ML Kings

ML Kings, also styled MLKings or MLKings Prague, is a Czech professional paintball team originating in Mělník, Czech Republic. Established during the late 2000s, the team progressed from domestic competition into the Millennium Series Champions Paintball League (CPL) and the American National Xball League (NXL).[1][2]

ML Kings won the Czech national five-player championship in 2016 and 2017 and the NXL Atlantic City Open Semi-Professional division in 2017. The team also reached the final of the 2015 Millennium Series Paris-Chantilly tournament and subsequently competed in the professional divisions of both the European and American NXL circuits.[3][4][5]

History

Formation and early competition

ML Kings was established in Mělník by Czech players Martin Onderka, Pavel Vinkler and Michal Čech.

In an interview published by the Czech newspaper Deník on 22 March 2014, Onderka described the team's formation and early participation in Czech national tournaments.

The interview traced the team's beginnings to approximately six years earlier, although an exact founding date was not established.[1]

ML Kings entered the European Millennium Series in 2011, initially competing in Division 1.

By 2013, the team had progressed to the Semi-Professional Paintball League, finishing tenth overall according to Onderka's contemporary account.[1][2]

European professional competition

ML Kings continued competing internationally, entering the Millennium Series Champions Paintball League.

At the 2015 Paris-Chantilly tournament, the team reached the CPL final against Houston Heat.

Houston Heat won the event, leaving ML Kings in second place. The final was documented by contemporary tournament coverage and the historical results archive maintained by Paintball Win Count.[5][6]

MLKings Prague was subsequently listed among the professional CPL teams competing during the 2016 season, alongside Edmonton Impact, London Nexus, Toulouse TonTons and Frankfurt Syndicate.[7]

Czech national championships

ML Kings also achieved significant domestic success.

The team won the Czech national five-player X-Ball championship in 2016 and successfully defended the title in 2017.

Official results published by the Czech Paintball League identify ML Kings as the 2017 champion, ahead of PPArena and MLKings Sacramento.[3]

In the 2018 Czech Paintball League five-player season standings, ML Kings finished second behind PPArena.[3]

Expansion into the United States

In 2017, ML Kings entered the American National Xball League Semi-Professional division.

The team won the Semi-Professional championship at the NXL Atlantic City Open in June 2017.

Equipment manufacturer MacDev, which sponsored the organisation, confirmed the victory in a statement dated 28 June 2017.

The same tournament was won by Russian Legion in the professional division.[4]

On 1 March 2018, MacDev announced that ML Kings had secured professional division positions in both NXL Europe and NXL USA.

The team also renewed its sponsorship agreement with MacDev and adopted the manufacturer's Prime tournament marker.

Team representative Charlie Givens described the achievement as the culmination of the organisation's progression from its 2011 Millennium Series Division 1 campaign.[2]

Continued professional competition

ML Kings continued competing in American professional X-Ball tournaments during the 2020s.

The team finished twelfth in the 2023 National Xball League professional season standings.

In 2024, MLKings competed in all five NXL major tournaments and finished eighteenth in the professional season rankings.[8][9]

The team's American tournament registrations identify it as a United States entry, but its origins and historical identity are Czech.

Development teams

ML Kings operated additional squads competing in Czech and European tournaments.

Czech Paintball League results document MLKings Sacramento, MLKings Fun Factory and MLKings Young Guns participating in separate competitions.

MLKings Sacramento finished third at the 2017 Czech national five-player championship.

MLKings Young Guns competed in the Czech three-player championship, finishing fifth in 2018.[3]

Selected tournament results

Year	Tournament or series	Division	Result
2015	Millennium Series Paris-Chantilly	CPL	2nd [5][6]
2016	Czech National Championship	Five-player X-Ball	1st [3]
2017	Czech National Championship	Five-player X-Ball	1st [3]
2017	NXL Atlantic City Open	Semi-Professional X-Ball	1st [4]
2018	Czech Paintball League season	Five-player X-Ball	2nd overall [3]
2023	NXL USA season standings	Professional X-Ball	12th overall [8]
2024	NXL USA season standings	Professional X-Ball	18th overall [9]

Notable personnel

Martin Onderka – Co-founder of ML Kings and an early organiser of the team's competitive programme.[1]
Pavel Vinkler – Co-founder of ML Kings.[1]
Michal Čech – Co-founder of ML Kings.[1]
Charlie Givens – Player and team representative associated with the organisation's expansion into international professional competition.[1][2]

References

External links