Editing Antony Leadbetter (section)

=== Banzai Bandits ===

Leadbetter began playing paintball in 1986 after being introduced to the sport by a friend.

He initially participated in recreational games at a paintball site in Worsley, Greater Manchester, using [[Splatmaster]] markers.

Alongside friends including Chris Morden, Colin Egan, Dave Frost and Steve Horan, he established a playing group that subsequently became Banzai Bandits.[1]

The team developed from recreational woodland paintball into organised tournament competition, becoming one of the established British teams of the 1990s.

At the 1993 [[Mayhem Masters]], held at Holmbush in southern England, Banzai Bandits finished third behind [[UK Predators]] and [[Nam Wrecking Crew]].

The documented team included Leadbetter, Julian Carr, [[Jack Wood]] and several other Manchester-based players.[5]

In 1997, Banzai Bandits won the Hyperball Championships in Birmingham.

The team defeated established American and British opposition during the tournament, including Bad Company and Shockwave, before defeating Shades of Grey in the final.

Leadbetter later identified the victory as an important milestone in the team's transition from woodland competition to artificial-bunker tournament paintball.[1]

Banzai subsequently competed internationally, including in the [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL) and [[Millennium Series]].

At the 2001 Millennium Series Joy Masters in Stockholm, Sweden, contemporary WARPIG reporting identified Leadbetter competing with a customised Eclipse Impulse marker.[6]