World Classic Paintball League

The World Classic Paintball League (WCPL) is an American paintball tournament circuit specialising in classic capture-the-flag competition. Its earliest documented United States season was in 2022. Ten-player competition has been the principal format, with five-player results recorded in 2022 and a seven-player tournament added to the US calendar in 2025.[1][2][3]

History and organisation

The WCPL was organised as a collective of tournament promoters. Individual promoters administer their events within a shared competition framework. The league's directory associates Fred Schultz with the California Classic, Dan Colby and Steve Preskill with the Panhandle Classic, Tim Schloss with Gateway and Jim Lively with the Gold Rush Classic. Schultz was also the listed contact for the 2025 Wisconsin Classic.[3][4][5]

The league's first documented US season opened at Combat Zone Paintball Park in Oroville, California, on 5–6 February 2022. Its results archive includes the ICC/Montressor Classic, which PBLeagues also records under the Iron City Classic. The event contributed to both the WCPL's Open ten-player and five-player standings.[1][2][6][7]

The International Classic Paintball League (ICPL) maintains a separate competition programme and results archive. Both circuits have used traditional ten-player formats.[1][8]

Competition formats

The WCPL's published programme covers woodland, Hyperball and earth-mound fields. Under its standard ten-player rules, each team starts with a flag station. A team scores two points for each opponent eliminated, one for each of its own players remaining, twenty for the first opposing flag pull and fifty for hanging the opposing flag. The rulebook provides for adjusted scoring in five-player and seven-player games.[6][9]

The general competition guide describes twelve-minute games and eight preliminary games per team. Event listings can specify different limits, including the ten-minute games advertised at the 2023 Montressor Classic.[5][10]

The league promotes mechanical markers. Its general guidance permits electronic markers capped at 5.5 balls per second and allows magazine-fed markers subject to the equipment rules. First Strike projectiles are prohibited under that guidance. Individual events can set stricter conditions, as at the 2026 Hate City Open, which used mechanical markers.[5][11]

Classification and rankings

The WCPL used an Open classification in 2022 and proposed using season seeding to identify professional teams for 2023. The published 2023 standings contain a single Open 10v10 division. The four event listings in the 2024 archive also use the Open ten-player classification. A separate professional championship or confirmed promotion list remains unverified.[1][2][5][12]

The league stated that it used its own classification rules within APPA/PBLeagues and that WCPL participation did not affect a player's ranking at other events administered through that system.[5][9]

United States seasons

The calendars below distinguish events with recorded results from announced rounds whose outcomes remain unverified. The linked season and event articles contain the detailed results.

2022

Dates	Event	Location	Recorded Open 10v10 winner[1][2]
5–6 February	California Classic	Oroville, California	Master Blasters
19–20 March	Florida 10-man Classic	Hudson, Florida	Team Farside
3–5 June	New York Classic	Clintondale, New York	All Americans
29–31 July	ICC/Montressor Classic	Clintondale, New York	Master Blasters
15–16 October	Gateway Open	Bridgeton, Missouri	Phenoms

In the 2022 WCPL season, Master Blasters finished first in Open 10v10 with 420.23 points, including 89.41 referee points. All-Americans 2 placed second with 273.21 and Lockout third with 197.65. AlbanyPower Surge Black led Open 5v5 with 100 points from the single recorded five-player round, the ICC/Montressor Classic.[2]

2023

Dates	Event	Location	Recorded Open 10v10 winner or status[1][12][13]
18–19 February	Southern California Classic	Moorpark, California	Dynasty Old School
1–2 April	Panhandle Classic	Holt, Florida	Juggernauts
9–11 June	New York Classic	Clintondale, New York	All Americans
29–30 July	Montressor Classic	Newark, Illinois	Colorado United Black
5–6 August	California Classic	Nicolaus, California	Black Sunday
14–15 October	Saint Louis Gateway Classic	Bridgeton, Missouri	Announced. No result in the season standings.

Toxic Teddys led the recorded 2023 Open 10v10 standings with 297.75 points, followed by Ironmen on 270.22 and Team Crowley WCPL on 174.62. PBLeagues records five rounds and labels Panhandle as Florida Open. Paintball Media advertised coverage of the Gateway Classic in its November issue, but the event's placings and any effect on the season standings remain unverified.[12][14]

2024

The 2024 calendar listed four Open ten-player tournaments.[1]

23 March — 2024 WCPL Southern California Classic, SC Village Paintball Park, Corona, California.
6–7 April — 2024 WCPL Florida Open, Panhandle Paintball, Holt, Florida.
10–11 August — 2024 WCPL California Classic, Shooter's All Season Paintball and Airsoft, Nicolaus, California.
12–13 October — 2024 WCPL St. Louis Classic, Gateway Paintball Park, Bridgeton, Missouri.

The Florida final-round score sheet records Schlactet Die Gebrmutter defeating MechKats 47–6 and Maynards Arsenal drawing 16–16 with gg_Factory Mech. Final placings for the other three events and a 2024 season champion remain unverified. The PBLeagues season page displays no points table despite the scored Florida matches.[15][16]

2025

The 2025 calendar added Jim Lively's seven-player Gold Rush Classic to three ten-player tournaments.[3]

3–4 May — 2025 WCPL Panhandle Classic, Panhandle Paintball, Holt, Florida. Paintball Dirt reported LA Xtreme first, SDG second and Semi Serious third.[17]
2 August — 2025 WCPL Wisconsin Classic, Commando Paintball Sports, Little Suamico, Wisconsin. The event was advertised, with completion and results unverified.[3][17]
6–7 September — Jim Lively's Gold Rush Classic, Splat Action Paintball, Molalla, Oregon. LA Hitmen's team record lists first place. Full standings remain unverified.[3][18]
11–12 October — 2025 WCPL Gateway Classic, Gateway Paintball, Bridgeton, Missouri. The January 2026 issue announcement from Paintball Media lists Gateway Classic coverage. Placings remain unverified.[3][19]

Published season standings and a 2025 season champion remain unverified.[1][3]

2026

The 2026 calendar announced five US rounds and an entry limit of eighteen teams per event.[20]

18–19 April — 2026 WCPL Hate City Open, Tallapoosa Paintball, Tallapoosa, Georgia. The league announced the event as the Hate City Classic. The host's recap uses Hate City Open, dates the event to 17–19 April and records The Misfits winning the twelve-team tournament.[11][20]
13–14 June — 2026 WCPL Panhandle Classic, Panhandle Paintball, Holt, Florida. An advance participant post described ten-player competition. A later participant account places the event at the announced venue. Placings remain unverified.[20][21][22]
8–9 August — 2026 WCPL Wisconsin Classic, Commando Paintball Sports, Little Suamico, Wisconsin. Advertised as ten-player.[20]
5–6 September — Jim Lively's Gold Rush Classic, Splat Action Paintball, Molalla, Oregon. Advertised as seven-player.[20]
10–11 October — 2026 WCPL Gateway Classic, Gateway Paintball, Bridgeton, Missouri. Advertised as ten-player.[20]

Completion and results for Wisconsin, Gold Rush and Gateway remain unverified. The public PBLeagues archive lists WCPL events through 2024. A 2026 points table and season champion remain unverified.[1][20]

References

External links

World Classic Paintball League official website