Rich Telford

Rich Telford is an American former professional paintball player, team captain, coach, businessman and commentator. He is best known for his playing career with Bob Long's Ironmen, the Southern California Ironmen and XSV, which he helped establish in 2004.[1][2]

Telford competed in major professional tournaments during the 1990s and 2000s, including the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL), Paintball Sports Promotions (PSP) and Millennium Series. He subsequently became involved in tournament administration, paintball field operations and broadcasting for the National Xball League (NXL).[1][3]

Playing career

Early career

Telford began playing paintball in 1990.

His early competitive career included Constant Pursuit, before he joined the professional Ironmen organisation associated with Bob Long.[1]

Bob Long's Ironmen

By 1998, Telford was competing with Bob Long's Ironmen.

At the 1998 NPPL Chicago Open, held at Badlandz Paintball Field in Crete, Illinois, he competed against the Southern California Ironmen, the organisation from which Bob Long's team had separated in late 1996.

Contemporary WARPIG reporting documented a confrontation between Telford and former teammate Micah McGlocklin, who was playing for the Southern California Ironmen.

Bob Long's team won the match and finished third in the professional ten-player division.[4]

Bob Long's Ironmen subsequently won the 1998 NPPL professional ten-player season championship.[5]

Southern California Ironmen

Telford later joined the Southern California Ironmen, reuniting with several players from the original organisation.

The team's published 2001 NPPL professional roster identified Telford alongside Shane Pestana, Oliver Lang, Matty Marshall, Yosh Rau, Billy Wing, Davey Williamson and other established competitors.[6]

Following the retirement of several senior players, Telford became captain of the team during the 2002 season.

Contemporary reporting from the 2002 NPPL Los Angeles Open identified him as captain of the remaining Ironmen roster.[7]

At the 2002 NPPL Chicago Open, the Southern California Ironmen won the professional ten-player division.

During a decisive final-round match against San Diego Dynasty, Telford and Matty Marshall were the Ironmen's final two surviving players.

The pair eliminated Dynasty's remaining competitors before Telford captured and hung the flag with approximately 20 seconds remaining.

The Ironmen finished first, ahead of Bob Long's Ironmen, Strange and Dynasty.[8]

Formation of XSV

In 2004, Telford helped establish XSV, also known as Excessive, a professional team formed from players who had previously competed with the Ironmen, Chicago Aftershock and other organisations.

The original team included Telford, Micah McGlocklin, Matty Marshall and Nicky Cuba.

XSV entered the NPPL Super 7 series, providing its players with opportunities to compete internationally without the restrictions imposed on registered professional NXL franchises.[9]

Telford became the team's captain and a central figure in its competitive development.

The organisation subsequently competed under the Sacramento XSV name.

XSV championship years

XSV became one of Dynasty's principal competitors during the mid-2000s.

At the 2005 NPPL Denver Open, held on 22-24 July, XSV defeated Dynasty in consecutive games to win the professional championship.

The victory was XSV's first professional tournament win in the NPPL Super 7 series.[10]

In March 2006, XSV won the NPPL Huntington Beach Open, again defeating Dynasty in the final.

The result made XSV the first team other than Dynasty to win the Huntington Beach professional championship since the introduction of the Super 7 format in 2003.[11]

The team followed this result with another victory at the NPPL Tampa Open in May 2006.

XSV defeated Dynasty in consecutive final-round games, securing its second professional championship of the season.[12]

Despite leading the 2006 standings for much of the season, XSV finished second in the overall NPPL professional championship behind Dynasty.[13]

Telford continued competing with XSV during subsequent seasons, including the 2007 PSP professional X-Ball series.

He also participated in international competitions with European teams, including Joy Division and Image, during the Millennium Series era.[1]

Paintball business activities

Telford was involved in the operation of Extreme Paintball, a paintball retail and playing-field business in Modesto, California.

In a 2010 interview, ProPaintball.com identified Telford as assisting his wife, Gina Telford, in operating the business while continuing to captain XSV.[14]

Extreme Paintball provided recreational paintball facilities, equipment sales and tournament practice opportunities.

The business was also associated with XSV's training activities.

Telford additionally worked within the paintball equipment industry, representing manufacturers and supporting professional players and teams.[3]

Tournament administration

Telford became involved in professional tournament administration following the financial collapse of the original NPPL Super 7 organisation in 2008.

He participated in the establishment of the United States Paintball League (USPL), a professional team-owned competition intended to continue national seven-player tournaments.

In January 2009, contemporary reporting identified Telford among the professional team owners involved in developing the new organisation.[15]

He subsequently participated in NPPL governance and discussions concerning player classifications, competition formats, equipment regulations and tournament promotion.

In a March 2010 interview, Telford discussed the league's efforts to expand participation through regional paintball facilities and improve the accessibility of seven-player tournament competition.[16]

Coaching and media

Following his principal professional playing career, Telford remained involved in paintball coaching and media.

He became a commentator for GoSports, providing analysis and historical context during professional NXL broadcasts alongside Matty Marshall.

His broadcasting work has drawn upon his experience with the Ironmen, XSV and international tournament competition.[3]

Telford was also featured in the television programme Xtreme Paintball: Beyond the Paint.

An episode originally broadcast on 23 October 2007 included an interview with Telford and professional match coverage from the NPPL Boston event.[17]

In January 2023, he appeared in a Paintball Nerd interview discussing his playing career and international tournament experiences.[1]

He was subsequently interviewed for the Paintball Passport podcast in January 2026, reflecting on his career with XSV, international competition and professional paintball broadcasting.[18]

Recognition

Telford has been recognised within paintball media for his achievements as a professional player and team captain.

In 2021, Iconic Paintball included him in its retrospective assessment of 50 notable professional players, highlighting his back-line play, leadership of the Ironmen and XSV, and subsequent broadcasting career.[3]

In 2024, he was named to the judging panel for the 2025 Iconic Paintball Hall of Icons induction class.

The panel included former professional players and industry representatives responsible for evaluating nominees from different eras of tournament paintball.[19]

Selected tournament achievements

Year	Tournament	Division	Team	Result
1998	NPPL Chicago Open	Professional 10-man	Bob Long's Ironmen	3rd
1998	NPPL season	Professional 10-man	Bob Long's Ironmen	Series champions
2002	NPPL Chicago Open	Professional 10-man	Southern California Ironmen	1st
2005	NPPL Denver Open	Professional 7-man	XSV	1st
2006	NPPL Huntington Beach Open	Professional 7-man	XSV	1st
2006	NPPL Tampa Open	Professional 7-man	XSV	1st
2006	NPPL season	Professional 7-man	XSV	2nd overall

The table lists selected documented team achievements rather than a complete individual tournament record.

References

External links