matched the Runnin’ Rebels against the Green Dragons. Both teams advanced along the sides and through the centre of the field, with the Green Dragons using sustained and accurate fire to gain the advantage. The Dragons initially appeared to have won the game.[1]

After the game, however, the Green Dragons received a 120-point penalty. The deduction was sufficient to reverse the result and made the Runnin’ Rebels the American Paintball League’s 1993 national champions.[1]

The contemporary tournament report did not identify the rule violation that produced the penalty.[1]

== Final standings ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Place
! Team
|-
| 1
| '''Runnin’ Rebels'''
|-
| 2
| '''Green Dragons'''
|-
| 3
| '''Lone Wolf'''
|-
| 4
| '''Demon Lords'''
|-
| 5
| Vortex
|-
| 6
| Rad Busters
|-
| 7
| CIA Widowmakers
|-
| 8
| Shadow Company
|-
| 9
| Prism
|-
| 10
| Sudden Impact
|-
| 11
| Maniacs
|-
| 12
| Bad Lands Justice
|-
| 13
| Connecticut Wolverines
|-
| 14
| Wacky Warriors
|-
| 15
| Rogues
|-
| 16
| Warlocks
|-
| 17
| Phantom Wolves
|-
| 18
| Renegades
|}

== Awards ==

Al Schofield received the tournament’s Best Judge award.[1]

The Team Sportsmanship Award had been renamed in memory of Michael O. Lyons Sr., captain of the Rogues, who had died in August 1993. The inaugural Michael O. Lyons Sr. Team Sportsmanship Award was presented to the Florida-based Maniacs. American Paintball League representative Ray Bibee accepted the award on the team’s behalf from Lyons’s son, Michael O. Lyons Jr.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Award
! Recipient
|-
| Best Judge
| Al Schofield
|-
| Michael O. Lyons Sr. Team Sportsmanship Award
| Maniacs
|}

== Aftermath ==

Following the championships, the American Paintball League announced plans to expand its regional amateur programme for 1994. Bob McGuire and Ray Bibee proposed increasing the schedule from seven regional tournaments to eleven or twelve, followed by another national championship provisionally planned for early October.[1]

== See also ==

* [[American Paintball League]]
* [[Splat One Adventures]]
* [[Tournament paintball]]
* [[Speedball]]
* [[Action Pursuit Games]]

== References ==

# [https://oldpaintballmagazines.smugmug.com/Action-Pursuit-Games/1994/May “Hollywood”, “The 1993 APL Tournament Championships”, ''Action Pursuit Games'', May 1994, pp. 36–40.]

[[Category:Paintball tournaments]]
[[Category:Paintball history]]
[[Category:1993 in paintball]]
[[Category:Paintball in Tennessee]]
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