Paintball Asia League Series

Paintball Asia League Series (PALS), also styled Paintball-Asia League Series, was an international tournament paintball circuit originating in Malaysia. It developed from international competitions organised in Malaysia during 2004 and 2005 and subsequently held tournaments in Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.[1][2][3][4]

Its principal Malaysian championship was Paintball World Cup Asia, which regularly served as a season finale. PALS event victories and overall season championships were separate honours.[5][6]

Abbreviation	PALS
Origin	Malaysia
Documented competition	From 2006
Sport	Tournament paintball
Formats	Five-player speedball, Race-to and X-Ball; three-player competition at some events
Historical organiser	PALS Event Sdn Bhd
Principal championship	Paintball World Cup Asia
Associated organisations	Asia Pacific Paintball Federation; United Paintball Federation

History

Origins

The organisers' historical account identifies the 2004 Nation Cup at Xtion Paintball Park and the Asia Pacific Paintball Championship 2005 as predecessors of PALS and World Cup Asia.[1]

On 4 January 2006, PALS announced its participation in the newly formed United Paintball Federation. The announcement identified the Asia Pacific Paintball Federation as the continental organisation representing the region.[7]

The 2006 International Thailand Paintball Championship formed the second PALS leg. Contemporary results recorded Datis as the Open division winner and Athena as the Amateur division winner.[8]

The inaugural 2006 Paintball World Cup Asia took place in Kuala Lumpur that December. Contemporary reporting identified Datis as both the Division 1 event winner and overall PALS champion.[5]

Regional expansion

PALS developed a calendar involving events in several countries. The 2010 circuit included the Pattaya International Paintball Championship in Thailand, a Philippine international championship at Clark Field and World Cup Asia in Malaysia.[9][10][11]

The organisers' historical account identifies Bangkok, Clark and Langkawi as the locations of the three 2011 PALS legs.[1] An earlier proposal for a China Cup in Hainan was postponed.[12]

Australia's Super 7s Tournament Series was recognised as a PALS feeder series in May 2011. Mike Whybrew and Adam Connolly were named as PALS Australasia representatives.[13]

Singapore hosted a combined PALS and Singapore Paintball Series event in June 2015, followed by another PALS Singapore event in May 2016.[3][4]

Seasons and events

The following index links yearly season articles and individual tournaments. It distinguishes completed events from cancelled or relocated competitions. The calendar remains open to expansion as additional contemporary records are recovered.

Season	Documented events	Host countries	Notes
2006	2006 International Thailand Paintball Championship 2006 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Malaysia	Thailand was identified as the second leg. Datis won Division 1 at World Cup Asia and was reported as the overall PALS champion.[5][8]
2007	2007 Independence Cup 2007 Werdna Hol Cup 2007 Paintball World Cup Asia	Malaysia	The Independence Cup was identified as the second leg and the Werdna Hol Cup as the third leg.[14][15]
2008	2008 Paintball World Cup Asia	Malaysia	The planned 2008 PALS Thailand tournament was cancelled.[16]
2009	2009 Paintball World Cup Asia	Malaysia	The complete season calendar requires further reconstruction.
2010	2010 Pattaya International Paintball Championship 2010 United Paintball Philippines International Championship 2010 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Philippines; Malaysia	The Philippine championship was held at Stotsenberg Parade Ground, Clark Field.[9][10][11]
2011	2011 PALS Thailand 2011 PALS Philippines 2011 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Philippines; Malaysia	The proposed Hainan China Cup was postponed.[1][12]
2012	2012 PALS Thailand 2012 Malaysian Open 2012 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Malaysia	The Putrajaya event combined the Malaysian Open, the second PALS leg and the third MPOC leg.[17][18][19]
2013	2013 PALS Thailand 2013 Malaysian Open 2013 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Malaysia	PBLeagues lists the Malaysian Open on 24–26 May as the second PALS leg and third MPOC leg.[20][21][22]
2014	2014 PALS Thailand 2014 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Malaysia	PBLeagues records both events and publishes season rankings.[2][23]
2015	2015 PALS Thailand 2015 PALS Singapore / Singapore Paintball Series Leg 2 2015 Paintball World Cup Asia	Thailand; Singapore; Malaysia	The Singapore tournament was a combined SPS and PALS event.[2][3]
2016	2016 Asia and Asia Pacific Cup 2016 Paintball Asia League Series Singapore 2016 Paintball World Cup Asia	Malaysia; Singapore	The Putrajaya Asia and Asia Pacific Cup was listed as the first PALS leg.[2][4]
2017	2017 Paintball World Cup Asia	Malaysia	Additional Malaysian domestic events appear in the PALS database; their listing alone does not establish that they counted towards an international season championship.[2]

Cancelled and relocated events

The 2007 International Thailand Paintball Championship was announced for 24–26 August in Thailand. A subsequent PALS notice stated that it would move to Kuala Lumpur while retaining those dates. The announcement attributed the relocation to anticipated security concerns and the withdrawal of a government-agency sponsor.[24]

The planned October 2008 PALS Thailand tournament in Bangkok was cancelled because of political unrest.[16]

A China Cup in Hainan appeared in an early 2011 calendar but was subsequently postponed. It should not be counted as a completed PALS round.[12]

Later database entries

The PBLeagues PALS directory includes a Malaysian Open Paintball Players League event held in Kuala Lumpur on 13–14 January 2018. It also includes Malaysian domestic tournaments from preceding years.[2]

These listings document individual competitions but do not, by themselves, establish that a complete international PALS season operated in 2018.

Selected season history

2007

The Independence Cup was held at Xtion Paintball Park on 25–26 August. Datis won Division 1, Global Pinoy won Division 2 and Zealous won Division 3.[14][25]

The Werdna Hol Cup was identified as the third PALS leg and used a three-player format.[15]

At World Cup Asia, Reaper won Division 1, while Datis secured the overall PALS Division 1 championship. Global Gutz and Zealous were reported as the Division 2 and Division 3 season champions respectively.[6]

2010

The Philippine round took place at Stotsenberg Parade Ground, Clark Field. PbRack Team USA won Division 1, Xtioneers 2 won Division 2 and Splatmasters won Division 3.[10][26]

World Cup Asia concluded the season at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur. Datis won Division 1 and was identified as the overall PALS Division 1 champion.[11]

2012

Shockwave Canada won Division 1 at the opening Bangkok round.[17]

The second event was held in Putrajaya on 25–27 May, combining PALS competition, the Malaysian Open and an MPOC round.[18]

Infernal won Division 1 at World Cup Asia in Langkawi and was also reported as the overall PALS champion.[19][27]

2013

The opening Thailand event took place at Expressway Paintball Club in Bangkok from 28 February to 3 March. Contemporary coverage identified participating teams including Infernal, STK, Nemesis Legion, Xtioneers and Datis, alongside visiting professional players.[20]

The Malaysian Open followed on 24–26 May as a combined PALS and MPOC event.[21]

The season concluded with NAZA World Cup Asia in Langkawi on 15–17 November. Johannesburg Dynamix won Division 1 and Edmonton Impact won the associated Intercontinental Cup.[22]

2014–2016

The 2014 PBLeagues season ranking used only each team's highest event score. Aisawan led Division 1 with 100 points, followed by STK with 90 and Xtioneer with 85.[23]

In 2015, Singapore's combined SPS and PALS tournament was held at Red Dynasty Paintball Park on 5–7 June. Infernal won Division 1, SPEED won Division 2, SPEED Overshoot won Division 3 and Monstarz SG won Division 4.[3]

PALS Singapore returned to Red Dynasty on 27–29 May 2016. RAW Empire won Division 1, SPEED won Division 2, Kamikaze Kings won Division 3 and Outlaws Familia won mechanical Division 4.[4]

Competition structure

Divisions and formats

PALS offered divisions for teams of different competition levels. Divisional names, eligibility and match formats varied between events and seasons.

The 2007 Independence Cup used five-player capture-the-flag matches lasting five minutes. Divisions 1 and 2 permitted ramping capped at 15 balls per second, while Division 3 used capped semi-automatic firing.[14]

Later events used Race-to and X-Ball formats. The 2015 Singapore event offered Race-to-4 in Division 1, Race-to-3 in Division 2, Race-to-2 in Division 3 and Race-to-1 in Division 4.[3]

Some World Cup Asia editions also included an Intercontinental Cup for invited international teams.[19][22]

Event and season results

An individual tournament placing and an overall season placing were separate results. A World Cup Asia victory did not automatically establish a team as the PALS season champion, as demonstrated by Reaper's event victory and Datis's season championship in 2007.[6]

Ranking methods also varied. PBLeagues specified that only each team's highest event score counted in its published 2014 PALS rankings.[23]

Related competitions and organisations

Paintball World Cup Asia

Paintball World Cup Asia was a recurring international championship associated with PALS. Its individual editions are documented separately and linked in the season index above.

Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit

The Malaysian Paintball Official Circuit was a separate Malaysian domestic circuit with organisational connections to PALS.

Some tournaments served both circuits. The 2012 and 2013 Malaysian Open events were identified as PALS and MPOC rounds.[18][21]

Singapore Paintball Series

The Singapore Paintball Series and PALS jointly featured in the June 2015 Singapore tournament. This combined competition is covered at 2015 Singapore Paintball Series Leg 2.[3]

International federations

PALS's January 2006 announcement identified the Asia Pacific Paintball Federation as the regional organisation participating in the United Paintball Federation. PALS operated as a tournament series within this international framework.[7]

References

External links