Datis (paintball team)

Datis, also known as Team Datis or Datis Paintball, is an Iranian tournament paintball organisation associated with Tehran. The team became one of Asia's leading international competitors during the 2000s and early 2010s, winning Division 1 at Paintball World Cup Asia in 2006, 2010 and 2011.[1][2][7][9]

Datis also won the overall Paintball Asia League Series (PALS) championship in 2006, 2007 and 2010 and competed internationally in Europe and Asia.[2][3][7]

History

Early competition (2005–2008)

Datis was competing internationally by 2005 and had developed into a leading Iranian tournament team by 2006.

At the inaugural World Cup Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, held from 8 to 10 December 2006, Datis won the Division 1 championship and the overall PALS season title.[1]

The team retained the PALS season championship in 2007.

At the 2007 World Cup Asia, Datis reached the Division 1 final against South Africa's Reaper, finishing second.[2]

A contemporary article published by Paintball in Singapore 101 in November 2008 identified Datis as one of the leading Asian tournament teams, noting its international results and sponsorship from Planet Eclipse.[2]

Iranian national competition

Datis also competed in domestic Iranian tournaments.

In March 2010, player Aco Amir described the team's success in the Iran Paintball League in an interview originally published by ProPaintball.com.

Amir reported that Datis had won four consecutive league tournaments during the preceding season, securing another Iranian championship.[3]

Contemporary coverage of the 2009 Iranian National Paintball League also identified Datis as the overall professional champion, with Persian Legend second and Datis 2 third.[4]

2009 international competition

In July 2009, Datis represented Iran at the Asian Paintball Invitational Tournament in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, held alongside the 2009 World Games.

The tournament was an invitational paintball competition rather than an official World Games medal event.

Datis finished third, behind Germany's Ramstein Instinct and Australia's Sydney SWAT. Japan's KU finished fourth.[5]

2010 World Cup Asia championship

Datis competed in Division 1 of the 2010 Paintball Asia League Series.

At the Philippines International Championship in August, the team finished third behind PbRack Team USA and Australia's STK.[6]

The season concluded with World Cup Asia at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 26 to 28 November.

Datis won Division 1, finishing ahead of France's Bad Elements, Australia's STK and Malaysia's MacDev Ronin.

The team also secured the overall 2010 PALS championship and received the Best From Nation award for Iran.[7]

2011 World Cup Asia championship

Datis continued competing successfully in 2011, finishing second at the PALS Bangkok tournament behind Thailand's Infernal.[8]

At World Cup Asia in Langkawi, Malaysia, held in November 2011, Datis successfully defended its Division 1 championship.

Led by Babak Datis Esmaily, the team defeated Australia's STK 3–2 in the semi-finals before facing South Africa's Reaper in the final.

Datis won the championship match 4–1, securing its second consecutive World Cup Asia title and third overall.

The team received US$50,000 in prize money.[9]

Datis also competed in the Intercontinental Cup held alongside the tournament.

The Iranian team finished third behind France's Toulouse TonTons and the American Ironmen, ahead of Australia's STK.[10]

Later international competition

Datis remained active in Asian tournament paintball during subsequent seasons.

At the 2013 NAZA World Cup Asia in Langkawi, Datis reached the Division 1 semi-finals, losing 1–0 to eventual champions Johannesburg Dynamix.

The team finished third overall, behind Dynamix and Raskal Malaysia, and ahead of Xtioneers.[11]

Datis finished third again at the 2014 World Cup Asia, while recording seventh place at the opening PALS tournament in Bangkok.

The team was fourth in the overall 2014 PALS Division 1 season standings.[12]

At the 2015 World Cup Asia, Datis finished ninth among sixteen Division 1 teams.[13]

Although PBLeagues identifies Datis as a United Arab Emirates entry in its records from this period, earlier contemporary reporting consistently identifies the organisation as Iranian. The reason for the different country designation has not been established.[13]

Continued Iranian competition

Datis continued participating in domestic Iranian paintball competition after its international World Cup Asia appearances.

On 8 October 2017, Planet Eclipse reported that Tehran Datis had won Division 1 at a round of the Iranian Palm Series.

A second squad, Shemiranat Datis, finished second in Division 2 at the same event.

Both teams used Planet Eclipse equipment supplied through One4One Paintball.[14]

The available records do not establish the organisation's complete subsequent tournament history.

Notable players and personnel

Documented members of Datis include:

Babak Datis Esmaily – Team captain during the 2011 World Cup Asia championship. Also identified in earlier sources as Babak Ismaili.[9]
Aco Amir – Iranian professional player who represented Datis in domestic and international competition, including during the 2009–2010 period.[3]
Reza Badrian – Early team member identified by Aco Amir as one of the players involved in the team's formation and development.[3]

Sponsorship

Datis maintained an equipment sponsorship relationship with Planet Eclipse during several periods of its competitive history.

The team was identified as an Eclipse-sponsored organisation in November 2008.

In March 2010, Aco Amir reported that Datis also received equipment support from DYE Precision and JT USA, including paintball loaders, protective equipment and accessories.[2][3]

Planet Eclipse continued supporting the organisation during 2017, supplying custom Datis CS1.5 electronic paintball markers through One4One Paintball.[14]

Selected tournament results

Year	Tournament or series	Division	Result
2006	World Cup Asia, Kuala Lumpur	Division 1	1st [1]
2006	PALS season standings	Division 1	Series champions [1]
2007	World Cup Asia	Division 1	2nd [2]
2007	PALS season standings	Division 1	Series champions [2]
2009	Asian Paintball Invitational Tournament, Taiwan	International	3rd [5]
2010	PALS Philippines International Championship	Division 1	3rd [6]
2010	World Cup Asia, Kuala Lumpur	Division 1	1st [7]
2010	PALS season standings	Division 1	Series champions [7]
2011	PALS Bangkok	Division 1	2nd [8]
2011	World Cup Asia, Langkawi	Division 1	1st [9]
2011	Intercontinental Cup, Langkawi	International	3rd [10]
2013	NAZA World Cup Asia, Langkawi	Division 1	3rd [11]
2014	World Cup Asia	Division 1	3rd [12]
2015	World Cup Asia	Division 1	9th [13]
2017	Iranian Palm Series event	Division 1 (Tehran Datis)	1st [14]

References

External links