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Tournament paintball has been a part of the greater paintball world since the earliest days of the sport, thanks in no small part to the competitive nature of those people who first pick up a paintball gun.
From the local level to the regional and national scene, paintball tournaments around the United States and the world offer competitive players a chance to hone their skills and shine. One of the great evolutions in the paintball industry is the proliferation of regional tournament series, which provide players with the ability to compete at events with a national-level feel at a fraction of the price, much closer to home.
The CFOA
The CFOA, or Carolina Field Owner’s Association, has been the largest regional tournament series in the United States for the past several years. While originally a five-man paintball league promoting as many as nine events from February through October, the league has since evolved to include divisional X-Ball play at stand-alone events, increasing the number of events the league promotes each year to a whopping thirteen paintball tournaments! Most recently, the CFOA has altered one of its basic tenets, the concept of “bring your own paint.” While league customers can still bring their own paintballs to CFOA events, they may only bring paint made by league sponsors, who for 2008 included KEE Action Sports, Procaps (DXS), XO and Severe. For 2008 the league’s rate of fire was capped at thirteen balls per second with PSP ramping allowed. Several gun manufacturers feature “CFOA mode” on their electronic boards. Numerous CFOA referees have been tapped as good enough to officiate on the national level and do so in the PSP and NXL, and registration, payment and identification is handled by the APPA system, the same used by the PSP.
League Website: www.thecfoa.com
Home Region: Southeast (Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina)
The GPL
One of the largest and most influential paintball leagues in the Northeast region, the Global Paintball League or GPL promotes three, five and seven-man tournaments at a single location; for 2008 this was ECX Paintball Park in Northern Maryland near Delaware. The GPL allows teams to bring their own paint or purchase paint at their events, and identification and scheduling is handled via the PaintballID.com system. In 2008 the GPL attempted to launch an X-Ball division but due to the slumping economy and lack of enough interest in the format these events were not promoted. Conducting five events in 2008, the league offers a format and division for practically every level of player and therefore draws teams and participants from across the Northeast region and the East Coast. Rules of play include uncapped semiautomatic or PSP ramping modes capped to 13 balls per second. For 2009, the GPL has announced intentions to promote seven-man play in locations across the United States, but at this time no details of this plan are yet available.
League Website: www.thegpl.com
Home Region: Northeast (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, etc) with events coming to other regions
 The NAX/AXBL/CXBL
One of the most unique paintball leagues in existence, the North American Xtreme Paintball League governs the American Xtreme Paintball League and the Canadian Xtreme Paintball League, both of which offer teams the opportunity to compete in the XBall format by purchasing franchises and becoming a part of something bigger than themselves. Playing in conferences within their leagues, teams compete at five events then top teams move on to the NAX Championships. With the stated goal of preserving as much of the original X-Ball format as created by Richmond Italia as possible, guns in 2008 were permitted to fire up to fifteen paintballs per second and teams played full-blown X-Ball matches. American events in 2008 were held at New Jersey’s Atlas Paintball Park, while Canadian events were hosted by fields like Paintball Action Games, Flag Raiders Paintball, Paintball Mirabel and Young Guns Paintball.
League Website: www.xball.com
Home Region: Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States
The NEPL
Advertised as the largest one-day events in the country, the New England Paintball League promotes three, five and seven-man divisions shooting in semiautomatic mode in New England. The same ID system utilized by the now-deceased NPPL is used. NEPL events allow field paintballs only, with paint able to be purchased online or with cash only at league events. All NEPL events are hosted by Boston Paintball and were held in 2008 at the Maynard Paintball Club in Sudbury, Massachusetts, offering excellent seven-man and XBall fields with turf playing surfaces. Five NEPL events were promoted in 2008, with three further NEPL Junior dates offering three-man play for new tournament players.
League Website: www.thenepl.com
Home Region: New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, etc)
The SPCS
The Southern Paintball Championship Series, held in previous seasons at Central Florida Paintball, will move to Paintball World near Orlando for 2009 with three events already announced. Hosting five-man, PSP-ramping events with amateur, novice, rookie and masters divisions and allowing teams to bring their own paintballs, the Florida league has grown rapidly in a region once dotted with competing series. Draxxus paintballs will be available for purchase at SPCS events in 2009. The SPCS uses the APPA identification and scheduling system allowing players to be easily tracked and rosters policed.
League Website: www.thespcs.com
Home Region: South (Florida, South Georgia, etc)
The RPL
While it hasn’t yet promoted its first event, the Regional Paintball League or RPL has been created to fill the void left by the demise of Pacific Paintball, which dragged the west coast’s regional paintball league, the XPSL, down with it. Shawn Walker, former president of the XPSL and NPPL will promote the league along with well-known pro player and captain Rich Telford. While little information is available so far, what has been put out states that the new league will offer inexpensive three and five-man play with all games being a best-two-of-three style, giving those who partake a great deal of paintball. Games are to be played on grass according to the first statement put out by the new league, while professional players will provide referee services. With three divisions, the west, northwest and southwest hosting events feeding into an RPL championship in Las Vegas, the league should be well-attended assuming no other leagues are created in an attempt to fill the void left by the long-standing XPSL.
League Website: www.therpl.com
Home Region: Southwest (California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, etc)
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