Editing Women's National Xball League

The '''Women's National Xball League''' ('''WNXL''') is a professional women's competitive paintball league established in 2021 as part of the [[National Xball League]] (NXL). The league provides women with a dedicated professional competition in the Xball format, with competitions in the United States and Europe.[1][2]

The WNXL held its first exhibition match in November 2021 and began its inaugural competitive season in 2022. It has subsequently expanded to include professional teams from multiple countries and additional women's amateur divisions.[1][3]

== History ==

=== Establishment (2021) ===

The WNXL was introduced at the 2021 [[NXL World Cup]] as an initiative to increase opportunities and visibility for women in professional paintball.

On 13 November 2021, the league staged an exhibition match between two specially assembled teams, Fire and Ice. The match featured players drawn from the franchises preparing to enter the inaugural season.

Played under Xball rules, the exhibition ended with Fire defeating Ice 7–3.[1]

=== Inaugural season (2022) ===

The first WNXL professional season began at the 2022 NXL Sunshine State Major in March.

Six teams competed during the inaugural season:

* [[Dallas Vibe]]
* [[Destiny (paintball team)|Destiny]]
* [[The Heroines]]
* [[Femmes Fatale]]
* [[Sacramento Diamonds]]
* [[Cheetahs (paintball team)|Cheetahs]]

Dallas Vibe won the inaugural tournament, defeating Destiny 5–3 in the final after completing the event undefeated.[3]

The Heroines subsequently won the inaugural season championship, finishing with 393 points ahead of Destiny on 384 and Dallas Vibe on 373.[4]

The 2022 World Cup also featured international entrants, including Shieldmaidens from Spain and Suricatos from Colombia.[4]

=== Expansion (2023–2026) ===

The WNXL continued operating as part of the NXL tournament structure, with professional competitions held at selected American events.

The 2023 season was won by Cheetahs, while The Heroines claimed the 2024 and 2025 championships.[5][6][7]

By 2026, the American professional competition had expanded to 11 teams, including entrants from Canada and Colombia.[12]

The league also developed additional competition opportunities through women's amateur five-player and three-player divisions.

== WNXL Europe ==

The WNXL expanded its professional competition structure to Europe, with a separate women's Xball championship documented in [[NXL Europe]] results from 2023.[8]

The 2023 European competition included teams such as:

* [[Drakaina]]
* [[Belladonna]]
* [[Karma (paintball team)|Karma]]
* [[Halcyon (paintball team)|Halcyon]]
* [[HBI W]]

European WNXL competitions have been held alongside NXL Europe events, including the British Invitational and European Championships.

Drakaina won the 2023 European season championship. Belladonna subsequently won the titles in 2024, 2025 and 2026.[8][9][10][11]

== Competition structure ==

The WNXL operates within the wider NXL tournament system, with its principal professional competition using the Xball format.

Matches consist of opposing five-player teams competing to score points within a timed match. Teams accumulate results across designated season events, with rankings used to determine the overall season champion.

The professional women's division is distinct from the wider women's amateur competitions, which include five-player and three-player formats.

The American and European professional championships maintain separate season rankings.[2][12]

== Season champions ==

=== United States ===

The following teams finished first in the WNXL professional season standings.

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Season champion
|-
| 2022
| [[The Heroines]] [4]
|-
| 2023
| [[Cheetahs (paintball team)|Cheetahs]] [5]
|-
| 2024
| [[The Heroines]] [6]
|-
| 2025
| [[The Heroines]] [7]
|}

=== Europe ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Season champion
|-
| 2023
| [[Drakaina]] [8]
|-
| 2024
| [[Belladonna]] [9]
|-
| 2025
| [[Belladonna]] [10]
|-
| 2026
| [[Belladonna]] [11]
|}

== Significance ==

The WNXL established a dedicated professional women's championship within the NXL tournament system.

Its introduction provided an additional competitive pathway for established female players and created opportunities for newer women's teams to participate in professional and amateur competition.

The league also brought women's professional Xball into the NXL's event coverage and webcast programme.

Major League Paintball, which oversees the WNXL alongside other paintball competitions, has reported a 62 per cent increase in women's participation at national tournaments since the league's establishment. This figure is reported by the organisation itself.[2]

== See also ==

* [[National Xball League]]
* [[NXL Europe]]
* [[Women's paintball]]
* [[Xball]]
* [[NXL World Cup]]
* [[Femmes Fatale]]
* [[The Heroines]]
* [[Dallas Vibe]]

== References ==

# [https://www.nxlpaintball.com/post/fire-vs-ice-the-debut-of-a-female-professional-paintball-league-the-wnxl NXL, "Fire vs. Ice: The Debut of a Female Professional Paintball League, the WNXL", 18 November 2021.]
# [https://www.majorleaguepb.com/wnxl Major League Paintball, "WNXL", official league overview.]
# [https://www.nxlpaintball.com/post/2022-nxl-sunshine-state-major-recap-dynasty-wins-g-i-sportz-dominates-x-ball-in-a-history-first NXL, "2022 NXL Sunshine State Major Recap", 21 March 2022.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2022 PBLeagues, National Xball League, 2022 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2023 PBLeagues, National Xball League, 2023 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2024 PBLeagues, National Xball League, 2024 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2025 PBLeagues, National Xball League, 2025 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2023 PBLeagues, NXL Europe, 2023 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2024 PBLeagues, NXL Europe, 2024 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2025 PBLeagues, NXL Europe, 2025 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2026 PBLeagues, NXL Europe, 2026 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2026 PBLeagues, National Xball League, 2026 season rankings.]

== External links ==

* [https://www.nxlpaintball.com/ National Xball League official website]
* [https://www.majorleaguepb.com/wnxl WNXL official information]
* [https://pbleagues.com/ PBLeagues official tournament results]

[[Category:Paintball leagues]]
[[Category:Women's paintball]]
[[Category:Professional paintball]]