Ground Zero (paintball team)

Ground Zero is an American professional paintball team organisation associated with New York. Active in major tournament competition by the mid-1990s, Ground Zero became one of the leading teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning the 1998 National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) Portland Open and the 2001 World Paintball Series championship. [1][2]

The organisation fielded several squads, including Ground Zero Black, Ground Zero Gold, Ground Zero Chaos and Ground Zero Bedlam. Its players included Fritz Renner, Will Arroyo, Nicky Cuba, Greg Hastings and Max Lundqvist. [3][4]

The Ground Zero name has continued in classic-format paintball competition, including events organised by the International Classic Paintball League (ICPL). [5]

History

Early competition

Ground Zero was competing in the NPPL professional division by 1996. The team appeared in the professional 10-man competition at the 1996 World Cup in Orlando, Florida. [6]

By 1998, Ground Zero had developed a programme featuring multiple squads competing in different tournament divisions.

At the inaugural Skyball tournament, held at Toronto's SkyDome on 20–21 March 1998, Ground Zero Gold won the professional five-player division.

The team defeated J&J Ohio in the final, receiving C$11,000 in prize money. Image finished third and the All Americans fourth. [7]

Skyball was among the early major indoor tournament events, using a combination of inflatable bunkers, pipe structures and other artificial obstacles inside a professional sports stadium.

1998 NPPL Portland Open

Ground Zero achieved another major victory at the NPPL Portland Open in September 1998.

The professional team reached the 10-man finals against Bob Long's Ironmen, Lockout and the Southern California Ironmen.

Ground Zero finished first with 185 finals points, ahead of Bob Long's Ironmen on 140 points. [2]

At the same event, Ground Zero Gold competed in the Amateur A division and also finished first, defeating the Naughty Dogs, OBR and Team X-Treme. [2]

The results gave the organisation victories in both the professional and leading amateur divisions at the tournament.

Continued competition (1999–2000)

Ground Zero continued competing in professional and amateur tournaments throughout 1999 and 2000.

At the 1999 NPPL Boston Open, Ground Zero Gold won the Amateur A 10-man division. [8]

The professional Ground Zero team also competed internationally in the Millennium Series.

At the 2000 Mayhem Masters in the United Kingdom, Ground Zero advanced to the professional finals against Avalanche, the All Americans and Camp Tigers.

Ground Zero finished third, behind Avalanche and the All Americans. Ground Zero Gold separately reached the amateur finals, finishing fourth. [9]

The organisation continued maintaining multiple squads, including Ground Zero Silver in amateur competition. [10]

2001 NPPL season

The 2001 season was one of Ground Zero's most successful.

At the NPPL Los Angeles Open, Ground Zero won the professional 10-man division, finishing ahead of Lockout, San Diego Dynasty and Chicago Aftershock.

Ground Zero scored 281 points in the professional finals, winning all three games and securing the championship. [11]

The team also reached the professional finals at the 2001 NPPL Atlantic City Gambler's Open, finishing fourth behind Aftershock, the Southern California Ironmen and the All Americans. [12]

At Atlantic City, Ground Zero and Ground Zero Gold both advanced to the professional semi-finals, demonstrating the strength of the organisation's separate squads. [12]

European competition

Ground Zero competed extensively in European tournaments during 2001.

At the Mayhem Masters in the United Kingdom, the team reached the professional final against Joy Division, Team Image and Avalanche.

The competition was decided by a single point, with Joy Division finishing first on 208 finals points and Ground Zero second on 207. [13]

Ground Zero also competed in the Millennium Series events held in Portugal and France.

At the 2001 Joy Masters in Stockholm, Ground Zero provided tournament referees.

Contemporary WARPIG reporting described the team's use of individual radios for its officials, improving communication across the playing fields. [14]

The team also entered two professional five-player squads, Ground Zero Chaos and Ground Zero Bedlam, in American NPPL tournaments during the season. [15]

World Paintball Series championship (2001)

Ground Zero won the 2001 World Paintball Series championship.

The series combined ranking points from American NPPL tournaments, European Millennium Series events and selected international competitions, including the Mardi Gras Open.

At the 2001 NPPL World Cup in Florida, Millennium Series organiser Laurent Hamet presented Ground Zero with the World Paintball Series championship trophy. [1]

The title was distinct from the NPPL professional season championship, which was won by Chicago Aftershock.

Ground Zero's victory recognised its competitive performance across American and European tournaments during the year.

Ground Zero Black and Gold (2002)

Ground Zero continued competing in the NPPL during 2002, fielding separate professional 10-man squads as Ground Zero Black and Ground Zero Gold.

The published Ground Zero Black roster identified Fritz Renner as captain and Dennis Mood as co-captain.

Other players included Will Arroyo, Chris Cole, Nicky Cuba, Alex Lundqvist, Max Lundqvist, Jim Murray, Peter Reilly and Bob Rose. [4]

The Ground Zero Gold roster included Greg Hastings, Anthony Cuocco, Chris DiPalmo, Steve Cusano, Carmen Borgia, Julio Rivera, Pete Utschig and Scott Santos, among others. [4]

In January 2002, Ground Zero Bedlam won the professional division at the Diablo Mardi Gras Open in New Orleans, Louisiana. [16]

At the NPPL Atlantic City Open in August, Ground Zero Black and Ground Zero Gold both reached the professional semi-finals, with Gold advancing to the finals. [17]

The two squads finished seventh and eighth respectively in the overall 2002 NPPL professional 10-man season standings.

Ground Zero Black recorded 148 ranking points and Ground Zero Gold finished with 146. [18]

Ground Zero also won the professional division at the 2002 Aruba Pro-Am tournament, where final standings were determined by round-robin results. [19]

Later competition and classic paintball

The Ground Zero name continued to appear in tournament paintball following the original NPPL professional 10-man era.

Former Ground Zero player Greg Hastings participated with the team at the 2018 Iron City Classic, competing in traditional mechanical-marker competition. [20]

Ground Zero Gold subsequently became an established participant in the International Classic Paintball League.

The modern team has been associated with Long Island, New York, and has used Cousins Paintball in Calverton as its home field. [21]

Will Arroyo, a member of the 2001 professional Ground Zero roster, has remained associated with the modern organisation. [5][21]

In 2021 and 2022, Ground Zero Gold competed in the ICPL professional 10-man division against teams including Aftershock, Infamous, the All Americans, Image and KAPP Factory. [22]

Pro DNA Open (2023)

In April 2023, Ground Zero competed at the Pro DNA Open, an ICPL-affiliated tournament in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

The team won the Open five-player division, finishing ahead of The Farm and Northwest Rogue.

Ground Zero also reached the professional 10-man finals alongside Infamous and the All Americans.

Infamous won the 10-man tournament, with the All Americans finishing second and Ground Zero third. [23]

The team's modern competitive programme was led by Will Arroyo, who was identified as its owner in contemporary tournament reporting. [23]

Notable players

Documented members of Ground Zero and its associated squads include:

Fritz Renner – Captain of Ground Zero and Ground Zero Black during the early 2000s.
Dennis Mood – Co-captain of the professional team.
Will Arroyo – Professional player and later owner of the modern Ground Zero programme.
Nicky Cuba – Professional player who subsequently competed for other leading American teams.
Greg Hastings – Member of Ground Zero Gold and Ground Zero International.
Max Lundqvist – Swedish professional player on the Ground Zero roster.
Alex Lundqvist – Member of Ground Zero Gold and Ground Zero Black.
Chris Cole – Member of the 2001 professional roster.
Bob "Rosie" Rose – Member of the professional roster.
David Archibald – Member of the 2001 professional roster.
Anthony Cuocco – Member of Ground Zero and Ground Zero Gold.
Pete Utschig – Member of Ground Zero Gold.

[3][4][20]

Selected tournament achievements

Year	Team	Competition	Division	Result
1998	Ground Zero Gold	Skyball, Toronto	Professional 5-man	Champions [7]
1998	Ground Zero	NPPL Portland Open	Professional 10-man	Champions [2]
1998	Ground Zero Gold	NPPL Portland Open	Amateur A 10-man	Champions [2]
1999	Ground Zero Gold	NPPL Boston Open	Amateur A 10-man	Champions [8]
2000	Ground Zero	Mayhem Masters	Professional	3rd place [9]
2001	Ground Zero	NPPL Los Angeles Open	Professional 10-man	Champions [11]
2001	Ground Zero	Mayhem Masters	Professional	2nd place [13]
2001	Ground Zero	NPPL Atlantic City Open	Professional 10-man	4th place [12]
2001	Ground Zero	World Paintball Series	International professional rankings	Series champions [1]
2002	Ground Zero Bedlam	Diablo Mardi Gras Open	Professional	Champions [16]
2002	Ground Zero	Aruba Pro-Am	Professional	Champions [19]
2002	Ground Zero Black	NPPL Professional Series	Professional 10-man	7th overall [18]
2002	Ground Zero Gold	NPPL Professional Series	Professional 10-man	8th overall [18]
2023	Ground Zero	Pro DNA Open	Open 5-man	Champions [23]
2023	Ground Zero	Pro DNA Open	Professional 10-man	3rd place [23]

Equipment and sponsorship

Ground Zero maintained relationships with equipment manufacturers during its professional tournament history.

The team was associated with Adrenaline Paintball, a manufacturer of customised paintball markers and accessories.

Adrenaline identifies Ground Zero's 2001 World Paintball Series championship as an achievement associated with its sponsored equipment. [5]

The manufacturer has continued sponsoring Ground Zero Gold in classic-format competition, including the supply of customised electronic markers.

Its products have included signature-series markers associated with Will Arroyo and other players. [5]

Media and historical documentation

Ground Zero's professional tournament history was documented extensively by WARPIG during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The team was also photographed by paintball journalist John Amodea, whose historical archive includes photographs of Ground Zero and Ground Zero Gold spanning the team's early history through 2004.

The archive includes images of Nicky Cuba, Greg Hastings, David Archibald and other members of the organisation. [24]

Legacy

Ground Zero was one of the leading American professional tournament organisations during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Its achievements included major five-player and ten-player tournament victories, an international series championship and successful competition in both North America and Europe.

The organisation was notable for maintaining multiple competitive squads, allowing players to participate in professional and amateur divisions under the Ground Zero name.

Its 2001 World Paintball Series championship represents an important achievement from the period when American and European tournament results were combined into an international ranking system. [1]

The continuation of the Ground Zero name in classic-format tournaments has preserved its connection to the original NPPL 10-man era. [5][23]

References

External links