1996 NPPL World Cup

The 1996 NPPL World Cup was an international paintball tournament held from 23 to 27 October 1996 at Paintball World in Kissimmee, Florida. It concluded the National Professional Paintball League's 1996 season and included professional and amateur five-man and ten-man competition.[1][2]

Chicago Aftershock won professional ten-man, while the All Americans' amateur team won amateur ten-man.[3] The All Americans also won professional five-man.[4]

The event featured the American debut of Hyperball and the public unveiling of the Automag RT.[5][6]

Venue and programme

Paintball World was located behind the Old Town entertainment complex in Kissimmee, near Orlando. Its woodland fields combined dense palmetto cover, scattered trees and constructed bunkers.[5]

Five-man competition preceded the ten-man tournament, which was under way by Friday, 25 October.[7] Professional and amateur teams shared preliminary competition before separating into their respective later rounds.[2][8]

WARPIG published daily coverage throughout the tournament, including standings, field photographs and equipment reports.[1]

Ten-man competition

Preliminary rounds

Aftershock, Washington Reign and Adrenaline each recorded 600 preliminary points. Aftershock and Washington Reign occupied the first two professional qualifying positions, followed by Adrenaline.[8]

Nobodies led the amateur qualifiers with 600 points, ahead of Enemy and Team X-Treme.[8]

Professional results

Aftershock won with 237 points, ahead of Bad Company on 230 and Washington Reign on 221. WARPIG published the following professional finishing order.[3]

Place	Team	Published points
1	Chicago Aftershock	237
2	Bad Company	230
3	Washington Reign	221
4	Rage	215
5	Predators	159
6	All Americans	133
7	Jacksonville Warriors	127
8	GBD	124
9	Nam Wrecking Crew	75
10	Ironmen	60
11	Banzai Bandits	54
12	Adrenaline	32

Amateur results

The All Americans' amateur entry won the final round with 222 points. WARPIG distinguished this entry from the organisation's professional team, although both appeared under the All Americans name.[3][8]

Place	Team	Final-round points
1	All Americans, amateur entry	222
2	Paraplegic Turtles	136
3	Bad Company, amateur entry	127
4	Enemy	51

WARPIG also reported that Team X-Treme received the tournament's highest-overall-score award.[3]

Five-man competition

The All Americans won the professional five-man title. Their victory was subsequently included in “81 Moments that Shaped Paintball”, which also identified them as the 1996 NPPL five-man series champions.[4]

WARPIG's contemporary coverage documents the shared preliminary stage and separate professional and amateur semi-finals.[2]

Hyperball

Brass Eagle constructed a Hyperball field especially for the tournament, introducing the British-developed format to American competition. The field used vertical and horizontal plastic pipes within a netted arena, with spectator seating close to the action.[5]

The open layout contrasted with the limited visibility of the woodland fields. Some pipes were large enough for players to move through, creating additional routes between positions.[5]

After the event, the field was dismantled and sold to Gino Postorivo of National Paintball Supply.[5]

Equipment exhibition

The tournament included a vendor exhibition featuring paintball manufacturers and retailers.[1][6]

On 24 October, Airgun Designs unveiled the Automag RT at a presentation by Tom Kaye. WARPIG reported that examples were available for purchase at the event immediately after the presentation.[6]

Dennis Tippmann Sr. and Dennis Tippmann Jr. also demonstrated the new Tippmann 68 Carbine during the tournament.[7]

See also

• Paintball World Cup
• National Professional Paintball League
• 1996 NPPL New York Cup
• Hyperball
• Paintball in the United States

References

1. WARPIG — The 1996 National Professional Paintball League World Cup, October 1996. Contemporary event coverage and venue information.
2. WARPIG — Thursday coverage, 24 October 1996. Five-man preliminary and semi-final standings and competition classifications.
3. WARPIG — Sunday coverage, 27 October 1996. Professional ten-man finishing order, amateur ten-man finals and highest-overall-score award.
4. History of Paintball, Automags.org. Reproduction of “81 Moments that Shaped Paintball”, Paintball 2Xtremes, June 2005; entry 53 records the All Americans' 1996 World Cup professional five-man victory and five-man series championship.
5. WARPIG — The Fields, 1996. Contemporary account of the woodland layouts, American Hyperball debut and subsequent sale of the Hyperball field.
6. WARPIG — Thursday coverage: AGD Unveils Automag RT, 24 October 1996. Contemporary product-launch and exhibition reporting.
7. WARPIG — Friday coverage, 25 October 1996. Ten-man competition, Hyperball arena and Tippmann 68 Carbine reporting.
8. WARPIG — Saturday coverage, 26 October 1996. Ten-man preliminary standings and professional/amateur classifications.

External links

• WARPIG contemporary tournament coverage