Editing 1997 NPPL season

The '''1997 NPPL season''' was the fifth season of the [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL). Documented tournaments included the Las Vegas Desert Open, Pittsburgh Open, Chicago Open and World Cup. A second annual New York Cup was also advertised, although the available sources do not establish whether it took place.[1][2][3][4][5]

[[Chicago Aftershock]] is recorded as the professional 10-player season champion. [[Team Image|Image]] won the professional 10-player World Cup, while [[Jacksonville Warriors|Jax Warriors]] won the professional five-player World Cup.[4][6][7]

== Calendar and event status ==
The following table distinguishes documented tournaments from the announced New York event. Exact dates are included where established by the cited sources.[1][2][3][4][5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Dates established here !! Location !! Status
|-
| [[1997 NPPL Las Vegas Desert Open|Las Vegas Desert Open]] || — || Las Vegas, Nevada || Held
|-
| [[1997 NPPL Pittsburgh Open|Pittsburgh Open]] || — || Pittsburgh area, Pennsylvania || Held
|-
| [[1997 NPPL Chicago Open|Chicago Open]] || — || Chicago area, Illinois || Held
|-
| [[1997 New York Cup|New York Cup]] || Advertised for 5–7 September 1997 || Survival New York, New York || Announced; outcome unverified
|-
| [[1997 NPPL World Cup|World Cup]] || 21–26 October 1997 || Paintball World, Kissimmee, Florida || Held
|}

The dashes indicate that exact dates have not been established from the sources used here.

== New York Cup ==
A calendar published in the December 1996 issue of ''Paintball Sports'' advertised the second annual New York Cup for 5–7 September 1997 at Survival New York. Its programme included professional and amateur 10-player competition and a novice five-player division.[5]

The announcement specified NPPL rules and NPPL-set entry fees, but did not explicitly identify the tournament as an NPPL championship round. It therefore establishes an advertised association with NPPL playing arrangements, rather than confirming championship status or that the event took place.[5]

== Professional 10-player results ==
The following tournament winners are recorded by contemporary WARPIG coverage, ClassicScores and Paintball Win Count.[1][3][6][7]

{| class="wikitable"
! Tournament !! Winner
|-
| Las Vegas Desert Open || [[All Americans]]
|-
| Pittsburgh Open || [[Chicago Aftershock]]
|-
| Chicago Open || [[All Americans]]
|-
| World Cup || [[Team Image|Image]]
|}

=== Las Vegas ===
The All Americans won ahead of Aftershock, Bob Long's Ironmen and GBD. Enemy won amateur 10-player.[1]

The event ran alongside a separate [[Great Western Series]] tournament for amateur and novice five-player teams. Those five-player competitions should not be treated as NPPL divisions.[1]

WARPIG distinguished Bob Long's newly assembled Ironmen from the original Ironmen organisation, whose members refereed the Las Vegas event.[1]

=== Chicago ===
ClassicScores records the All Americans first in professional 10-player, ahead of Bob Long's Ironmen, Image and Avalanche. Farside won amateur 10-player, The Fighters won amateur five-player and Spectrum won novice five-player.[3]

== World Cup ==
Image won professional 10-player World Cup with 300 final-round points, ahead of Aftershock on 215, Ironmen on 130 and All Americans 2 on 31.[7]

Jax Warriors won professional five-player with 106 points, ahead of All Americans 1, Rage and All Americans 2.[6]

{| class="wikitable"
! Position !! Professional 10-player !! Amateur 10-player !! Professional five-player !! Amateur five-player
|-
| 1 || Image || Lockout || Jax Warriors || Fighters
|-
| 2 || Aftershock || OBR || All Americans 1 || Farside
|-
| 3 || Ironmen || Marine Team || Rage || Shockwave CA
|-
| 4 || All Americans 2 || Nemesis || All Americans 2 || Canadian Express
|}

These placings are documented in WARPIG's contemporary final-round reports.[6][7]

== Season championship ==
Paintball Win Count identifies Aftershock as the 1997 professional 10-player series champion. This season title was separate from Image's World Cup tournament victory.[4][7]

{| class="wikitable"
! Competition !! Documented season champion
|-
| Professional 10-player || [[Chicago Aftershock]]
|}

== References ==
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/npplvegas97/nppllv97.shtml WARPIG – “The 1997 NPPL Las Vegas Desert Open”. Contemporary report and professional and amateur 10-player results.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/wc97/index.shtml WARPIG – “World Cup 1997”. Contemporary event overview and schedule.]
# [https://www.classicscores.com/ ClassicScores – 1997 NPPL Las Vegas and Chicago Open results.]
# [https://www.paintballwincount.com/nppl-10-man Paintball Win Count – NPPL 10 Man, 1997 tournament winners and professional series champion.]
# “Calendar of Events”, ''Paintball Sports'', December 1996, p. 90. Advance listing for the second annual New York Cup, 5–7 September 1997.
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/wc97/finals5man.shtml WARPIG – “5 Man Semi-Finals and Final Scores”, 23 October 1997.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/wc97/finals10man.shtml WARPIG – “10 Man Semi-Finals and Final Scores”, 26 October 1997.]

[[Category:National Professional Paintball League]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in the United States]]
[[Category:Paintball tournament results]]
[[Category:1990s in American paintball]]
[[Category:1997 in paintball]]