2026 NXL Mid-Atlantic Open
The 2026 NXL Mid-Atlantic Open was a National Xball League paintball tournament held from 30 April to 3 May 2026 at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware. It featured professional and divisional Xball, professional three-player conference competitions, the MLPB Cup, an All-Star game and amateur and classic-format divisions.[1][2]
Tampa Bay Damage won the professional five-player competition and the separately classified MLPB Cup. Royal City Seadogs and Edmonton Impact won the East and West professional three-player competitions respectively.[2][3]
Venue and programme
The tournament was held at Dover Motor Speedway, with the event address listed as 1201 Persimmon Tree Lane, Dover, Delaware.[1]
Thursday's programme included professional three-player Xball, the MLPB Cup, amateur three-player Xball and the NXL All-Star game. Professional five-player, Semi-Pro and Divisions 2–4 Xball were listed for Friday to Sunday, with Division 5 Xball scheduled for Friday and Saturday.[1]
Classic five-player competition was scheduled for Friday, classic seven-player for Saturday and amateur ten-player for Sunday. Additional five-player and three-player divisions competed during the weekend.[1]
Formats
| Division or format | Published playing conditions |
|---|---|
| Professional five-player Xball | 15-minute matches; six-point mercy rule |
| Semi-Pro and Division 2 Xball | 15-minute matches; five-point mercy rule |
| Divisions 3–4 Xball | 12-minute matches; four-point mercy rule |
| Division 5 Xball | 10-minute matches; three-point mercy rule |
| Professional three-player Xball | 12-minute matches; five-point mercy rule |
| MLPB Cup | 12-minute three-player Xball |
| Amateur three-player Xball | Six-minute matches; three-point mercy rule |
| All-Star game | 20-minute Xball |
| Five-player | Five-minute games |
| Classic seven-player | Seven-minute games |
| Amateur ten-player | Ten-minute games |
| Conventional three-player | Three-minute games |
Source: official event registration.[1]
Professional five-player competition
Twenty teams contested professional Xball. Ten advanced from the preliminary round, with the top two teams from each bracket qualifying alongside two wildcards.[3]
Tampa Bay Damage defeated CK Hurricanes 3–1 in the quarter-finals and Red Legion 4–3 in the semi-finals. Edmonton Impact reached the final through victories over Seattle Uprising, Los Angeles Ironmen and PaintballFIT.[3]
Damage defeated Impact 7–1 in the final.[3]
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Damage |
| 2 | Edmonton Impact |
| 3 | Red Legion |
| 4 | PaintballFIT |
Source: official final rankings.[2]
Professional playoff results
| Round | Winners | Score | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | Tampa Bay Damage | 4–3 | Red Legion |
| Semi-final | Edmonton Impact | 4–1 | PaintballFIT |
| Final | Tampa Bay Damage | 7–1 | Edmonton Impact |
Source: official scores.[3]
Professional three-player competition
The event held separate East and West professional three-player competitions. Bracket winners advanced to the semi-finals.[3]
| Conference | Winners | Final score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Royal City Seadogs | 7–2 | Orlando Red Legion |
| West | Edmonton Impact | 3–2 | Los Angeles Ironmen |
Source: official playoff brackets.[3]
These conference results were separate from the MLPB Cup division.[1][2]
MLPB Cup
The MLPB Cup was registered within the Mid-Atlantic Open as a four-team three-player Xball competition with a 12-minute match format.[1]
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tampa Bay Damage |
| 2 | San Antonio X-Factor |
| 3 | Edmonton Impact |
| 4 | Royal City Seadogs |
Source: official MLPB Cup rankings.[2]
Television coverage
ESPN's programming announcement included a programme titled Pro Paintball 3v3 National Championship in its ESPN8: The Ocho schedule for 8 August 2026.[4]
Contemporary paintball coverage identified Dover Motor Speedway as the venue and advertised a championship matchup between Tampa Bay Damage and San Antonio X-Factor.[5]
The August television listing should be distinguished from the tournament's April–May competition dates.[1][4]
All-Star game
The event included an NXL All-Star game on Thursday, 30 April. NXL All-Stars East finished first, ahead of NXL All-Stars West.[1][2]
Divisional and classic results
The following table records the winners of the remaining divisions listed in the official final results.
| Division | Winners |
|---|---|
| Semi-Pro Xball | Blast Camp |
| Division 2 Xball | AG Knights |
| Division 3 Xball | Legacy Gorillas |
| Division 4 Xball | New Jersey Filthy 4 |
| Division 5 Xball | New Jersey Filthy 5 |
| Division 3 five-player | Papeletto |
| Division 4 five-player | INTENT |
| Division 5 five-player | Ragtags |
| WNXL five-player | Sparrows |
| Classic Open five-player | Image |
| Classic Open seven-player | Team Smoke |
| Amateur ten-player | MB55 |
| Amateur three-player Xball | Team Smoke |
| Amateur three-player | Shitters |
| Intermediate three-player | ThunderCats |
| Novice three-player | NJ CRASH |
Source: official final rankings.[2]
Women's competition
The event's women's competition was the WNXL five-player division. Sparrows finished first, TCP Diamond Machine second and NJ High Rollers third.[2]
Professional WNXL five-player Xball was not listed among the event's registered divisions.[1]
See also
- National Xball League
- Major League Paintball
- 2026 NXL season
- 2026 WNXL season
- 2026 NXL Tampa Bay Open
- 2026 NXL Midwest Open
References
- PBLeagues – 2026 Mid-Atlantic Open: dates, venue, programme, divisions and formats.
- PBLeagues – 2026 Mid-Atlantic Open final rankings.
- PBLeagues – 2026 Mid-Atlantic Open scores and playoff brackets.
- ESPN Press Room – ESPN8: The Ocho returns for its 10th Anniversary August 6–9, 20 July 2026.
- Skull Monkeys Paintball – 2026 MLPB Pro 3v3 National Championship on ESPN, 4 August 2026.