International Classic Paintball League

The International Classic Paintball League (ICPL) is a paintball tournament circuit introduced by the National Xball League (NXL) for its inaugural season in 2019. It organises traditional five-player and ten-player competition on woodland, hyperball, earth-mound and hybrid fields.[1][2]

The ICPL operates within Major League Paintball (MLPB). Its United States programme includes professional and amateur competition, with the Classic Cup serving as its concluding championship tournament. Event championships and season points championships are separate awards.[3][4][5]

History

Establishment and inaugural season

The NXL announced a classic tournament series ahead of the 2019 season. In February 2019, contemporary reporting identified a professional field of 20 teams, including established organisations such as the Ironmen, Master Blasters, FARSIDE, All Americans, Chicago Aftershock, San Diego Dynasty and Kapp Factory.[2]

The inaugural 2019 ICPL Windy City Classic took place at The Badlandz in Crete, Illinois, on 1–2 June 2019. Adrenaline won the professional ten-player competition ahead of Los Angeles Infamous.[6][7]

The season concluded with the 2019 ICPL Florida Open. Chicago Aftershock won that tournament and the inaugural professional season championship, finishing with 190.53 points against Infamous's 190.26. Docs Warriors won the amateur ten-player season championship.[7]

Development during 2020–2022

The ICPL remained part of the NXL's tournament programme during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, when announcing the cancellation of proposed NXL regional conference events, the NXL stated that it intended to concentrate on the October Chicago ICPL tournament and November NXL World Cup.[8]

In 2021, the professional championship comprised the Old Bay Classic and Windy City Classic. Infamous won both professional ten-player events and the season title. Team Smoke won the amateur ten-player championship, while Image and Mutiny appeared in the professional standings after earlier amateur participation.[9]

Professional roster eligibility was revised for 2022 following a vote by team captains. The approved proposal limited teams to three NXL professional-ranked players, with players over the age of 44 excluded from that count. The captains voted to retain the existing mechanical-marker rate-of-fire rules.[10]

Kapp Factory won the 2022 professional season championship. Its counted victories came at the Golden State Classic, Old Bay Classic and Windy City Classic.[11]

Affiliate expansion in 2023

The league expanded its programme through officially supported affiliate tournaments in 2023. The 2023 ICPL Pro DNA Open, held at The Farm Sports in Shelbyville, Tennessee, was described by the league as its first affiliate event.[12]

The Pro DNA Open combined professional and amateur ten-player teams in one playing division. The league's preview listed 28 teams and described the tournament as operating with support from the Major League Paintball organisation.[12]

The 2023 Sunshine Classic opened with 24 professional and 32 amateur ten-player teams. Maple Leaf Chiefs joined the professional franchise field for that season.[13]

The 2024 season and January 2025 Classic Cup

The 2024 programme included regional tournaments, the Texas Classic major and a concluding Classic Cup. Team Smoke's contemporary account described the championship calculation as using a team's best minor result, its major result and its championship result.[14]

The concluding Cup took place from 31 January to 2 February 2025 in Seffner, Florida. Despite its calendar-year date, its results counted towards the 2024 ICPL season. Image won professional ten-player at the tournament, while DYE identified Louisville Asylum as the 2024 Open five-player series champions.[15–18]

The 2025 season

The 2025 United States championship comprised the Old Bay Classic, Pittsburgh Open Classic and October Classic Cup. The October tournament was separate from the January Cup that had concluded the previous season.[4][15]

Team Smoke won professional ten-player at the October finale, but Chicago Aftershock won the professional season championship. Dark Carnival won Amateur ten-player, FARSIDE won Open five-player and AAF 2 won Amateur five-player.[4][5]

The 2026 season

The 2026 ICPL season comprised four United States tournaments: the Golden State Classic at Ambush Paintball Park in Moorpark, California; Windy City Classic at The Badlandz in Illinois; Pittsburgh Open Classic at Urban Assault in Pennsylvania; and Classic Cup at Outdoor Xtreme Chesapeake City in Maryland.[19–23]

Brimstone Smoke won professional ten-player at the Classic Cup. Chicago Aftershock secured the professional season championship and also won the Open five-player series. AAF won Amateur ten-player, while AAF 2 retained the Amateur five-player title.[19][24]

Competition formats

Classic capture-the-flag competition

The ICPL uses five-player and ten-player formats in which teams attempt to capture the opposing team's flag and return it to their own base. Game scoring includes flag pulls, flag hangs, eliminated opponents and surviving players.[1]

Its playing fields include woodland, hyperball, earth-mound and hybrid layouts. This requires teams to compete across different terrain and bunker arrangements.[1]

Mechanical markers are associated with the league's classic format. The league's published overview also permits electronic markers capped at 5.5 balls per second, using either semi-automatic firing or NXL ramping mode.[1]

Game times depend on the applicable event and field. For example, the 2026 Pittsburgh Open Classic specified twelve-minute games on woodland and hybrid fields and ten-minute games on hyperball and mounds. Its five-player divisions used six-minute games.[22]

Divisions and eligibility

The principal United States divisions in 2025 and 2026 were:

Professional ten-player.
Amateur ten-player.
Open five-player.
Amateur five-player.[4][19]

The professional division has used a franchise structure. Amateur competition provides a separate classification, although some affiliate tournaments have combined professional and amateur teams in the playing brackets.[12][13]

Roster restrictions have changed between seasons. The three-player NXL professional limit approved for 2022 was a season-specific change and should not be treated as a permanent description of every subsequent ICPL competition.[10]

Season scoring

Teams receive tournament placings and season-ranking points. A team can win a concluding tournament without winning the season championship, as occurred when Team Smoke won the October 2025 Classic Cup while Chicago Aftershock secured the professional series title.[4][5]

The championship calculation has varied. In 2026, each team's three highest tournament scores counted, with its remaining result dropped.[19]

Classic Cup

The Classic Cup is the league's concluding championship tournament. Major League Paintball describes it as the world championship of mechanical paintball.[3]

Two Cups took place in the United States during 2025:

Dates	Championship relationship	Professional ten-player tournament winner
31 January–2 February 2025	Concluded the 2024 season	Image
3–5 October 2025	Concluded the 2025 season	Team Smoke

The 2026 Classic Cup took place at Outdoor Xtreme Chesapeake City on 16–18 October. Brimstone Smoke won professional ten-player, Brawlgang won Amateur ten-player, FARSIDE won Open five-player and AAF 2 won Amateur five-player.[23][24]

Recent United States season champions

The following table distinguishes season championships from individual tournament victories.[4][5][19][24]

Season	Professional ten-player	Amateur ten-player	Open five-player	Amateur five-player
2025	Chicago Aftershock	Dark Carnival	FARSIDE	AAF 2
2026	Chicago Aftershock	AAF	Chicago Aftershock	AAF 2

Organisation and broadcasting

The NXL formed the ICPL to organise classic-format competition. Major League Paintball lists the ICPL among its competition brands, alongside the NXL and Women's National Xball League.[1][3]

Official tournament registration, results and season standings are published through PBLeagues. ICPL broadcasts and archived coverage are available through Major League Paintball PLUS, including coverage originally presented through GoSports.[6][25]

Season articles

References

External links