Editing 2000 ZAP International Masters

'''The 2000 ZAP International Masters''' was a [[World Paintball Federation]] tournament [[paintball]] event held from 5 to 8 October 2000 at the Alario Center in Westwego, Louisiana, near New Orleans. Sponsored by [[ZAP Paintball]], it served as the concluding event of the WPF's 2000 regional tournament programme.[1][2]

The event included five-player amateur and rookie/novice competitions, an open three-player tournament, the annual individual Top Gun competition, a target-shooting contest, an industry conference and a consumer trade show.[1]

== Background ==

The International Masters had previously been associated with Nashville, Tennessee. For 2000, the event was relocated to the New Orleans area and staged at the Alario Center, a multi-purpose sports and exhibition complex in Westwego.[1][3]

During the WPF season, teams earned circuit points at approved regional tournaments. The Masters served as the final tournament in the WPF ZAP World Ace and Novice Ace competitions. Some of the overall circuit awards were postponed until the subsequent [[Music City Open]] because final standings had not been received from every affiliated event.[1]

== Venue and playing fields ==

The tournament used four inflatable fields constructed with Sup'Air and Inflate-A-Bunker obstacles outside the Alario Center. The indoor complex accommodated the industry conference, trade show, product demonstrations, technical-support area and other player facilities.[1]

Heavy rain on Friday flooded the fields and caused several games to be postponed. One field became unusable and was removed from the Sunday schedule. Strong winds during the weekend also affected the safety netting, requiring the organisers to reinforce it with additional supports.[1]

== Three-player competition ==

Twenty-one teams entered the open three-player tournament. Amateur and rookie/novice teams competed together without separate classifications. The scoring system awarded points for eliminations, surviving players, the first flag pull and a successful flag hang.[1]

Landslide won the tournament, followed by the New York Dogs' Black and Grey squads. The Dislexic Dogs of Kansas received the three-player sportsmanship award.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Place
! Team
|-
| 1st
| Landslide
|-
| 2nd
| NY Dogs Black
|-
| 3rd
| NY Dogs Grey
|-
| 4th
| Regulators
|}

== Five-player competition ==

The five-player tournament comprised 25 amateur teams and 33 rookie/novice teams. The preliminary games began on Friday and continued after weather-related delays. Most teams used an aggressive spread-and-press approach, with players advancing from the start station while one or more teammates provided covering fire.[1]

Gunmen won the amateur division, while Team Wrecks won the combined rookie/novice division. Landslide of Missouri received the five-player amateur sportsmanship award. The contemporary report described the overall prize package as being worth approximately US$85,000.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Place
! Amateur
! Rookie/novice
|-
| 1st
| Gunmen
| Team Wrecks
|-
| 2nd
| Dislexic Dogs
| Darkside
|-
| 3rd
| 2Xtreme
| Max Nix
|-
| 4th
| Air Hammer
| Nasty Dough Boys
|}

== Top Gun competition ==

The Masters also included its annual Top Gun event, in which individual players competed in one-on-one matches. Brock Jolliff defeated Mike Roloff in a final lasting less than ten seconds. Jolliff received an [[Automag|E-Mag]] supplied by [[Airgun Designs]].[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Place
! Player
|-
| 1st
| Brock Jolliff
|-
| 2nd
| Mike Roloff
|-
| 3rd
| Eric Deerman
|}

== Associated events ==

An industry conference was held on Thursday, bringing together representatives of paintball manufacturers and other businesses. The Alario Center also housed a consumer trade show sponsored by ''[[Action Pursuit Games]]'', product demonstrations, technical-support facilities and a Saturday players' party.[1]

A target-shooting competition combined accuracy and speed stages. Players engaged targets placed at different distances before attempting to knock seven golf balls from supports in the shortest possible time.[1]

At the conclusion of the tournament, WPF president Jim Lively announced plans for the International Masters to return to the Alario Center in October 2001.[1]

== See also ==

* [[International Masters]]
* [[World Paintball Federation]]
* [[ZAP Paintball]]
* [[Jim Lively]]
* [[Music City Open]]
* [[2000 WPF ZAP Tour New Orleans]]

== References ==

# James R. “Mad Dog” Morgan Sr. and Melia “Wildcat” Morgan, “The ZAP International Masters 2000: Paint Flies in the Big Easy”, ''[[Action Pursuit Games]]'', April 2001, pp. 168–175.
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/wpf/stlouis00/index.shtml WPF St. Louis Open 2000], [[WARPIG]], 2000. Contemporary WPF circuit report identifying the International Masters as the season-ending event and recording its scheduled dates and New Orleans location.
# [https://alariocenter.com/contact/ Alario Center], official venue website. Venue location in Westwego, Louisiana.

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[[Category:Paintball tournaments]]
[[Category:International Masters]]
[[Category:2000 in paintball]]
[[Category:Paintball in Louisiana]]
[[Category:World Paintball Federation events]]