Editing NXL Europe


'''NXL Europe''' is the European tournament circuit of the [[National Xball League]] (NXL), operated by [[Major League Paintball]] (MLPB). Established in 2018 following the acquisition of the [[Millennium Series]], it organises international professional, semi-professional and amateur [[speedball]] competitions.[1]

NXL Europe succeeded the Millennium Series, which had operated as one of Europe's principal tournament paintball circuits from 1999 to 2017. Its competitions attract teams from across Europe and other regions.[1][2]

== History ==

=== Formation in 2017 and 2018 ===

In September 2017, the National Xball League and the organisers of the Millennium Series announced an agreement to combine their European tournament operations under the NXL Europe name.

The announcement followed the final Millennium Series event at Chantilly, France. The change was intended to bring European competition formats, player classifications and tournament regulations closer to those used by the NXL in the United States.[2]

The inaugural NXL Europe season took place in 2018, with four principal tournaments:

* Chartres Open, France
* Prague Open, Czechia
* Basildon-London Open, United Kingdom
* Paris-Chantilly Open, France

[[Edmonton Impact]] won the inaugural professional season championship, ahead of [[Houston Heat]] and [[Russian Legion]].[3]

=== Development ===

The 2019 season again featured four tournaments, held in Spain, France, Czechia and the Netherlands.

Moscow Red Legion won the 2019 professional season championship, with Golden State Kings finishing second and Edmonton Impact third.[4]

Following disruption to international competition during the COVID-19 pandemic, NXL Europe held a European Championships event at Chantilly in September 2021.

The circuit subsequently returned to a multi-event structure. In 2022, tournaments were organised in Germany, the United Kingdom and France.[5]

In 2023, Major League Paintball introduced a revised European championship programme featuring two professional and semi-professional invitationals followed by an open European Championships event.

The competition continued to develop its divisional structure, with the [[Women's National Xball League]] (WNXL) and classic mechanical paintball competitions incorporated into the European programme.[1]

=== International qualification ===

In 2022, Major League Paintball introduced an international qualification programme allowing three leading NXL Europe teams and a Latin American champion to compete in the professional division of the [[NXL World Cup]] in the United States.

French team [[Toulouse TonTon]] finished third at the 2022 NXL World Cup after qualifying through the European championship.[1]

== Competition structure ==

NXL Europe operates professional and amateur competitions using several tournament formats.

These have included:

* '''Professional X-Ball:''' The highest five-player competition division.
* '''Semi-Professional X-Ball:''' Competition below the professional division.
* '''Divisional X-Ball:''' Amateur competition organised by player classification.
* '''WNXL:''' Women's professional X-Ball competition.
* '''Three-player X-Ball:''' A smaller-team version of the multi-point competition format.
* '''Classic paintball:''' Mechanical-marker competitions, including seven-player events.

Divisions and formats vary between tournaments and seasons.[6]

Teams accumulate ranking points from individual events towards their respective season championships. Player registration, classifications, schedules and results are administered through [[PBLeagues International]].[5]

== 2026 season ==

The 2026 NXL Europe season comprised three major tournaments.[5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Event
! Dates
! Location
|-
| Czech Cup
| 14 to 17 May 2026
| Bor, Czechia
|-
| British Invitational
| 2 to 5 July 2026
| Penkridge, United Kingdom
|-
| [[NXL European Championships]]
| 2 to 6 September 2026
| Dreux, France
|}

The 2026 competition included professional five-player X-Ball, professional three-player X-Ball, semi-professional and divisional competition, WNXL and classic seven-player events.[6]

[[Ranger Warsaw]] of Poland won the 2026 professional season championship, finishing first at all three tournaments and accumulating 600 championship points.

French team LTF finished second with 508 points, followed by ALA Warsaw with 432 points.[7]

The women's WNXL season championship was won by Belgian team Belladonna, ahead of Spain's Karma and Norway's Drakaina.[7]

== Organisation ==

NXL Europe operates as part of Major League Paintball, the organisation responsible for the National Xball League and related tournament properties.

As of 2026, Barry Fuggle is listed as director of NXL Europe, while [[Laurent Hamet]], a leading figure in the earlier Millennium Series, serves as vice president of NXL Europe.[8]

== See also ==

* [[National Xball League]]
* [[Major League Paintball]]
* [[Millennium Series]]
* [[NXL European Championships]]
* [[Women's National Xball League]]
* [[PBLeagues International]]
* [[X-Ball]]
* [[Speedball]]

== References ==

# [https://www.majorleaguepb.com/nxleurope Major League Paintball, NXL Europe. Official league history and international competition information.]
# [https://paintball.fi/kimmo-kainulainen/uutiset/1073/millennium-series-yhteen-nxln-kanssa Paintball.fi, Kimmo Kainulainen, Millennium Series yhteen NXL:n kanssa, 21 September 2017.]
# [https://mlpb.pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2018 PBLeagues, NXL Europe 2018 Season Rankings.]
# [https://mlpb.pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2019 PBLeagues, NXL Europe 2019 Season Rankings.]
# [https://mlpb.pbleagues.com/leagues/403 PBLeagues, NXL Europe, official historical tournament calendar, 2018 to 2026.]
# [https://www.nxlpaintball.com/2026-czech-cup National Xball League, 2026 NXL Europe Czech Cup, official event information and competition divisions.]
# [https://mlpb.pbleagues.com/league/403/seasonRankings/2026 PBLeagues, NXL Europe 2026 Season Rankings.]
# [https://www.majorleaguepb.com/leadership Major League Paintball, Leadership, official organisational directory.]

== External links ==

* [https://www.nxlpaintball.com/ National Xball League official website]
* [https://www.majorleaguepb.com/nxleurope Major League Paintball, NXL Europe]
* [https://mlpb.pbleagues.com/leagues/403 NXL Europe official tournament archive and rankings]

[[Category:Paintball leagues]]
[[Category:Professional paintball]]
[[Category:International paintball competitions]]
[[Category:Paintball in Europe]]