Editing 2026 ICPL season

The '''2026 ICPL season''' was the eighth season of the [[International Classic Paintball League]]. Its United States championship comprised four tournaments: the Golden State Classic, Windy City Classic, Pittsburgh Open Classic and Classic Cup.[1–5]

[[Chicago Aftershock]] won the Professional ten-player and Open five-player season championships. AAF won Amateur ten-player, while AAF 2 won Amateur five-player.[1][6]

== Calendar ==

All four championship events took place in the United States.[2–5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Dates
! Event
! Venue
|-
| 10–12 April 2026
| [[2026 ICPL Golden State Classic]]
| Ambush Paintball Park, Moorpark, California
|-
| 12–14 June 2026
| [[2026 ICPL Windy City Classic]]
| The Badlandz, Crete, Illinois
|-
| 31 July–2 August 2026
| [[2026 ICPL Pittsburgh Open Classic]]
| Urban Assault, McDonald, Pennsylvania
|-
| 16–18 October 2026
| [[2026 ICPL Classic Cup]]
| Outdoor Xtreme Chesapeake City, Chesapeake City, Maryland
|}

== Formats and championship scoring ==

Each event offered four divisions:

* Professional ten-player.
* Amateur ten-player.
* Open five-player.
* Amateur five-player.[2–5]

Five-player competition was scheduled for Friday, followed by ten-player competition on Saturday and Sunday.[2–5]

The league used classic capture-the-flag competition across field types including woodland, hyperball, mounds and hybrid layouts. Teams earned game points for flag actions, eliminated opponents and surviving players.[7]

Game times varied by field. At Pittsburgh, woodland and hybrid games lasted twelve minutes, while hyperball and mounds games lasted ten minutes. At the Classic Cup, hyperball and cargo games lasted ten minutes and trench games lasted twelve minutes. Five-player games were listed as six minutes.[4][5]

Each team's three highest tournament ranking scores counted towards its season total; additional scores were dropped.[1]

== Event winners ==

The following divisional winners are recorded in the official season standings.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Division
! Golden State Classic
! Windy City Classic
! Pittsburgh Open Classic
! Classic Cup
|-
| Professional ten-player
| All Americans
| FARSIDE
| Chicago Aftershock
| Brimstone Smoke
|-
| Amateur ten-player
| Los Angeles Faction
| AAF
| Ohio Outlaws
| Brawlgang
|-
| Open five-player
| Chicago Aftershock
| Chicago Aftershock
| ATTKTX
| FARSIDE
|-
| Amateur five-player
| AAF 2
| Roadies Factory
| Ohio Outlaws
| AAF 2
|}

=== Windy City weather disruption ===

The Windy City Classic experienced a rain delay. Organisers announced that games would begin one hour later than originally scheduled and updated the ten-player schedule on Friday to accommodate storm-affected teams.[3]

=== Classic Cup ===

[[Brimstone Smoke]] won the concluding Professional ten-player tournament ahead of Chicago Aftershock and the All Americans. Brawlgang won Amateur ten-player, followed by Roadies Factory and Upstate Remix.[6]

FARSIDE won Open five-player ahead of Image and Chicago Aftershock. AAF 2 won Amateur five-player, with StL Suspects second and Roadies Factory third.[6]

The event results were distinct from the season championships: Chicago Aftershock secured both professional ten-player and Open five-player series titles, while AAF won the Amateur ten-player series.[6]

== Season championships ==

The final championship standings counted each team's three highest tournament scores.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Division
! Champions
! Points
! Runners-up
! Points
! Third place
! Points
|-
| Professional ten-player
| Chicago Aftershock
| 292
| Brimstone Smoke
| 286
| All Americans
| 286
|-
| Amateur ten-player
| AAF
| 283
| Roadies Factory
| 267
| Brimstone Smoke
| 258
|-
| Open five-player
| Chicago Aftershock
| 293
| FARSIDE
| 292
| All Americans
| 271
|-
| Amateur five-player
| AAF 2
| 296
| Roadies Factory
| 289
| StL Suspects
| 279
|}

Chicago Aftershock finished six points ahead of Brimstone Smoke in Professional ten-player. Brimstone Smoke and the All Americans both recorded 286 points, with the official standings placing Smoke second.[1]

The Open five-player championship was decided by one point, with Chicago Aftershock finishing ahead of FARSIDE.[1]

== See also ==

* [[International Classic Paintball League]]
* [[2025 ICPL season]]
* [[Major League Paintball]]
* [[Paintball in the United States]]

== References ==

# [https://pbleagues.com/league/435/seasonRankings/2026 PBLeagues – International Classic Paintball League: 2026 final season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/9254/info PBLeagues – 2026 Golden State Classic: dates, venue, divisions and schedule.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/9341/info PBLeagues – 2026 Windy City Classic: dates, venue, divisions and weather-related schedule notices.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/9385/info PBLeagues – 2026 Pittsburgh Open Classic: dates, venue, divisions and field-specific game times.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/9450/info PBLeagues – 2026 Classic Cup: dates, venue, divisions and field-specific game times.]
# [https://paintballdirt.substack.com/p/weekly-newsletter-icpl-classic-cup Brandon Olson, Paintball Dirt – Weekly Newsletter: ICPL Classic Cup Results!, 19 October 2026.]
# [https://www.nxlclassicpaintball.com/ International Classic Paintball League – Official website: classic formats, playing fields and scoring.]

[[Category:Paintball tournaments]]
[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]
[[Category:2026 in paintball]]