Editing 2015 Paintball World Cup Asia

The '''2015 Paintball World Cup Asia''' was an international paintball tournament held from 30 October to 1 November 2015 at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. It formed part of the [[Paintball Asia League Series]] (PALS) and featured four divisional competitions alongside an Open X-Ball competition for national teams.[1][2]

Thailand's Aisawan won Division 1, defeating Cobra Kai 2–1 in the final. The United States won Open X-Ball with a 4–0 victory over France.[2][5]

== Opening ceremony ==

The opening ceremony featured a parade of national teams carrying their countries' flags. Host [[Amber Wong]] introduced the teams as they entered and assembled in front of the stage. The programme included speeches by members of Malaysian royalty and a march-past by local military personnel.[6]

== Competition format ==

The published event programme specified RaceTo-4 matches with ten-minute game times for Open X-Ball and Division 1. Division 2 used RaceTo-3 with eight-minute game times, while Division 3 used RaceTo-2 with six-minute game times. Mechanical Division 4 was advertised as RaceTo-1 with five-minute game times.[1]

== Divisional results ==

Inception Aisawan won Division 2, Singapore's Imperia won Division 3, and Malaysia's WTF Dragonflyz won Mechanical Division 4.[2]

{| class="wikitable"
! Division !! First !! Second !! Third !! Fourth
|-
| Division 1 X-Ball || Aisawan || Cobra Kai || KTM Nemesis Legion || Infernal
|-
| Division 2 RaceTo-3 || Inception Aisawan || SPEED || Lost Votolocos || PC Gridlock
|-
| Division 3 RaceTo-2 || Imperia || Outlaws Uprising || Ariyaman Ladies || SPEED Overshoot
|-
| Mechanical Division 4 || WTF Dragonflyz || MPJBT Tigers || RWD Jogja || MPPP Resistance
|}

Placings are recorded in the PBLeagues event rankings.[2]

=== Division 1 knockout matches ===

The following results were recorded on 1 November.[5]

In the quarter-final between Aisawan and Australia's STK, Aisawan led 2–1 with just over a minute remaining. STK equalised with nine seconds left, taking the match into overtime. In his contemporary report, Dwayne Nicholls described a penalty against STK during the deciding point before Aisawan advanced to the semi-finals.[6]

{| class="wikitable"
! Stage !! Winning team !! Score !! Losing team
|-
| Quarter-final || Aisawan || 3–2 || STK
|-
| Quarter-final || Infernal || 3–0 || Raskal Malaysia
|-
| Quarter-final || KTM Nemesis Legion || 3–2 || Xtioneers
|-
| Quarter-final || Cobra Kai || 4–0 || Reaper AllStars
|-
| Semi-final || Aisawan || 3–2 || Infernal
|-
| Semi-final || Cobra Kai || 3–1 || KTM Nemesis Legion
|-
| Third-place match || KTM Nemesis Legion || 4–1 || Infernal
|-
| Final || Aisawan || 2–1 || Cobra Kai
|}

=== Division 2 knockout matches ===

The following quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches were recorded on 1 November.[5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Stage !! Winning team !! Score !! Losing team
|-
| Quarter-final || PC Gridlock || 2–1 || FL Charms
|-
| Quarter-final || SPEED || 3–2 || Republik CMX
|-
| Quarter-final || Inception Aisawan || 2–1 || Duckside
|-
| Quarter-final || Lost Votolocos || 3–1 || Diversion
|-
| Semi-final || SPEED || 3–0 || PC Gridlock
|-
| Semi-final || Inception Aisawan || 3–0 || Lost Votolocos
|-
| Third-place match || Lost Votolocos || 3–0 || PC Gridlock
|-
| Final || Inception Aisawan || 3–2 || SPEED
|}

=== Division 3 medal rounds ===

Imperia defeated Ariyaman Ladies in the semi-final before beating Outlaws Uprising 2–1 in the final.[5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Stage !! Winning team !! Score !! Losing team
|-
| Semi-final || Outlaws Uprising || 2–0 || SPEED Overshoot
|-
| Semi-final || Imperia || 2–1 || Ariyaman Ladies
|-
| Third-place match || Ariyaman Ladies || 2–0 || SPEED Overshoot
|-
| Final || Imperia || 2–1 || Outlaws Uprising
|}

== Open X-Ball ==

The Open X-Ball competition, also described as the Nations Cup in contemporary coverage, featured twenty national teams.[2][6] The United States finished first, followed by France, Belgium and South Africa. Host nation Malaysia finished eleventh.[2]

The United States team included [[Marcello Margott]], [[Ryan Greenspan]], [[Tim Montressor]] and Greg Siewers. Nicholls' report described vocal support for the Malaysian national team from the home crowd.[6]

Australia opened its campaign with a 4–2 victory over Sweden and a 4–0 win against the Philippines, but was eliminated following defeats by Austria and Norway on the second day.[6]

=== Knockout results ===

The United States defeated Norway in the quarter-final and South Africa in the semi-final before beating France 4–0 in the final. Belgium defeated South Africa 4–1 for third place.[5]

{| class="wikitable"
! Stage !! Winning team !! Score !! Losing team
|-
| Quarter-final || United States || 3–2 || Norway
|-
| Quarter-final || France || 2–1 || Thailand
|-
| Quarter-final || Belgium || 4–0 || Iran
|-
| Quarter-final || South Africa || 3–2 || Austria
|-
| Semi-final || United States || 2–1 || South Africa
|-
| Semi-final || France || 4–1 || Belgium
|-
| Third-place match || Belgium || 4–1 || South Africa
|-
| Final || United States || 4–0 || France
|}

=== Final placings ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Position !! Team
|-
| 1 || United States
|-
| 2 || France
|-
| 3 || Belgium
|-
| 4 || South Africa
|-
| 5 || Austria
|-
| 6 || Iran
|-
| 7 || Thailand
|-
| 8 || Norway
|-
| 9 || Mexico
|-
| 10 || Germany
|-
| 11 || Malaysia
|-
| 12 || Australia
|-
| 13 || Sweden
|-
| 14 || New Zealand
|-
| 15 || Canada
|-
| 16 || Indonesia
|-
| 17 || Singapore
|-
| 18 || India
|-
| 19 || Philippines
|-
| 20 || Brunei
|}

Final placings are recorded in the PBLeagues event rankings.[2]

== Malaysian participation ==

Malaysian podium finishes included KTM Nemesis Legion in Division 1, Lost Votolocos in Division 2, and WTF Dragonflyz and MPJBT Tigers in Mechanical Division 4.[2]

Penang Island City Council's Resistance team finished fourth in Division 4, appearing in the event results as MPPP Resistance. A contemporary report in ''Buletin Mutiara'' identified the team as MBPP Resistance and reported that its fourth place in Langkawi, combined with second place at the Singapore PALS event, secured the overall divisional series title.[2][4]

== See also ==

* [[Paintball World Cup Asia]]
* [[2014 Paintball World Cup Asia]]
* [[2016 Paintball World Cup Asia]]
* [[2015 Paintball Asia League Series]]
* [[Paintball Asia League Series]]
* [[Paintball in Malaysia]]

== References ==

# [https://pbleagues.com/event/4155/info Paintball World Cup 2015, Langkawi, Malaysia: Event information], PBLeagues, event held 30 October–1 November 2015.
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/4155/rankings Rankings: Paintball World Cup 2015, Langkawi, Malaysia], PBLeagues.
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/219/seasonRankings/2015 2015 Season Rankings: Paintball Asia League Series], PBLeagues.
# [https://www.buletinmutiara.com/mbpp-team-paintball-champs/ MBPP Team Paintball Champs], Amanda Khong, ''Buletin Mutiara'', 21 December 2015.
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/4155/schedule Match schedule and scores: Paintball World Cup 2015, Langkawi, Malaysia], PBLeagues, matches played 30 October–1 November 2015.
# [https://newsstand.joomag.com/en/paintball-magazine-december-2015/0556847001449581068 Dwayne Nicholls, "World Cup Asia 2015"], ''Paintball.Media'', December 2015, pp. 24–57. Photographs by Gary Baum and Brian Baum.

[[Category:Paintball tournaments in Malaysia]]
[[Category:Paintball tournament results]]
[[Category:Paintball in Kedah]]
[[Category:2015 in paintball]]
[[Category:2010s in Malaysian paintball]]