Editing Markus Nielsen (section)

== Early career ==

Nielsen was born on 3 January 1981 in Joliet, Illinois, and grew up in Braidwood.

He became involved in paintball as a teenager, initially working at a local paintball field before entering organised tournament competition.[5]

By 1999, Nielsen was competing with Chicago Farside, initially in the Amateur A division.

At the 1999 Skyball tournament in Toronto, Canada, he appeared on Farside's professional roster alongside [[John Dresser]], Jeff Schreiber, Brian Hansas and Rob Lessner.[6]

=== Chicago Aftershock ===

According to Dresser, Nielsen joined Chicago Aftershock shortly before the 1999 NPPL World Cup.[1]

Aftershock was among the leading professional tournament teams of the period, featuring players including [[Todd Adamson]], [[Billy Ceranski]], [[Danny Love]] and [[Mike Bruno]].

At the 1999 World Cup in Orlando, Florida, Aftershock won the professional ten-player championship, defeating the Southern California Ironmen in the final round.[3]

Nielsen continued competing with Aftershock during the following seasons.

The team's published 2001 [[National Professional Paintball League]] professional roster lists him under the spelling "Marcus Nielson", alongside Adamson, Bruno, Ceranski and other established players.[7]