Team Strange

Team Strange, also known as Strange and later Detroit Strange, was an American professional paintball team from Florida. Established in 1993, the team progressed through the amateur divisions of the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) before becoming a leading professional competitor in 10-man and X-Ball competition. [1][2]

Strange won the 2000 NPPL Amateur B season championship, the 2001 Amateur A season championship and the professional 10-man division at the 2002 Atlantic City Open. The following year, the team won the 2003 Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP) Division 1 X-Ball championship. [2][3][4][5]

In 2004, the organisation entered the National Xball League (NXL) under the Detroit Strange name, reaching the championship final against the Philadelphia Americans. [6][7]

History

Origins and early competition (1993–1999)

Team Strange was established in Florida in 1993, according to longtime player William "BJ" Jolley, who discussed the team's history in a 2023 interview with Paintball Nerd. [1]

The team was competing in regional and national tournaments by the late 1990s.

At the 1999 Florida State Five-Man Championships, Strange reached the semi-finals and was ranked fourth. [8]

The team also competed at the 1999 Indoor Paintball Championships, where it defeated Team Image in the final. Mike Carthy, a Strange player, won the event's individual one-on-one competition. [9]

At the 1999 NPPL Chicago Open, Strange won the Amateur B 10-man division, establishing itself among the leading teams in that classification. [10]

NPPL amateur championships (2000–2001)

The 2000 season brought further success for Team Strange.

The team won the Amateur B division at the NPPL Pittsburgh Open in May and the Nashville Open later that season. [11][12]

At the 2000 NPPL World Cup in Florida, Strange won the Amateur B 10-man division and both the Amateur B and Novice five-player competitions.

The organisation also secured the 2000 NPPL Amateur B 10-man season championship. [3]

Following these results, Strange was promoted to Amateur A for the 2001 NPPL season.

The team won the Amateur A 10-man division at the Los Angeles Open, Chicago Open and Atlantic City Gambler's Open. [4][13][14]

At the 2001 World Cup, Strange Red won the Amateur A five-player division, with Strange Black finishing second. [4]

Although Trauma won the Amateur A 10-man World Cup, Strange secured the overall 2001 NPPL Amateur A season championship. [4]

Promotion to professional competition (2002)

Strange entered professional tournament paintball in 2002.

Its first professional appearance came at the Mardi Gras Open in Louisiana, where it finished second.

Contemporary WARPIG reporting described the result as an impressive debut for the newly promoted team. [15]

Strange also won the professional division at the Beyond 2002 Extreme Sports and Music Festival tournament in Miami, Florida. [16]

At the NPPL Atlantic City Open in August, Strange qualified for the professional finals alongside San Diego Dynasty, the Southern California Ironmen and Ground Zero Gold.

Strange won the tournament with 231 finals points, ahead of the Ironmen on 202 and Dynasty on 127. [5]

The team finished third in the overall 2002 NPPL professional 10-man standings with 215 ranking points.

Dynasty and the Southern California Ironmen shared the season championship with 229 points each. [17]

PSP Division 1 X-Ball championship (2003)

Strange entered the new PSP Division 1 X-Ball competition in 2003, becoming one of the leading organisations during the format's first national season.

At the Los Angeles Open, Strange defeated Jacksonville Worriors 7–2 in the Division 1 final.

The organisation also fielded Strange 2, which won Division 2 X-Ball at the same event. [18]

Strange finished second at the Chicago Open before winning the Philadelphia Open in August. [19]

At the PSP World Cup in Orlando, Florida, Strange reached the Division 1 final against San Diego Dynasty.

Strange won the match 14–12, securing both the World Cup title and the 2003 PSP Division 1 X-Ball season championship. [19]

The team finished with 480 series points, ahead of the Naughty Dogs on 440.

The championship established Strange as one of the most successful teams in the first season of American divisional X-Ball. [19]

Detroit Strange (2004)

In 2004, the existing Detroit NXL franchise underwent a complete roster change.

Game Face Paintball, which controlled the franchise, replaced Detroit Thunder with the Florida-based Strange team.

The new roster competed as Detroit Strange in the franchised professional NXL. [6]

The team competed against leading American organisations including the Philadelphia Americans, Baltimore Trauma, Chicago Aftershock, Los Angeles Ironmen and Oakland Assassins.

At the 2004 PSP World Cup, Detroit Strange defeated Baltimore Trauma in the NXL playoffs and advanced to the championship final against Philadelphia Americans.

Philadelphia won the first match 9–7 and the second 11–3, securing its second consecutive NXL championship.

Detroit Strange finished as the 2004 NXL runners-up. [7]

Continued NXL competition (2005–2006)

Detroit Strange remained active in the NXL during 2005.

At the World Cup, the team advanced through the championship playoffs before losing its semi-final series to Boston Red Legion.

Strange subsequently defeated the Oakland Assassins 10–8 in the third-place match, finishing third overall. [20]

The organisation continued competing in the professional NXL during 2006, appearing at the Las Vegas, Texas, Chicago, Southern California and World Cup events. [21]

Later activity

Detroit Strange continued appearing in professional tournament records during 2007. An archived PBLeagues roster for that year's World Cup identifies the team's home town as Lake Worth, Florida, with Hypersports Paintball Park in Orlando listed as its associated field. [22]

Several former Strange and Doc's Raiders players subsequently joined Tampa Bay Damage.

A retrospective published by Social Paintball describes the combination of personnel from the two organisations during Damage's development in 2007, under manager Joey Blute. [23]

The Team Strange name also appeared in PSP tournament records in 2013 and 2015. However, the available registration records do not establish whether those later entries represented a direct continuation of the original professional organisation. [24]

No definitive dissolution date has been established.

Notable players and personnel

Documented members of Team Strange and Detroit Strange include:

William Jolley – Longstanding player known as "BJ", associated with Strange from its founding period.
Paul Alders – Player during the team's amateur and early professional years, later recorded in a staff role.
Mike Carthy – Player documented in the 1999 and later professional rosters.
Paul Everett – Professional player who joined Strange in 2004.
Jordan Dejesus – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.
Jeff Milam – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.
Josh Nevius – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.
Timothy Propst – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.
James Saraiva – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.
Shon Saucedo – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.
Michael Venezia – Member of the Detroit Strange professional roster.

[1][9][15][22][25]

Selected tournament achievements

Year	Competition	Division	Result
1999	Indoor Paintball Championships	Team competition	Champions [9]
1999	NPPL Chicago Open	Amateur B 10-man	Champions [10]
2000	NPPL Pittsburgh Open	Amateur B 10-man	Champions [11]
2000	NPPL Nashville Open	Amateur B 10-man	Champions [12]
2000	NPPL World Cup	Amateur B 10-man	Champions [3]
2000	NPPL World Cup	Amateur B 5-man	Champions [3]
2000	NPPL Amateur B Series	10-man	Series champions [3]
2001	NPPL Los Angeles Open	Amateur A 10-man	Champions [13]
2001	NPPL Chicago Open	Amateur A 10-man	Champions [14]
2001	NPPL Atlantic City Open	Amateur A 10-man	Champions [4]
2001	NPPL World Cup	Amateur A 5-man	Champions, Strange Red [4]
2001	NPPL Amateur A Series	10-man	Series champions [4]
2002	Mardi Gras Open	Professional	2nd place [15]
2002	NPPL Atlantic City Open	Professional 10-man	Champions [5]
2002	NPPL Professional Series	10-man	3rd overall [17]
2003	PSP Los Angeles Open	Division 1 X-Ball	Champions [18]
2003	PSP Philadelphia Open	Division 1 X-Ball	Champions [19]
2003	PSP World Cup	Division 1 X-Ball	Champions [19]
2003	PSP Division 1 X-Ball Series	Division 1	Series champions [19]
2004	NXL World Cup	Professional X-Ball	2nd place [7]
2005	NXL World Cup	Professional X-Ball	3rd place [20]

Development teams

Strange operated multiple squads during its progression through amateur competition.

These included Strange Red, Strange Black, Strange B and Strange 2, which competed in different tournament divisions. [3][4][18]

The organisation's results demonstrated progression from Amateur B to Amateur A, professional 10-man, divisional X-Ball and eventually the franchised professional NXL.

Legacy

Team Strange was a successful American tournament organisation during the transition from traditional 10-man paintball to professional X-Ball.

Its progression through the NPPL amateur divisions, 2002 professional tournament victory and 2003 PSP Division 1 X-Ball championship established a competitive record across several formats. [3][4][5][19]

Its subsequent entry into the original NXL as Detroit Strange represented one of the early examples of an established divisional X-Ball team taking over a professional franchise roster. [6]

The team's history is also connected to the later development of Tampa Bay Damage through former players who joined that organisation in 2007. [23]

References

External links