Australian Super 7s
Australian Super 7s, also known as the Super 7s Paintball Series or S7S, is an Australian tournament paintball championship associated with Action Paintball Games. The modern series began in 2006 and has included Professional, Semi-Professional, Amateur and Novice competition, with divisional names and formats changing over time.[1][2]
An earlier Australian competition called the Super Sevens Series was announced in 1996. The available records do not establish organisational continuity between that competition and the modern series.[3]
As of November 2026, the organiser identifies Action Paintball Games in Yarramundi, New South Wales, as the series venue.[4]
History
[edit]Earlier Super Sevens competition
[edit]In 1996, Tim McCarthy of Paintball Australia announced a seven-player Super Sevens Series using a bring-your-own-paint format. The proposal sought to reduce tournament costs and make travelling squads easier to assemble, with Professional and Amateur rankings.[3]
The announcement identified the South Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast in October and the Rebel Tour at Skirmish Adventures, Helensburgh, on 30 November–1 December 1996. A proposed 1997 calendar included Mount White, a South Australian venue, the Gold Coast and Helensburgh.[3]
These announcements document intended events rather than establish that every proposed round took place.
Establishment of the modern series
[edit]The modern championship began in 2006 as a four-round series. Contemporary coverage in Australian Paintball Magazine explicitly described it as the first Australian Super 7s Series.[1]
The inaugural season included Professional, Semi-Professional and Division 1 competition. The Professional season championship offered A$10,000, seven gold rings and paint, separately from individual-round prizes.[1]
Inaugural season
[edit]The 2006 Professional championship developed into a contest between Sydney SWAT and New Zealand's Menace. SWAT won the opening round, Menace won Round 2 and SWAT defeated Menace at the Queensland round. The teams entered the final event level on championship points.[1]
SWAT defeated Menace 2–1 in the final-round Professional final, winning both the tournament and the inaugural season championship. Backlash won the Semi-Professional season title.[1]
The final-round programme also included a separate ten-player State of Origin competition. New South Wales won ahead of Queensland and Western Australia, with the Australian Capital Territory also competing.[1]
Subsequent development
[edit]Menace won the 2007 Professional championship, finishing two points ahead of Sydney SWAT. Platinum won Semi-Professional and The Business won Amateur.[2][5][6]
The 2008 season included rounds in New South Wales and Western Australia. Hostile Intentions, Bitchin and SWAT Kids won the respective Professional, Semi-Professional and Amateur season titles.[7]
The 2009 championship was reduced to three rounds. The organiser explained that it had dropped what would otherwise have been the opening event.[7]
Novice competition was introduced for 2012 as a three-player division using specified rental equipment. In later seasons, Amateur and Novice events were sometimes scheduled separately from the Professional and Semi-Professional weekends.[8]
COVID-19 disruption
[edit]The 2020 HK Army Classic produced recorded results in all four divisions. The organiser subsequently cancelled the May DLX Technologies Cup, citing COVID-19 quarantine requirements, travel difficulties and uncertainty over restrictions on sporting events and gatherings.[9]
The notice specifically identified the difficulty facing New Zealand entrants Expendables, Rebel Unit and Immortal Knights. Rescheduling was considered, but no replacement date was confirmed in that announcement.[9]
The recovered 2020 results contain opening-round points only. Completion of the later advertised rounds remains unconfirmed by those records.[10]
The specific 2021 calendar listed three rounds, while the archived numerical results document only the opening DLX Cup. Missing later results do not independently establish cancellation or its cause.[11][12]
In 2022, the organiser stated that separate Semi-Professional events at Rounds 2 and 3 were not held because of insufficient teams. Championship credits were instead recorded for participation in other divisions. The source does not attribute that shortage to COVID-19.[13]
Season articles
[edit]Detailed divisional results, round links, source discrepancies and event-status checks are provided in the annual articles.
| Season | Documented programme or results coverage |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Four rounds; incomplete earlier-round results |
| 2007 | Four-round standings |
| 2008 | Four rounds; three-round points table and separate Masters results |
| 2009 | Three-round championship |
| 2010 | Four-round standings |
| 2011 | Four-round standings |
| 2012 | Four rounds, including Novice competition |
| 2013 | Four-round standings |
| 2014 | Four-round standings |
| 2015 | Four rounds; opening Challengers division distinguished from later season allocations |
| 2016 | Four-round standings |
| 2017 | Four rounds; no Amateur entrants recorded at Round 1 |
| 2018 | Four-round standings |
| 2019 | Four-round standings |
| 2020 | Round 1 documented; Round 2 cancelled; later completion unconfirmed |
| 2021 | Three rounds advertised; opening-round results documented |
| 2022 | Four-round standings; no separate Semi-Professional events at Rounds 2–3 |
| 2023 | Four-round columns; Professional Round 3 completion unverified |
| 2024 | Four-round championship |
| 2025 | Four-round championship |
| 2026 | Three rounds recorded as of 2 November 2026; Round 4 scheduled |
The table distinguishes advertised schedules, recorded championship points and confirmed event results. It does not imply that every division competed at every round.[1][2][10][11][12][13]
Competition structure
[edit]Teams accumulate championship ranking points across a season, with separate divisional standings. Individual-round victories and season championships are distinct results.[1][2]
Divisional names and formats have varied. The inaugural season used Professional, Semi-Professional and Division 1; later seasons have used Professional, Semi-Professional, Amateur and Novice. The opening 2015 round additionally used Champions and Challengers divisions.[1][2]
Some standings include reduced or adjusted points transferred after teams changed divisions. These credits are not additional event appearances and may differ from the original points recorded at a round.[2][13]
The final round has commonly been promoted as the Masters. Accompanying events, including State of Origin competitions, should be distinguished from the divisional tournament.[1][7]
Venues and international participation
[edit]Documented early venues include Samford in Queensland and Action Paintball Games venues at Rouse Hill in New South Wales and Serpentine in Western Australia.[1][7]
The contemporary 2023 website identified Action Paintball Games, Yarramundi, as the series venue. The current organiser's website lists 770 Springwood Road, Yarramundi.[4][14]
International participation has included New Zealand teams such as Menace, Expendables, Immortal Knights and Wellington Rebels. The inaugural Masters also attracted visiting professional players and instructors, including Danny Tiljak, Adam Connolly, Stephen “Junior” Brown, Thomas Taylor and Nicky Truter.[1][2]
Current season
[edit]As of 2 November 2026, the published 2026 standings contained results for three rounds. Sydney SWAT led Professional, Try It & See led Semi-Professional and Wait & See led Amateur, each with 90 points. The fourth-round divisional events remained scheduled for November.[2][4]
These were interim standings rather than final season championship results.
Historical records
[edit]Contemporary paintball publications, archived organiser websites, official standings and event reports provide the principal records of the series.[1][2]
Some records contain misleading year headings, incomplete round sequences, transferred divisional points or conflicting totals. For example, an archived page places the 2007 four-round standings beneath a 2008 heading, while the later website section labelled 2022 reproduces tables headed 2019. The genuine archived 2022 results provide a separate record for that season.[2][5][13]
The annual and individual-round articles identify these discrepancies rather than reconstructing unsupported results.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Dale “Hardcore” Moran, Australian Super 7s final-round report, Australian Paintball Magazine, no. 6, 2006, printed pp. 17–25.
- Super 7s Paintball — official historical and current standings.
- “Tim throws his hat into the ring”, Australian Paintballer, April–June 1996, p. 26.
- Super 7s Paintball — 2026 divisional calendar and Yarramundi location. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Super Sevens — archived official results, 19 July 2008.
- Super Sevens — announcement congratulating Menace as series champions, archived 14 February 2008.
- Super Sevens — 2008 Masters report, season champions and announcement of the three-round 2009 championship, archived 24 March 2009.
- Super Sevens — announcement introducing Novice competition for 2012, archived 23 January 2012.
- Michael Whybrew, “2020 Super 7s DLX Technologies Cup Cancelled”, archived 6 December 2020.
- Super 7s Paintball — 2020 results, archived 6 May 2021.
- Super 7s Paintball — specific 2021 three-round calendar, archived 29 January 2022.
- Super 7s Paintball — 2021 results, archived 29 January 2022.
- Super 7s Paintball — genuine 2022 standings and explanation of absent Semi-Professional rounds, archived 6 March 2023.
- Super 7s Paintball — contemporary website identifying the Yarramundi venue, archived 6 March 2023.