Editing Bob Long's Assassins

'''Bob Long's Assassins''' was an American tournament paintball team associated with [[Bob Long]] that competed in the semi-professional division of the [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL) Super 7 World Series during 2005.

The team won the semi-professional division at the '''2005 Denver Open''' and finished second at the '''2005 Miami Commander's Cup'''. It concluded the season in second place in the overall NPPL semi-professional standings, earning promotion to the professional division for 2006.[1][2][3]

Following promotion, the team changed its name to the '''[[Philadelphia Assassins]]'''. Contemporary tournament reporting explicitly confirms this transition.[3]

Bob Long's Assassins was associated with Long's wider professional paintball organisation, which also included the [[Oakland Assassins]] competing in the [[National Xball League]] (NXL). The NPPL and NXL entries should be distinguished when recording tournament results, as they competed in different leagues and formats.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Bob Long's Assassins
|-
! Full name
| Bob Long's Assassins
|-
! Sport
| Tournament paintball
|-
! Country
| United States
|-
! Associated person
| [[Bob Long]]
|-
! League
| [[National Professional Paintball League]]
|-
! Competition
| NPPL Super 7 World Series
|-
! Division
| Semi-professional
|-
! Format
| Seven-player tournament paintball
|-
! Documented season
| 2005
|-
! Major achievements
| 2005 Denver Open champions; 2005 Miami Commander's Cup runners-up; second in 2005 NPPL semi-professional season
|-
! Successor name
| [[Philadelphia Assassins]] (2006)
|-
! Related team
| [[Oakland Assassins]]
|-
! Status
| Historical team name
|}

== History ==

=== Background ===

Bob Long's Assassins was associated with [[Bob Long]], a prominent American professional paintball player, team captain and equipment designer.

Long had previously captained the original [[Ironmen (paintball team)|Ironmen]] during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Following his departure from the original Ironmen in 1996, he established a separate professional team known as [[Bob Long's Ironmen]].

That organisation won the 1998 NPPL professional season championship.

Long subsequently became associated with the Oakland Assassins in the NXL and Bob Long's Assassins in the NPPL.

=== NPPL Super 7 ===

The NPPL Super 7 World Series used a seven-player tournament format.

Teams competed on purpose-built fields with inflatable bunkers.

The league used a flag-based scoring system in which teams earned points for eliminating opponents, retaining players and capturing flags.

During 2005, the NPPL operated a restricted professional division.

Teams could no longer enter the professional division simply by paying an entry fee.

Instead, semi-professional teams could earn promotion through their season rankings.

=== Semi-professional competition ===

Bob Long's Assassins competed in the semi-professional division during 2005.

The division included experienced teams seeking promotion to professional competition.

The Assassins competed against organisations including:

* California Ironmen
* XS NRG
* Dynasty Dynamics
* A-Team
* Bad Company
* Famous
* Impact

The team's results during the season established it as one of the leading semi-professional competitors.

== 2005 season ==

=== Season structure ===

The 2005 NPPL Super 7 World Series consisted of five events.

The season included tournaments at Huntington Beach, Tampa, Denver, San Diego and Miami.

Teams accumulated ranking points toward the overall season championship.

The three highest-ranked semi-professional teams were eligible for promotion to the professional division.

Bob Long's Assassins finished the season in second place.[3]

=== Denver Open ===

The 2005 NPPL Denver Open took place from 22 to 24 July.

The tournament was held at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.

The event shared its location with the Vans Warped Tour, providing additional public exposure for tournament paintball.

Bob Long's Assassins competed in the semi-professional division.

=== Preliminary rounds ===

The Assassins completed the first day of preliminary competition undefeated.

They were among several semi-professional teams that remained unbeaten during the opening day.

The preliminary round determined which teams would advance to the quarterfinals.

The Assassins qualified for the elimination stages.

=== Quarterfinals ===

Bob Long's Assassins advanced through the quarterfinal round.

The four remaining semi-professional teams were:

* Dynasty Dynamics
* Bob Long's Assassins
* Famous
* California Ironmen

The teams then competed in semifinal matches to determine which would contest the championship final.

=== Denver championship final ===

Bob Long's Assassins advanced to face California Ironmen in the semi-professional final.

The final used a best-of-three format.

The Assassins won the first two games, securing the championship without requiring a third game.[1]

The recorded final placements were:

{| class="wikitable"
! Position
! Team
|-
| 1
| Bob Long's Assassins
|-
| 2
| California Ironmen
|-
| 3
| Dynasty Dynamics
|-
| 4
| Famous
|}

The Denver victory was one of the team's most significant documented achievements.

=== Significance of the Denver result ===

The result demonstrated that Bob Long's Assassins could compete successfully against established semi-professional teams.

California Ironmen had already achieved strong results during the season, including a victory at Huntington Beach.

Defeating California Ironmen in the Denver final helped strengthen the Assassins' position in the season standings.

== Miami Commander's Cup ==

=== Season finale ===

The 2005 Miami Commander's Cup took place from 4 to 6 November at Tamiami Park in Miami, Florida.

The event was the final tournament of the 2005 NPPL season.

The Commander's Cup was named in honour of Maurice "Commander Mo" Gibb, the musician and paintball enthusiast.

The tournament included professional and divisional competition.

Season rankings were particularly important because the NPPL's promotion and relegation system would determine the following year's professional teams.

=== Preliminary competition ===

Bob Long's Assassins competed in the semi-professional division.

The division included 38 registered teams, although one team did not attend.

Sixteen teams advanced from the preliminary round to the quarterfinals.

The Assassins successfully qualified for the elimination stages.[2]

=== Quarterfinals ===

The Assassins advanced through the quarterfinals.

The four remaining semi-professional teams were:

* Arsenal A
* Bob Long's Assassins
* Bad Company
* XS NRG

The teams competed in best-of-three semifinals.

Bob Long's Assassins advanced to the championship final against XS NRG.

=== Miami championship final ===

Bob Long's Assassins faced XS NRG in the semi-professional final.

The Assassins won the opening game.

XS NRG recovered to win the next two games and take the championship.[2]

The recorded final placements were:

{| class="wikitable"
! Position
! Team
|-
| 1
| XS NRG
|-
| 2
| Bob Long's Assassins
|-
| 3
| Bad Company
|-
| 4
| Arsenal A
|}

Bob Long's Assassins finished second at the event.

=== End of the season ===

The Miami result concluded the team's 2005 tournament season.

Its consistent results, including the Denver championship and Miami runner-up finish, contributed to its overall second-place season ranking.

The team earned promotion to the professional division for 2006.

== 2005 season standings ==

=== Overall result ===

Bob Long's Assassins finished second in the NPPL semi-professional season standings.

WARPIG's contemporary 2006 Huntington Beach coverage explicitly identifies the team's second-place finish and subsequent promotion.[3]

The team was one of three semi-professional organisations promoted to the professional division.

=== Promotion system ===

During 2005, the NPPL introduced a closed professional division.

Professional status depended on season performance rather than unrestricted entry.

At the conclusion of the season, the lowest-ranked professional teams were relegated to semi-professional competition.

The highest-ranked semi-professional teams earned promotion.

The system was intended to establish a competitive qualification pathway into professional paintball.

=== Promotion to professional competition ===

Bob Long's Assassins qualified for professional competition in 2006.

The team changed its name to Philadelphia Assassins.

This was a documented change of team identity rather than a separate team coincidentally using the Assassins name.

The transition is confirmed by contemporary WARPIG coverage.

== Philadelphia Assassins ==

=== Name change ===

For the 2006 season, Bob Long's Assassins adopted the name '''Philadelphia Assassins'''.

The team entered the NPPL professional division.

Its promotion represented a major step from semi-professional to professional competition.

=== Huntington Beach 2006 ===

The Philadelphia Assassins made their professional appearance at the 2006 NPPL Huntington Beach Open.

The event took place from 24 to 26 March.

The team struggled during the preliminary round.

It finished with a negative points total and failed to advance.[3]

The event demonstrated the increased difficulty of competing in the NPPL's restricted professional division.

=== Later 2006 results ===

The Philadelphia Assassins continued competing during the 2006 season.

At the San Diego Open, the team finished thirteenth in the professional division.[4]

The result was an improvement over its earlier performances but was insufficient to move the team out of the relegation positions.

=== End-of-season relegation ===

At the 2006 Commander's Cup, the Philadelphia Assassins finished fifteenth.

The team accumulated 13 season ranking points and finished last in the professional standings.[5]

As a result, it was relegated from the professional division.

The later history of the organisation requires further research.

== Relationship with Oakland Assassins ==

=== Bob Long's professional organisation ===

Bob Long was associated with multiple tournament teams during the early 2000s.

The Oakland Assassins competed in the NXL.

Bob Long's Assassins competed in the NPPL semi-professional division.

Both names were associated with Long's broader competitive activities.

=== Oakland Assassins ===

The Oakland Assassins were an original NXL franchise.

They reached the inaugural NXL championship final in 2003.

The team subsequently won the NXL Western Conference championship in 2004 and 2005.

Its competition used the X-Ball format.

=== Different competition formats ===

The NXL and NPPL operated different tournament formats.

The NXL used extended X-Ball matches with repeated points.

The NPPL Super 7 used seven-player flag-based games.

Teams could participate in both organisations under different names, subject to league eligibility and franchise restrictions.

=== Team identity ===

The names Bob Long's Assassins and Oakland Assassins should not automatically be treated as interchangeable.

Although both were associated with Bob Long, the available evidence does not establish complete roster overlap.

Historical tournament results should be attributed to the specific league entry under which they were recorded.

=== Philadelphia transition ===

The documented succession from Bob Long's Assassins to Philadelphia Assassins is clearer.

Contemporary reporting explicitly confirms the name change for 2006.

The Philadelphia Assassins therefore represent the next documented stage of the NPPL team.

== Players ==

=== Bob Long ===

[[Bob Long]] was the principal figure associated with the team.

He had previously captained the original Ironmen and led Bob Long's Ironmen.

Long was also involved in the development of electronic tournament paintball markers.

His equipment company became known as [[Bob Long Technologies]].

=== Roster documentation ===

A complete verified roster for the 2005 Bob Long's Assassins team has not been established.

Contemporary tournament photographs and registration records may provide further identifications.

Players associated with Oakland Assassins or Bob Long's other teams should not automatically be assigned to the NPPL roster.

== Equipment and sponsorship ==

=== Bob Long Technologies ===

The team was associated with Bob Long, whose equipment business manufactured electronic tournament markers.

The company's products included the Intimidator.

The Intimidator was one of the prominent electronic tournament marker platforms of the early 2000s.

=== Tournament equipment ===

The team competed during a period when electronic markers and force-fed loaders had become standard equipment in high-level tournament paintball.

However, specific marker models, loaders and other equipment used by Bob Long's Assassins at individual events have not been fully documented.

=== Sponsorship history ===

The team's complete sponsorship history requires further research.

The association with Bob Long does not establish that every product used by the team was manufactured by Bob Long Technologies.

Period photographs, advertisements and tournament programmes may provide further evidence.

== Tournament results ==

=== Verified results ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Event
! Division
! Result
! Notes
|-
| 2005
| Denver Open
| Semi-professional
| 1st
| Defeated California Ironmen in final
|-
| 2005
| Miami Commander's Cup
| Semi-professional
| 2nd
| Lost final to XS NRG
|-
| 2005
| NPPL Super 7 season
| Semi-professional
| 2nd overall
| Earned promotion to professional division
|}

=== Results under successor name ===

The following results belong to the same documented NPPL team after its name change to Philadelphia Assassins.

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Event
! Division
! Result
|-
| 2006
| Huntington Beach Open
| Professional
| Eliminated in preliminaries
|-
| 2006
| San Diego Open
| Professional
| 13th
|-
| 2006
| Commander's Cup
| Professional
| 15th
|-
| 2006
| NPPL Super 7 season
| Professional
| 18th overall
|}

The 2006 results should also appear in the separate Philadelphia Assassins article.

== Historical significance ==

Bob Long's Assassins is significant in professional paintball history because it illustrates the NPPL's semi-professional promotion system during the mid-2000s.

The team achieved several notable results:

* Won the 2005 Denver Open semi-professional championship.
* Finished second at the 2005 Miami Commander's Cup.
* Finished second in the 2005 NPPL semi-professional season standings.
* Earned promotion to the professional division for 2006.
* Continued under the Philadelphia Assassins name.

The team's history also illustrates the overlapping identities used by professional paintball organisations competing in different leagues.

Bob Long's Assassins should be documented separately from the Oakland Assassins while recognising their shared association with Bob Long.

== Timeline ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Event
|-
| 2005
| Bob Long's Assassins compete in NPPL Super 7 semi-professional division
|-
| July 2005
| Team wins Denver Open
|-
| November 2005
| Team finishes second at Miami Commander's Cup
|-
| 2005
| Team finishes second in NPPL semi-professional season standings
|-
| Late 2005
| Team earns promotion to professional division
|-
| 2006
| Team adopts Philadelphia Assassins name
|-
| March 2006
| Philadelphia Assassins compete at Huntington Beach
|-
| September 2006
| Philadelphia Assassins finish thirteenth at San Diego
|-
| October 2006
| Philadelphia Assassins finish fifteenth at Commander's Cup
|-
| 2006
| Philadelphia Assassins finish last in professional season standings and are relegated
|}

== See also ==

* [[Bob Long]]
* [[Bob Long's Ironmen]]
* [[Oakland Assassins]]
* [[Philadelphia Assassins]]
* [[Bob Long's Blast]]
* [[Bob Long Technologies]]
* [[Bob Long Intimidator]]
* [[Ironmen (paintball team)]]
* [[National Professional Paintball League]]
* [[NPPL Super 7]]
* [[NPPL Denver Open]]
* [[NPPL Commander's Cup]]
* [[National Xball League]]
* [[XS NRG]]
* [[California Ironmen]]
* [[History of professional paintball]]
* [[Paintball in the United States]]

== References ==

# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2005/denver/index.shtml "2005 NPPL Denver Open"], WARPIG, July 2005. Contemporary event report documenting Bob Long's Assassins winning the semi-professional division and defeating California Ironmen in the final.
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2005/miami/ "2005 NPPL Miami Commander's Cup"], WARPIG, November 2005. Contemporary event coverage documenting Bob Long's Assassins finishing second to XS NRG.
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2006/huntington/ "2006 NPPL Huntington Beach Open"], WARPIG, March 2006. Contemporary report confirming the team's second-place 2005 semi-professional season finish, promotion and name change to Philadelphia Assassins.
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2006/sd/index.shtml "2006 NPPL San Diego Open"], WARPIG, September 2006. Contemporary report documenting Philadelphia Assassins' thirteenth-place finish and relegation risk.
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2006/oc/ "2006 NPPL Commander's Cup"], WARPIG, October 2006. Contemporary report documenting the Philadelphia Assassins' fifteenth-place event result, final season ranking and relegation.

== External links ==

* [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2005/denver/index.shtml WARPIG — 2005 Denver Open]
* [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2005/miami/ WARPIG — 2005 Miami Commander's Cup]
* [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2006/huntington/ WARPIG — 2006 Huntington Beach Open]
* [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2006/sd/index.shtml WARPIG — 2006 San Diego Open]
* [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/nppl/2006/oc/ WARPIG — 2006 Commander's Cup]

[[Category:Paintball teams]]
[[Category:American paintball teams]]
[[Category:Former professional paintball teams]]
[[Category:National Professional Paintball League teams]]
[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]
[[Category:Paintball history]]