National Professional Paintball League

The National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) was an American paintball tournament league whose name was used by successive organisations from the early 1990s. Its history encompassed the original team-owned league, the ten-player national circuit, the Super 7 World Series, and a later tournament programme that adopted the NPPL name following the formation of the US Paintball League.[1][2][3]

The original circuit held national ten-player tournaments from 1993 to 2002, alongside five-player competition. Following its separation from Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP), the NPPL introduced Super 7 in 2003. National competition continued under different ownership and organisational arrangements through 2013, followed by an announced hiatus in 2014.[2][3][4][5]

History

Origins and the ten-player circuit

The NPPL developed from efforts by professional and amateur team captains to obtain greater control over tournament costs, rules, refereeing and event standards. Their concerns included the quality of existing tournaments and requirements to purchase paintballs from event organisers.[1]

The original organisation was a corporation owned by participating teams. It sanctioned tournaments produced by independent promoters rather than directly organising every event. League requirements addressed entry fees, minimum prizes, field design and playing rules. Bring-your-own-paint competition was a central principle.[1]

The first national season was held in 1993. During the 1990s, the circuit included events in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and other states, with World Cup becoming a recurring season-ending tournament.[2][6]

The tournament programme changed between seasons. The fourth stop, for example, moved through Atlanta, Portland, Boston and Nashville before becoming the Atlantic City event in 2001.[7]

Playing environments also changed. World Cup introduced a Hyperball field in 1996 and a Sup'Air field in 1997. By 2002, its conventional tournament fields used inflatable bunkers throughout.[8]

Reorganisation and PSP's formation

During the late 1990s, declining participation in league administration left the tournament promoters carrying out much of its practical work. The original New York corporation was dissolved by the state in August 1999, although tournaments continued using the NPPL name.[1][9]

In 2001, the separate event promoters combined to form Paintball Sports Promotions. Their joint organisation pooled resources for tournament production and infrastructure. The NPPL continued as the sanctioning and rule-making organisation.[1][7]

Player representatives also worked to restructure the league. Tom Cole was confirmed as president and Chuck Hendsch as vice-president at Gettysburg. Cole subsequently resigned, Hendsch assumed the presidency, and a new California corporation, National Professional Paintball League, Inc., was formed.[9]

The 2001 professional series championship went to Aftershock. In 2002, San Diego Dynasty and the Southern California Ironmen shared the professional ten-player championship.[8][10]

Separation from PSP

Relations between the NPPL and PSP deteriorated during 2002. Disagreements concerned sanctioning fees, contractual exclusivity, league governance and the accountability of promoters.[1][11]

The Los Angeles Open operated with NPPL sanctioning before a season agreement had been completed. Las Vegas was promoted as a PSP event without NPPL branding. Although NPPL officials initially said its results would count, subsequent contemporary reports described it as unsanctioned. Las Vegas nevertheless appeared in the final NPPL season rankings.[11][12]

An agreement announced on 21 May restored NPPL sanctioning for Chicago, Atlantic City and World Cup. The organisations subsequently developed separate programmes for 2003.[9][11]

The separation initially produced competing uses of the NPPL name. PSP retained control of NPPL.com and asserted rights arising from its promoters' previous use of the name, while Hendsch's organisation promoted its new seven-player series separately.[9]

PSP continued five-player and ten-player tournaments and introduced X-Ball, including competition associated with the original National Xball League. The NPPL's new programme was produced with WDP and its event company, Pure Promotions.[4][9]

Super 7 World Series, 2003–2006

The inaugural Super 7 tournament took place at Huntington Beach, California, from 7 to 9 February 2003. Pure Promotions constructed playing fields on the beach beside the pier, with spectator facilities and a trade exhibition. Dynasty won Professional.[4]

The first season comprised five American events: Huntington Beach, Las Vegas, Chicago, New Jersey and the Commander's Cup in Miami. Selected European tournament results could also contribute to NPPL series rankings.[13]

The series subsequently used venues including stadium grounds, practice fields, fairgrounds and beachfront sites. Its event presentation incorporated spectator grandstands, individual team staging areas, trade shows and television production.[4][14]

For 2004, Amateur became Division I, Novice became Division II and Rookie became Division III. The league also announced seven-minute games.[14]

In 2005, Professional became a restricted eighteen-team division. Professional teams competed exclusively against one another, while Semi-Pro provided an open-entry route towards professional status. The system offered promotion to the leading three Semi-Pro teams and relegated the bottom three professional teams.[15]

Dynasty won the first six Super 7 professional season championships, covering 2003–2008. Its 2006 championship was decided by two points over Sacramento XSV, despite Dynasty winning only the season finale that year.[16][17]

Pacific Paintball, 2007–2008

In January 2007, Pacific Paintball LLC acquired the NPPL and the Xtreme Paintball Sports League (XPSL). Shawn Walker became president of Pacific Paintball.[18]

The 2007 season included an initially shared professional first place at Kansas City. Los Angeles Ironmen and Edmonton Impact declined the prescribed tie-breaker after their championship contest ended level. The postponed one-on-one was subsequently played at the Commander's Cup, giving Ironmen first place and Impact second.[19]

In 2008, four of the five scheduled national events took place. The Houston Open, scheduled for 19–21 September at Reliant Stadium, was cancelled following Hurricane Ike.[20][21]

Dynasty won the San Diego finale and its sixth consecutive Super 7 professional championship. The other series champions were Arsenal Evolution in Semi-Pro, Aftermath II in Division I, Miami Rage in Division II and CS Union in Division III.[17]

On 2 December 2008, WARPIG reported that Pacific Paintball and its subsidiaries had announced plans to enter bankruptcy proceedings to liquidate their assets and business operations. The announcement included NPPL LLC, XPSL LLC, PB2X LLC and associated field businesses. The company cited financial difficulties and unsuccessful efforts to obtain further investment.[3]

US Paintball League and return of the NPPL name

Following Pacific Paintball's collapse, the US Paintball League organised a new tournament programme in 2009. WARPIG described it as a team-operated league centred on sixteen professional teams, under Chuck Hendsch's leadership.[22]

The USPL retained seven-player competition and used an adapted version of the preceding NPPL rules. Its inaugural tournament took place at Huntington Beach on 3–5 April 2009.[22]

The USPL subsequently obtained rights to the NPPL name. The circuit returned to NPPL branding for 2010, with seven-player, five-player and pump competition represented at Huntington Beach.[23]

The 2009 USPL season forms part of the history of the later NPPL circuit, but belonged to a newly established organisation rather than the liquidating Pacific Paintball company.[22][23]

Later seasons, 2010–2013

The revived NPPL continued national tournaments through 2013. Its programme included Huntington Beach, Chicago, the D.C. Challenge and Las Vegas championships during this period.[24][25]

Competition formats continued to develop. By 2012, Professional used seven-player RaceTo-5, while Division I used seven-player RaceTo-4. Traditional seven-player, five-player and pump formats remained available in other classifications.[24]

XSV won the 2012 professional series championship. Dynasty won that year's Las Vegas finale, illustrating the distinction between an event championship and the season title.[25]

The professional field changed substantially for 2013. Contemporary reporting identified only seven returning teams from the preceding season and departures including XSV, Tampa Bay Damage, Edmonton Impact and Los Angeles Infamous, which concentrated on PSP competition.[26]

Hiatus and subsequent revival proposal

In February 2014, the NPPL announced a restructuring hiatus; Huntington Beach continued independently with help from HK Army.[5]

A further revival was announced in September 2016, with plans for seven-player events in 2017. The first scheduled tournament was subsequently cancelled in February 2017.[27]

Competition and classifications

The NPPL's formats and classifications changed over time and should be identified by season.

Period	Principal competition arrangements
1993–2002	National ten-player competition, with five-player tournaments also offered
2003	Super 7 introduced Professional, Amateur, Novice and Rookie classifications
2004	Amateur, Novice and Rookie renamed Divisions I, II and III
From 2005	Restricted Professional division and open-entry Semi-Pro classification
2009–2010	USPL and revived NPPL programmes included seven-player and five-player competition; pump competition was also offered
By 2012	Professional and Division I used seven-player RaceTo formats alongside other divisional formats

Sources: contemporary reports and league announcements.[4][14][15][22][23][24]

Early Super 7 games awarded points for eliminations, surviving players, flag pulls and flag hangs. Tournament progression and tie-break procedures changed over time, as did the contribution of outside events to season rankings.[13][18]

Seasons

Individual season articles provide calendars, tournament results and documented championship information.

Period	Seasons
Original ten-player circuit	1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002
Original Super 7 organisation	2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
USPL	2009
Revived NPPL	2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013

Historical records

Contemporary tournament reports, scoreboards and season rankings survive through WARPIG, paintball publications and other archives. ClassicScores and Paintball Win Count also preserve historical results.[2][6]

Event winners, season champions and results later revised by league decisions are separate records. The 2007 Kansas City professional final is one example where the initially published result was subsequently resolved.[19]

References

External links