Editing 2003 PSP season

The '''2003 PSP season''' was a five-event United States paintball championship series organised by [[Paintball Sports Promotions]] (PSP). It combined five-player and ten-player competition with the introduction of a national divisional [[X-Ball]] series. Events took place in California, Nevada, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Florida.[1][2][3][4][5]

The inaugural [[National Xball League]] (NXL) season ran alongside PSP competition, beginning at the separately staged Mardi Gras Open and concluding with championship play-offs at World Cup. [[Philadelphia Americans]] won the first NXL championship.[5][6][7]

== Organisation and formats ==

The Los Angeles Open began the five-event PSP championship series. The [[2003 Mardi Gras Open]], although produced by PSP and hosting the opening NXL matches, was a standalone tournament outside that championship series.[1][7]

PSP offered conventional five-player and ten-player tournaments alongside open divisional X-Ball. At Los Angeles, Division 1 X-Ball began with round-robin competition, while Division 2 used double elimination. Both divisions used double-elimination competition at Las Vegas.[1][2]

The ten-player Professional and Amateur classes were separate at Los Angeles. From Las Vegas, they were combined into a Pro/Am category as teams moved into divisional X-Ball or the NXL.[1][2]

Division 3 X-Ball was added at World Cup. It was an event competition without a separate 2003 season title.[5]

=== Series points ===

During the Philadelphia Open, PSP finalised its divisional X-Ball ranking system. First place earned 100 points, second 80 and third 60. Serving as referees earned 100 points, equivalent to an event victory.[4]

Teams changing from ten-player competition to X-Ball could transfer ranking points, with ten-player points doubled to accommodate the different scales. These arrangements meant that event victories alone did not determine the season championships.[4]

== Calendar ==

=== PSP championship series ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Round !! Dates !! Event !! Venue !! State
|-
| 1 || 5–9 March 2003 || [[2003 PSP Los Angeles Open|Los Angeles Open]] || Los Angeles County Fairplex, Pomona || California
|-
| 2 || 30 April–4 May 2003 || [[2003 PSP Las Vegas Open|Las Vegas Open]] || Ed Fountain Park, Las Vegas || Nevada
|-
| 3 || 18–22 June 2003 || [[2003 PSP Chicago Open|Chicago Open]] || Maywood Park harness racing track || Illinois
|-
| 4 || 13–17 August 2003 || [[2003 PSP Philadelphia Open|Philadelphia Open]] || Fairmount Park, Philadelphia || Pennsylvania
|-
| 5 || 18–26 October 2003 || [[2003 PSP World Cup|World Cup]] || Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, Orlando area || Florida
|}

Dates and venues follow contemporary WARPIG coverage and the surviving PBLeagues event archive.[1][2][3][4][5][8]

=== Additional NXL opening event ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Dates !! Event !! Venue !! Status
|-
| 20–23 February 2003 || [[2003 Mardi Gras Open|Mardi Gras Open]] || Alario Center, New Orleans area, Louisiana || Opening NXL regular-season matches; outside the five-event PSP championship series
|}

Source: WARPIG's contemporary report and subsequent account of the event's PSP status.[6][7]

== Divisional event results ==

=== X-Ball ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Division 1 winner !! Division 2 winner !! Division 3 winner
|-
| Los Angeles || Strange || Strange 2 || Not offered
|-
| Las Vegas || Naughty Dogs || P&L Hurricanes || Not offered
|-
| Chicago || Naughty Dogs || Twisted Factory || Not offered
|-
| Philadelphia || Strange || Total Eclipse || Not offered
|-
| World Cup || Strange || Total Eclipse || PAG Factory
|}

Sources: contemporary reports and the Los Angeles divisional scoreboard.[2][3][4][5][9]

=== Ten-player ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Professional winner !! Amateur / Pro/Am winner !! Novice winner !! Rookie winner
|-
| Los Angeles || Naughty Dogs || Evil Factory || Justice || Rock It Kids
|-
| Las Vegas || colspan="2" | Team Addicted — combined Pro/Am || Justice || Sin
|-
| Chicago || colspan="2" | Brimstone Smoke — combined Pro/Am || Momma's Boys || Rock It Kids
|-
| Philadelphia || colspan="2" | Cartel — combined Pro/Am || Momma's Boys || Rock It Kids
|-
| World Cup || colspan="2" | Cartel — combined Pro/Am || Momma's Boys || Rock It Kids
|}

WARPIG sometimes labelled the combined Pro/Am category “Amateur” in its reports and scoreboards.[1][2][3][4][5]

=== Five-player ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Novice winner !! Rookie winner
|-
| Los Angeles || CP Factory Team || ACI Turmoil
|-
| Las Vegas || Doc's Raiders || Doc's Raiders Black
|-
| Chicago || AGD Kids || Dedicated Paintball 2
|-
| Philadelphia || Doc's Raiders Black || Untouchable Kidz
|-
| World Cup || Vicious || PAG
|}

Sources: contemporary WARPIG reports and the Philadelphia five-player scoreboard.[1][2][3][5][10]

World Cup additionally held a five-player Pro/Am competition, won by Naughty Dogs.[5]

== Inaugural NXL season ==

The NXL comprised eight professional franchises:[11]

* [[Baltimore Trauma]]
* [[Chicago Aftershock]]
* Detroit Thunder
* [[Los Angeles Ironmen]]
* [[Miami Effect]]
* [[New York Xtreme]]
* [[Oakland Assassins]]
* [[Philadelphia Americans]]

The league's first match took place at 09:00 on 20 February at the Mardi Gras Open. Miami Effect defeated Baltimore Trauma 11–9. Rain cancelled Friday's scheduled matches, which were to be made up later in the season.[6]

Regular-season matches continued at Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and Philadelphia. These matches contributed towards standings and World Cup play-off seeding rather than producing separate NXL tournament champions at each stop.[2][4]

=== Championship play-offs ===

World Cup used best-of-three NXL play-off series. Philadelphia Americans defeated Oakland Assassins in two matches to win the inaugural championship, taking the opening final 10–9.[5]

The NXL title was separate from PSP's open Division 1 X-Ball championship.[5]

== Season champions ==

WARPIG's season-ending report distinguished the overall series champions from the winners of the World Cup tournament.[5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Competition !! Season champion
|-
| NXL || Philadelphia Americans
|-
| Division 1 X-Ball || Strange
|-
| Division 2 X-Ball || Twisted Factory Team
|-
| Ten-player Amateur / Pro/Am || Static
|-
| Ten-player Novice || Justice and Momma's Boys — shared title
|-
| Ten-player Rookie || Rock It Kids
|-
| Five-player Novice || Doc's Raiders
|-
| Five-player Rookie || Method
|}

No Division 3 X-Ball season championship was contested: the category began at World Cup.[5]

== See also ==

* [[Paintball Sports Promotions]]
* [[National Xball League]]
* [[2003 NPPL season]]
* [[2004 PSP season]]
* [[Paintball in the United States]]

== References ==

# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/la/index.shtml WARPIG — “PSP LA Open 2003”, 5–9 March 2003. Contemporary report, venue, formats and five-player and ten-player winners.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/vegas/index.shtml WARPIG — “PSP 2003 Las Vegas Open”, 30 April–4 May 2003. Contemporary report, divisional winners and merger of the Professional and Amateur ten-player classes.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/chicago/index.shtml WARPIG — “PSP Chicago Open”, 18–22 June 2003. Contemporary tournament report and winners.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/philly/index.shtml WARPIG — “PSP Philly Open 2003”, August 2003. Contemporary report, X-Ball ranking arrangements and NXL competition.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/cup/index.shtml WARPIG — “2003 PSP World Cup”, October 2003. Tournament winners, season champions, Division 3 introduction and inaugural NXL championship.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/mardigras/2003/index.shtml WARPIG — “Mardi Gras Open”, 20–23 February 2003. Contemporary report of the opening NXL matches and weather disruption.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2006/texas/ WARPIG — “PSP Texas Open”, 16–19 February 2006. Historical account confirming that PSP produced the Mardi Gras Open outside its five-event championship series.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/leagues/1 PBLeagues — PSP Events archive. Surviving 2003 listings include Chicago, Philadelphia and World Cup.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/la/divisionx.shtml WARPIG — “PSP LA Open 2003: Division 1 and Division 2 X-Ball Scoreboard”, March 2003.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/psp/2003/philly/5pre.shtml WARPIG — “PSP Philly Open 2003: Five-player Scoreboard”, August 2003.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/mardigras/2003/nxl_rosters.shtml WARPIG — “NXL Rosters from the Mardi Gras Open”, February 2003.]

[[Category:Paintball Sports Promotions]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in the United States]]
[[Category:Paintball tournament results]]
[[Category:2000s in American paintball]]
[[Category:2003 in paintball]]