Editing 2004 Mardi Gras Open

The '''2004 Mardi Gras Open''' was a [[paintball]] tournament held from 12 to 15 February 2004 at the Alario Center in the New Orleans area of Louisiana, United States. Produced by [[Paintball Sports Promotions]] (PSP), it combined five-player competition with [[National Xball League]] (NXL) matches.[1][2]

== PSP status ==
PSP organised the Mardi Gras Open ahead of its main tournament series, which began at Pomona in March. During the event's final rounds, [[Steve Rabackoff]] purchased the Mardi Gras Open from PSP.[1]

== Five-player competition ==
Four classifications competed: Professional, Amateur, Novice and Rookie. The scoring system awarded four points per elimination, two per surviving player, twenty for a flag pull and fifty for a flag hang, with a maximum of 100 points per game.[3]

The following totals are final-round points.[3]

{| class="wikitable"
! Division !! Position !! Team !! Final-round points
|-
| rowspan="4" | Professional
| 1 || Legacy || 292
|-
| 2 || [[Naughty Dogs]] || 206
|-
| 3 || Ferg's Paintball || 100
|-
| 4 || Godspeed || 20
|-
| rowspan="4" | Amateur
| 1 || Blackout || 200
|-
| 2 || Diesel/Shocktech || 140
|-
| 3 || Evil Odyssey || 132
|-
| 4 || Doc's Raiders || 59
|-
| rowspan="4" | Novice
| 1 || Momma's Boys || 284
|-
| 2 || Diesel || 210
|-
| 3 || Surge || 92
|-
| 4 || Spent All-stars || 44
|-
| rowspan="4" | Rookie
| 1 || Blackout Kidz || 290
|-
| 2 || Fuel || 206
|-
| 3 || Swat Paintball.com || 100
|-
| 4 || Ratco Factory || 24
|}

=== Professional and Amateur ===
All four Professional teams advanced to the finals. Legacy won all three final-round games, finishing ahead of Naughty Dogs, which had led the preliminary round with 770 points.[3]

Four of the six Amateur teams advanced. Blackout qualified fourth before winning the division with 200 final-round points, ahead of Diesel/Shocktech.[3]

=== Novice and Rookie ===
Twelve Novice teams advanced into three semi-final groups. The group winners progressed alongside one wild-card team. Momma's Boys and Dislexic Dogs tied on 212 semi-final points; Momma's Boys received the final place through its higher preliminary ranking. Momma's Boys then won all three final-round games.[3]

Sixteen Rookie teams advanced into four semi-final groups. Blackout Kidz qualified for the finals with 224 points and won all three final-round games to take the title.[3]

== National Xball League ==
Rain prevented NXL play on Saturday. A Thursday match between Oakland and Miami was deferred because of insufficient daylight.[1]

Selected documented results were:[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Day !! Team !! Score !! Opponent
|-
| Thursday || [[Miami Effect]] || 9–8 || [[Los Angeles Ironmen]]
|-
| Thursday || [[Philadelphia Americans]] || 8–8 || [[Team Strange|Detroit Strange]]
|-
| Friday || [[Baltimore Trauma]] || 9–8 || [[Chicago Aftershock]]
|-
| Friday || [[Team Strange|Detroit Strange]] || 13–6 || [[Los Angeles Ironmen]]
|-
| Sunday || [[Miami Effect]] || 9–8 || [[New York Xtreme]]
|}

=== Legacy expansion ===
The NXL announced Legacy as its first expansion franchise during the event. Owned by Gary Shows, San Diego Legacy was scheduled to begin NXL competition at Pomona.[1]

== See also ==
* [[2003 Mardi Gras Open]]
* [[Paintball Sports Promotions]]
* [[National Xball League]]

== References ==
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/mardigras/2004/index.shtml Dawn Mills, WARPIG — Mardi Gras Open 2004, 12–15 February 2004. Contemporary report covering PSP's involvement, the tournament sale, NXL results and Legacy's expansion franchise.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/leagues/1 PBLeagues — PSP Events archive. Mardi Gras Open, 12–15 February 2004.]
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/mardigras/2004/scores.shtml WARPIG — Mardi Gras Open 2004 scoreboard. Five-player preliminary, semi-final and final results.]

== External links ==
* [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/mardigras/2004/index.shtml WARPIG contemporary coverage, photographs and video links]

[[Category:Paintball Sports Promotions events]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in the United States]]
[[Category:Paintball tournament results]]
[[Category:Paintball in Louisiana]]
[[Category:2000s in American paintball]]
[[Category:2004 in paintball]]