Editing Philadelphia Americans (section)

== History ==

=== Formation and the original NXL (2003) ===

Philadelphia Americans was established in 2003 as one of the eight original franchises of the National Xball League.

The team developed from the All Americans programme, which had been one of the leading American professional tournament organisations during the 1990s.

The Gardner brothers, who had founded the All Americans and Smart Parts, became involved in the ownership and management of the new Philadelphia franchise. [1][2]

The original NXL introduced professional [[X-Ball]], a timed, multiple-point competition format intended to make tournament paintball more suitable for spectators and television.

Philadelphia Americans competed against other original franchises including [[Chicago Aftershock]], [[Los Angeles Ironmen]], [[Baltimore Trauma]], [[Oakland Assassins]], [[Miami Effect]], [[New York Xtreme]] and Detroit Thunder. [3]

The original All Americans name continued to appear separately in PSP Division 1 competition during 2003. [3]

=== Inaugural NXL championship (2003) ===

Philadelphia Americans became the inaugural NXL champions at the 2003 PSP World Cup, held at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida.

The team entered the championship playoffs after competing throughout the inaugural NXL season.

In the quarter-finals, Philadelphia defeated Los Angeles Ironmen in two consecutive matches, winning 11–8 and 8–7.

The Americans subsequently defeated Chicago Aftershock in the semi-finals, winning 12–7 and 10–6 to advance to the championship final. [3]

Philadelphia faced [[Oakland Assassins]], led by [[Bob Long]], in the final.

The Americans won the opening match 10–9 and secured another victory in the second match, becoming the first NXL season champions. [3]

Adam Gardner was identified as a player and team co-owner, while [[Darryl Trent]] served as coach during the championship. [3]

=== Second consecutive championship (2004) ===

Philadelphia Americans returned to the NXL in 2004 as defending champions.

The league expanded to include San Diego Legacy, while Detroit Thunder was replaced by [[Detroit Strange]].

During the regular season, Baltimore Trauma led the Eastern Conference ahead of Philadelphia Americans and New York Xtreme. [4]

At the World Cup championship playoffs, Philadelphia defeated Miami Effect to advance to the quarter-finals.

The Americans subsequently overcame Chicago Aftershock in a three-match semi-final series, earning another appearance in the championship final.

Their opponents were Detroit Strange, which had eliminated Oakland Assassins.

Philadelphia won the first championship match 9–7 and the second 11–3, securing its second consecutive NXL title. [4]

The 2004 championship final was recorded for television using a production crew operating approximately 30 cameras.

The game was prepared for broadcast on ESPN2 as part of the NXL's efforts to bring professional paintball to mainstream television. [7]

=== 2005 season ===

Philadelphia Americans entered the 2005 NXL season seeking a third consecutive championship.

The team remained competitive but finished below Boston Red Legion and other leading franchises in the regular-season standings.

At the 2005 World Cup, Philadelphia entered the qualifying round against Miami Effect.

The Americans won both matches, 11–5 and 9–7, advancing to the quarter-finals against Oakland Assassins.

The teams split their first two matches, with Oakland winning 11–5 before Philadelphia recovered to win 9–8.

Oakland won the deciding match 13–4, eliminating Philadelphia from championship contention. [8]

For the first time since the NXL's formation, Philadelphia Americans did not win the season championship.

=== Texas Open victory (2006) ===

The 2006 season brought changes to the NXL competition structure.

The league moved away from a purely season-long franchise championship towards awarding professional tournament titles at individual PSP events. [5]

Philadelphia Americans won the opening event, the PSP Texas Open, held at Settlers Park in Round Rock from 16 to 19 February 2006.

The team advanced through the preliminary rounds before defeating San Diego Dynasty 11–4 in the quarter-finals.

Philadelphia then defeated Boston Red Legion 7–6 in the semi-finals.

In the professional final, the Americans defeated Baltimore Trauma 6–5 to claim the championship. [5]

The team subsequently competed at the 2006 World Cup, participating in both the NXL and the Intercontinental Cup.

In the latter competition, Philadelphia defeated Frankfurt Syndicate 5–0 before losing to Baltimore Trauma 4–1 in the semi-finals.

Philadelphia finished fourth in the Intercontinental Cup. [9]

The team ended the 2006 PSP professional season fourth overall, behind Boston Red Legion, Dynasty and Los Angeles Ironmen. [10]

=== Continued professional competition (2007–2008) ===

Philadelphia Americans continued competing in the PSP professional X-Ball division during 2007.

The team finished fourth at the Chicago Open and fifth at the River City Open, ending the season sixth overall. [11]

In 2008, Philadelphia returned to the NXL World Cup championship final.

The team faced Los Angeles Ironmen in a best-of-three series.

Los Angeles won the opening match 9–2, while Philadelphia won the second 8–7.

The deciding match ended 9–4 in favour of the Ironmen, leaving Philadelphia Americans as World Cup runners-up. [12]

The 2008 season also included the addition of Russian professional player [[Konstantin Fedorov]], formerly of Boston Red Legion.

Fedorov was among the players selected to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2008 NXL All-Star competition, alongside Philadelphia teammate [[Ryan Moorhead]]. [13]

=== PSP professional season championship (2009) ===

The 2009 season represented another major championship period for Philadelphia Americans.

The team entered the season with a roster including Konstantin Fedorov, Ryan Moorhead, [[Tim Montressor]], [[Chad George]], [[Jason Edwards]], Samuel Monville, Ross O'Rourke, Patrick Roberts and Todd Hugo. [14]

At the PSP Phoenix Open, Philadelphia defeated Los Angeles Ironmen 6–3 in the professional final. [15]

The team subsequently finished second at the Mid-Atlantic Open, losing the final to the Ironmen 5–4.

A third-place finish followed at the Chicago Open. [6][16]

At the World Cup, Philadelphia reached the professional final against Boston Red Legion.

The Americans won the opening match 5–3, but Boston won the second 7–0.

The deciding match was closely contested, with the teams level at 4–4 before Boston secured the championship. [17]

Despite finishing second at the World Cup, Philadelphia Americans won the 2009 PSP professional season championship.

The team accumulated 370 ranking points, ahead of Boston Red Legion on 347.5 and Los Angeles Ironmen on 317.5. [6]

The title represented Philadelphia's third documented major American professional season championship, following its 2003 and 2004 NXL titles.