Editing 1994 NPPL season

The '''1994 NPPL season''' was the second season of the [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL), a United States paintball tournament circuit. Its five-event calendar comprised the Dallas Open, D.C. Cup, Los Angeles Open, Chicago Open and World Cup.[1]

The [[Ironmen]] retained the professional 10-player season championship. Historical reporting also identifies Virginia's Phantom Force as the amateur five-player champions. The [[All Americans]] won both professional formats at the season-ending World Cup.[2][3]

== Organisation and competition ==
The league's officers included president Bob Long, vice-president Al Podufaly, secretary Ed Lapanis and treasurer Renick Miller. A contemporary season preview described an organisation whose officers and committee members were predominantly professional tournament players.[1]

The published programme provided for five-player competition on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by 10-player competition from Friday to Sunday. Professional and amateur teams competed for separate awards.[1][4]

The January announcement identified Chicago as a possible exception to the five-day programme, with five-player competition still subject to a later decision.[4]

All tournaments were advertised as allowing competitors to bring their own paintballs. Published entry fees were US$500 for five-player teams, US$1,500 for amateur 10-player teams and US$2,000 for professional 10-player teams.[4]

== Calendar ==
The dates below follow the season preview published in ''Action Pursuit Games''.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Advertised dates !! Location
|-
| [[1994 NPPL Dallas Open|Dallas Open]] || 2–6 March 1994 || Dallas area, Texas
|-
| [[1994 NPPL D.C. Cup|D.C. Cup]] || 27 April–1 May 1994 || Outdoor Adventures, Bowie, Maryland
|-
| [[1994 NPPL Los Angeles Open|Los Angeles Open]] || 22–26 June 1994 || Los Angeles area, California
|-
| [[1994 NPPL Chicago Open|Chicago Open]] || 24–28 August 1994 || Chicago area, Illinois
|-
| [[1994 NPPL World Cup|World Cup]] || 12–16 October 1994 || Paintball World, Kissimmee, Florida
|}

An April NPPL advertisement listed Los Angeles for 21–26 June, differing from the 22–26 June dates in the January programme and May magazine preview.[4][5]

== Documented event results ==
ClassicScores records the following winners at Dallas and World Cup.[3]

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Professional 10-player !! Amateur 10-player !! Professional five-player !! Amateur five-player
|-
| Dallas Open || [[Ironmen]] || Washington Reign || GBD || Bad Karma
|-
| World Cup || [[All Americans]] || Blasters || [[All Americans]] || The Firm
|}

''Paintball News'' published a correction confirming Washington Reign as Dallas's amateur winners after the team's photograph had been mislabelled and its name omitted from the original placement list.[6]

A contemporary R. P. Scherer/PMI advertisement recorded the All Americans first and Chicago Aftershock second at the D.C. Cup, but did not identify the format or division.[7]

Historical reporting records an additional professional five-player victory for the All Americans at Los Angeles.[2]

== Season championships ==
The Ironmen won their second consecutive professional 10-player season championship. A retrospective account records that they finished second or higher in three of the four tournaments they entered during 1994 and refereed the remaining event.[2]

The same historical chronology identifies Phantom Force of Virginia as the NPPL amateur five-player title winners, distinguishing them from the Oregon team of the same name.[2]

{| class="wikitable"
! Competition !! Documented season champion
|-
| Professional 10-player || [[Ironmen]]
|-
| Amateur five-player || Phantom Force, Virginia
|}

== World Cup relocation ==
The season concluded with the first World Cup held in Florida following its relocation from New York. The venue was Paintball World, a woodland paintball field behind the Old Town entertainment complex in Kissimmee.[8]

The All Americans won both professional competitions there. Those tournament victories were separate from the Ironmen's professional 10-player season championship.[2][3]

== References ==
# “National Professional Paintball League Enters Second Year”, staff report, ''Action Pursuit Games'', May 1994, pp. 72–74. Contemporary season preview, officers, programme and advertised calendar.
# [https://www.automags.org/forums/forum/automag-owners-forums/paintball-talk/122630-history-of-paintball “History of Paintball”, reproduced on Automags.org from ''Paintball 2Xtremes'', June 2005. Entries “1993–1995: The Ironmen Dominate the NPPL”, “1994–1996: Amazing All American Five-Man Run” and “1994 – Also in Paintball”.]
# [https://www.classicscores.com/ ClassicScores – 1994 Dallas Open and World Cup: professional and amateur five-player and 10-player results.]
# “NPPL Schedule & Rules”, ''Paintball News'', 22 January 1994, p. 4. Contemporary announcement of dates, formats, fees, paint policy and referee assignments.
# NPPL tournament-series advertisement, ''Paintball News'', 16 April 1994, p. 31.
# “Correction”, ''Paintball News'', 16 April 1994, p. 3. Confirms Washington Reign as Dallas's amateur winners.
# R. P. Scherer/PMI advertisement, “The Only Advantage Is Winning With RP Scherer”, ''Paintball News'', 9 July 1994, p. 33. Records the All Americans first and Aftershock second at the D.C. Cup.
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2005/cup/road/ WARPIG – “Road to World Cup 2005”, October 2005. Historical account of the 1994 relocation to Paintball World in Kissimmee.]

[[Category:National Professional Paintball League]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in the United States]]
[[Category:Paintball tournament results]]
[[Category:1990s in American paintball]]
[[Category:1994 in paintball]]