Editing Paintball tournament (section)

== Competition formats ==

=== Traditional tournament paintball ===

Early paintball tournaments used woodland playing fields and flag-based objectives.

Teams competed in individual games, with points awarded for objectives such as capturing or hanging flags, eliminating opposing players and retaining surviving team members.

Traditional competition commonly used five-player and ten-player formats.

The precise scoring systems varied between tournament organisers and historical periods.[1]

=== Speedball ===

[[Speedball]] is a form of tournament paintball played on relatively compact fields using artificial obstacles.

These may include rigid bunkers or inflatable structures.

Speedball tournaments commonly use five-player formats, although other team sizes have also been used.

Modern tournament fields frequently use published bunker layouts that participating teams can reproduce during training.[2]

=== X-Ball ===

'''X-Ball''' is a timed, multi-point tournament format.

Unlike traditional single-game competition, X-Ball matches involve successive points played within a defined match period.

Teams score by completing the applicable point objective, typically involving reaching or activating a designated scoring position.

The format was introduced into major American tournament competition during the early 2000s.

The [[National Xball League]] and [[Paintball Sports Promotions]] contributed to its development and wider adoption.[1][2]

=== Seven-player competition ===

Seven-player paintball became associated with the [[National Professional Paintball League]] Super 7 World Series.

The format used seven players per team and incorporated artificial-bunker playing fields.

Seven-player competition also developed in other regions, including the Australian Super 7s series.[1]

=== Ten-player competition ===

Ten-player paintball was an established tournament format during the 1980s and 1990s.

Teams competed on larger playing fields, commonly using flag-based scoring systems.

Ten-player competition continues in classic paintball tournaments, including events associated with the [[International Classic Paintball League]].

=== Pump and mechanical competition ===

Some tournaments restrict the types of markers participants may use.

[[Pump paintball]] competitions require manually operated pump-action markers.

[[Mechanical paintball]] tournaments generally restrict electronic firing systems, although individual competition rules determine equipment eligibility.

Classic tournament formats may incorporate mechanical markers, pump-action markers or restricted electronic equipment.