Editing Edmonton Impact (section)

== History ==

=== Formation and early competition (2001–2006) ===

The origins of Edmonton Impact date to 2001, when brothers Zane and Zachary Yachimec, their father Bart and cousin Josh Ouimet entered a local rookie paintball tournament. [1]

The family had previously been introduced to paintball during a holiday in Hawaii. Bart subsequently became the team's owner and coach, while his sons developed as competitive players. [2]

The team's early training facility was [[Paintball Action Games]] in Edmonton, Alberta. [3]

The earliest major American tournament record for the organisation appears at the 2003 PSP World Cup, where it competed as '''Team Impact''' in Rookie 5-man, finishing 27th out of 128 teams. In 2004, Team Impact competed in the Novice 5-man division at the same event. [3]

By 2006, Impact had progressed to Division 1 X-Ball, finishing second in the Open X-Ball division at the PSP World Cup in November. [3]

=== Entry into professional competition (2007–2010) ===

Impact entered the NPPL professional division in 2007.

At the 2007 NPPL Huntington Beach Open, the team reached the professional final against [[Oakland Blast]] in its debut appearance. Contemporary WARPIG coverage described the result as an unusual achievement for a newly promoted professional team. [7]

Impact also competed in PSP Open X-Ball during 2007, winning the Los Angeles Open and finishing second at the Chicago Open. [3]

The team entered the PSP professional X-Ball division in 2008, continuing to compete in major American tournaments throughout the following seasons. [3]

Its first recorded PSP professional tournament victory came at the 2010 Phoenix Open, where Edmonton Impact finished first in Pro RaceTo-7 competition. [3][8]

=== International success (2011–2014) ===

Impact expanded its international competition programme during the early 2010s, competing in North America, Europe and Asia.

In 2013, the team finished second at the PSP World Cup and reached the podium at several other American professional tournaments. [3]

Impact achieved a significant European championship victory in 2014, winning the [[Millennium Series]] Champions Paintball League season title. [9]

The championship roster included Dave Bains, Justin Cornell, Nick Leival, Ryan Martin, Josh Ouimet, Danny Park, Justin Rabackoff, Raney Stanczak, Zane Yachimec and Zachary Yachimec. [9]

The team also won the 2014 PSP Chicago Open and finished second in the American PSP professional season standings. [3][10]

=== NXL and Millennium championships (2015–2017) ===

The reorganisation of American professional paintball under the NXL in 2015 marked the beginning of one of Impact's most successful periods.

The team won the 2015 NXL Great Lakes Open and Virginia Beach Open, finishing first in the inaugural NXL professional season standings. [11]

In 2016, Impact won the NXL Las Vegas Open, Great Lakes Open and World Cup. Its World Cup victory came against [[Russian Legion]], securing both the tournament championship and the NXL professional season title. [3][4]

Impact also won the 2016 Millennium Series championship and the European World Cup event at Paris-Chantilly. The final against [[Toulouse TonTons]] ended in a 6–1 victory. [12]

The team therefore completed the 2016 season as professional champions of both the American NXL and European Millennium Series. [4][12]

Impact continued its success in 2017. The team won the NXL Chicago Open and subsequently defeated [[San Diego Dynasty]] 4–3 in the World Cup final. The result secured consecutive NXL World Cup and professional season championships. [5][13]

Impact also won the final Millennium Series season championship in 2017, retaining its European title before the competition was replaced by the NXL Europe tournament structure. [14]

=== Continued professional competition (2018–2024) ===

Impact remained one of the leading professional teams in both American and European X-Ball competition.

In 2018, the team won the NXL Las Vegas Open and Atlantic City Open in the United States, together with the NXL Europe Basildon-London and Paris-Chantilly events. [3]

Further tournament victories followed in 2019, including the NXL Las Vegas Open and NXL Europe Prague Open. [3]

Impact won the 2021 NXL Sunshine State Major, defeating [[Infamous (paintball team)|Los Angeles Infamous]] in the professional final. [15]

In 2022, the team won the NXL Golden State Open and Windy City Major. It finished third in the overall professional season standings. [3][16]

Impact returned to the World Cup final in 2023, finishing second to San Diego Dynasty, and repeated its runner-up finish at the 2024 World Cup. [3]

=== 2025–2026 seasons ===

In 2025, Impact won the professional X-Ball division at the NXL Lone Star Open. It finished fourth in the overall NXL professional season standings. [17]

The organisation also entered the professional 3v3 X-Ball format, winning the 2025 MLPB Pro 3v3 World Championship and finishing first in the NXL Pro 3v3 season standings. [3][17]

Impact continued to compete in 2026, finishing second at both the Tampa Bay Open and Mid-Atlantic Open before winning the Midwest Open professional X-Ball division. [3]

At the Lone Star Open in September 2026, Impact finished fourth. Following the first four tournaments of the season, the team led the NXL professional standings with 733 ranking points, ahead of Red Legion on 720 points. [18]