2025 NXL Tampa Bay Open
The 2025 NXL Tampa Bay Open was the opening tournament of the 2025 National Xball League season, held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, from 7 to 9 March 2025.[1]
PaintballFIT won the professional division, defeating San Diego Dynasty 6–3 in a final played over two ten-minute halves. Femmes Fatale won the WNXL division with a 5–1 victory over New Jersey High Rollers.[2][3]
Venue and dates
[edit]The event took place at the Raymond James Stadium site, 3600 North Himes Avenue, Tampa, from 7 to 9 March 2025.[1]
Alongside tournament competition, the event included a paintball trade show.[4]
Competition formats
[edit]The published programme specified 15-minute professional X-Ball matches with a six-point mercy rule. WNXL, Semi-Professional and Division 2 used 15-minute matches with a five-point mercy rule. Divisions 3 and 4 used 12-minute matches with a four-point mercy rule, while Division 5 used ten-minute matches with a three-point mercy rule.[1]
Additional formats included divisional, women's and youth five-player competition, Classic Open five-player and seven-player competition, Amateur ten-player competition, and Amateur, Intermediate, Novice and Youth three-player divisions.[1]
Professional final
[edit]The professional final departed from the standard 15-minute match format. It comprised two ten-minute halves separated by an eight-minute interval. Dynasty's contemporary event account stated that the change had been introduced during the week before the tournament.[3]
Professional competition
[edit]Twenty teams contested the professional division, with ten advancing from the preliminary round. PaintballFIT and Edmonton Impact both finished the preliminaries unbeaten.[2]
PaintballFIT defeated Seattle Uprising 4–0 in the quarter-finals and Edmonton Impact 4–3 in the semi-finals. Dynasty reached the final by defeating Tampa Bay Damage 6–4 and Red Legion 6–5.[2]
Dynasty led the final 2–0 before PaintballFIT scored three consecutive points to take a 3–2 half-time lead. Dynasty equalised after the interval, but PaintballFIT won the remaining points to finish 6–3.[2][3]
The victory followed PaintballFIT's professional championship at the 2024 NXL World Cup. Edmonton Impact finished third in Tampa, ahead of Red Legion.[5]
Women's competition
[edit]Ten teams entered WNXL X-Ball, with the top two from each preliminary bracket advancing to the semi-finals. The Heroines and Dallas Vibe each won all four preliminary matches.[2]
New Jersey High Rollers defeated Dallas Vibe 3–2 in the semi-finals. Femmes Fatale defeated The Heroines 5–4 before winning the final 5–1 against High Rollers.[2]
A separate women's five-player division was won by Protocol XX. Women's three-player competition was advertised but recorded no entries and had no published final placings.[1][5]
Results
[edit]The table lists the first two finishers in all 19 divisions with published final standings.[5]
| Division | First | Second |
|---|---|---|
| Professional X-Ball | PaintballFIT | San Diego Dynasty |
| WNXL X-Ball | Femmes Fatale | New Jersey High Rollers |
| Semi-Professional X-Ball | tppcrew | BR Factory |
| Division 2 X-Ball | Immortal Effect | Washed |
| Division 3 X-Ball | New Jersey Filthy | NR FACTORY |
| Division 4 X-Ball | Gunnerz | Gulf Coast Gorillas |
| Division 5 X-Ball | Protocol | Upstate Avalanche |
| Amateur ten-player | Smoke | Chicago Aftershock |
| Classic Open seven-player | Image | Team Smoke |
| Classic Open five-player | Image | Aftershock |
| Women's five-player | Protocol XX | Dallas Dolls |
| Division 3 five-player | Panda Express Elite | IMPACT |
| Division 4 five-player | Magic City Steel | JakkBoyz |
| Division 5 five-player | Ragtag D5 | TCP Nano Machine |
| Youth five-player | Hydra Kidz | Filthy Kids |
| Amateur three-player | Doc's Raiders | Dirty |
| Intermediate three-player | NFO NEW YORK | Element |
| Novice three-player | Alliance | Ruff Ryderz |
| Youth three-player | TCP Micro Machine | ShenaniKids |