1990 Bay City Open

The 1990 Bay City Open was a ten-player paintball tournament held at Guadalcanal Village in Vallejo, California, from 13 to 15 July 1990. Organised by Jim Lively of Lively Productions and Fred Schultz, it was the second event in the four-tournament 1990 Manufacturers Series.[1]

Sixteen teams entered. Bushwackers I won the tournament with 224 points in the final round, ahead of SI Bushmasters II, Black Diamond and PMI Sudden Death II.[1]

Venue preparations

The organisers originally intended to use another site in the Vallejo area. Less than a week before the tournament, however, the local fire department rejected that location because its traffic escape routes were considered inadequate during drought conditions in northern California.[1]

The City of Vallejo helped secure a replacement site at Guadalcanal Village, an abandoned military facility. Four playing fields were established alongside parking, camping and vendor areas.[1]

A portion of each team’s entry fee was donated to the Crippled Children’s Society of Santa Clara County.[1]

Tournament format

The tournament used ten-player teams. Preliminary games were arranged in groups of three, with teams divided between morning and afternoon sessions. Points accumulated throughout the preliminary stage, after which the eight highest-scoring teams advanced.[1]

Scores were reset for the semi-finals. The first-, third-, fifth- and seventh-ranked teams formed one bracket, while the second-, fourth-, sixth- and eighth-ranked teams formed the other. Each team played three semi-final games, with the four highest-scoring teams advancing to the finals.[1]

Scores were reset again for the final round. The four finalists played a three-game round robin on two larger fields created by combining the preliminary fields.[1]

Preliminary standings

Only six points separated fifth-placed Black Diamond from eighth-placed Navarone. The Ironmen I won two of their final three preliminary games by maximum scores but remained outside the eight-team cut.[1]

Place	Team	Points
1	PMI Sudden Death II	496
2	Bushwackers I	436
3	SI Bushmasters I	409
4	SI Bushmasters II	370
5	Black Diamond	360
6	Good, Bad & Deadly	357
7	PMI Sudden Death I	355
8	Navarone	354
9	Ironmen I	332
10	Dogs of War	206
11	PBA Predators	170
12	All Americans	165
13	Team America	95
14	Guess Who?	84
15	Bushwackers II	72
16	Ironmen II	68

Semi-finals

The eight semi-finalists were PMI Sudden Death II, Bushwackers I, SI Bushmasters I, SI Bushmasters II, Black Diamond, Good, Bad & Deadly, PMI Sudden Death I and Navarone.[1]

Black Diamond, PMI Sudden Death II, SI Bushmasters II and Bushwackers I advanced to the final round. Black Diamond reached the finals after recording a maximum score against PMI Sudden Death I and defeating SI Bushmasters I.[1]

Finals

Team	Score	Opponent	Opponent’s score
PMI Sudden Death II	27	SI Bushmasters II	9
Bushwackers I	100	Black Diamond	15
SI Bushmasters II	48	Bushwackers I	24
Black Diamond	21	PMI Sudden Death II	18
SI Bushmasters II	94	Black Diamond	57
Bushwackers I	100	PMI Sudden Death II	24

Bushwackers I entered their final game knowing that a maximum score was required to overtake SI Bushmasters II. PMI Sudden Death II held a three-player-to-two advantage with approximately five minutes remaining, but Bushwackers recovered to record a 100–24 maximum and win the tournament.[1]

Final standings

Place	Team	Final-round points
1	Bushwackers I	224
2	SI Bushmasters II	151
3	Black Diamond	93
4	PMI Sudden Death II	69
5	Navarone	Not published
6	PMI Sudden Death I	Not published
7	Good, Bad & Deadly	Not published
8	SI Bushmasters I	Not published

Equipment and safety

Before competition began, Bud Orr of Worr Game Products inspected players’ constant-air bottles and valves. Barrel plugs were supplied to players who did not have them.[1]

During the tournament, referee Rudy Zapata was sprayed in the eyes while operating a chronograph station. A player had attempted to chronograph a marker without removing its barrel plug. Although the plug stopped the paintball, the marker had a muzzle brake through which paint escaped sideways and backwards.[1]

Members of Dogs of War with medical experience treated Zapata at the site. He recovered and later returned to the chronograph station. Tournament officials introduced an immediate rule requiring goggles to be worn before entering chronograph stations.[1]

The accompanying safety report warned that barrel plugs designed for unmodified barrels could be inadequate when used with muzzle brakes unless they fitted deeply enough to block the barrel behind the brake’s vents.[1]

Marker introductions

Later equipment histories associate the tournament with the early competitive use of several semi-automatic markers. Palmer’s Pursuit Shop states that its Typhoon, developed earlier in 1990, made its professional tournament debut at the Bay City Open.[2] Paint magazine similarly identifies the tournament as the first recorded appearance of the PMI-3, later renamed the VM-68.[3]

Sargies Choice Awards

A panel of industry representatives presented the following additional awards:[1]

Award	Recipient
Best team	Black Diamond
Coolest team	PMI Sudden Death
Best-dressed team	SI Bushmasters
Most honourable team	Paintball Army
Best group of field judges	Lively Productions and Constant Pursuit

Members of Constant Pursuit did not enter the tournament and instead served as referees.[1]

References