Editing 2017 NXL season

The '''2017 NXL season''' was the [[National Xball League]]'s United States tournament season. Its five-event national championship ran from March to November, with [[Edmonton Impact]] winning the professional season title and Sacramento DMG winning Semi-Pro.[1]

== Calendar ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Dates !! Venue !! Location
|-
| [[2017 NXL Las Vegas Open|Las Vegas Open]]
| 17–19 March 2017
| Craig Ranch Regional Park
| North Las Vegas, Nevada
|-
| [[2017 NXL Texas Open|Texas Open]]
| 5–7 May 2017
| Texas Motor Speedway
| Fort Worth, Texas
|-
| [[2017 NXL Atlantic City Open|Atlantic City Open]]
| 23–25 June 2017
| Bader Field
| Atlantic City, New Jersey
|-
| [[2017 NXL Chicago Open|Chicago Open]]
| 8–10 September 2017
| Chicago Gaelic Park
| Oak Forest, Illinois
|-
| [[2017 NXL World Cup|World Cup]]
| 2–5 November 2017
| 6000 West Osceola Parkway
| Kissimmee, Florida
|}

Sources: official event information.[2][3][4][5][6]

=== Winter Classic ===

The [[2017 NXL Winter Classic]] took place on 11–12 February at Austin-Tindall Regional Park in Kissimmee, Florida.[7] Its results were separate from the five-event national championship standings.[1]

[[San Antonio X-Factor]] won Open Pro five-player ahead of Paintball Combine AllStars and [[San Diego Dynasty]]. NRG Elite 2 won Division 2 five-player, while Paintball Combine Planet Eclipse won Division 4 five-player.[8] Contemporary coverage identified it as the first NXL Winter Classic.[9]

== Formats and rules ==

The main national events offered Professional, Semi-Pro and Division 2–4 X-Ball, alongside separate Division 3–5 five-player and Open ten-player competitions. Mechanical five-player competition appeared at the first four championship events, while pump competition was held at Las Vegas and World Cup.[10][11][12][13][14]

The 2017 NXL rulebook defined X-Ball as a timed, multiple-point format with mercy limits. Professional matches had 16 minutes of playing time and ended early if a team established a seven-point lead. The rulebook specified five-point mercy limits for Semi-Pro and Division 2, and four-point limits for Divisions 3 and 4.[15]

For professional matches tied after regulation, the rules provided for five minutes of sudden-death overtime, followed by one-on-one play if necessary.[15]

The league also emphasised enforcement of its goggle chinstrap requirements in 2017. Players were required to wear the manufacturer's chinstrap properly fastened; failure to do so resulted in elimination.[16]

== Professional competition ==

Four teams won professional events. San Diego Dynasty won Las Vegas, [[Houston Heat]] won Texas, and [[Moscow Red Legion]] won Atlantic City. Edmonton Impact won the final two events, Chicago and World Cup.[10][11][12][13][14]

{| class="wikitable"
! Event !! Winner !! Runner-up
|-
| Las Vegas Open || San Diego Dynasty || Edmonton Impact
|-
| Texas Open || Houston Heat || Edmonton Impact
|-
| Atlantic City Open || Moscow Red Legion || [[Tampa Bay Damage]]
|-
| Chicago Open || Edmonton Impact || [[ac Dallas|ac DALLAS]]
|-
| World Cup || Edmonton Impact || San Diego Dynasty
|}

Sources: official event placings.[10][11][12][13][14]

=== Final professional standings ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Position !! Team !! Season points
|-
| 1 || Edmonton Impact || 933
|-
| 2 || San Antonio X-Factor || 808
|-
| 3 || Tampa Bay Damage || 774
|-
| 4 || San Diego Dynasty || 768
|-
| 5 || Houston Heat || 742
|}

Source: final season standings.[1]

== Divisional event winners ==

Team names below follow the individual event records.

{| class="wikitable"
! Division !! Las Vegas[10] !! Texas[11] !! Atlantic City[12] !! Chicago[13] !! World Cup[14]
|-
| Semi-Pro X-Ball
| Sacramento DMG
| Sacramento DMG
| MLKings
| Sacramento DMG
| Sacramento DMG
|-
| Division 2 X-Ball
| PLUMLIFE
| Ralph Boyz
| NRG Elite
| Gulf Coast Hurricanes
| NRG Elite
|-
| Division 3 X-Ball
| Utah Tropics
| TBD Jits
| Narcos
| Palm Beach Vipers
| Carolina Crisis
|-
| Division 4 X-Ball
| Sacramento DMG GOLD
| Texas PhalanX Gray
| HVP Wrecking Crew
| Project Mayhem
| Project Mayhem
|-
| Open ten-player
| San Diego Aftermath
| AAF 2
| Fox 4 Darkside
| DST Alumni
| OUTLAWS
|-
| Division 3 five-player
| Wicked
| West Coast Sharks 3
| DC Justice
| Sauceboyz
| Armagedon GUA
|-
| Division 4 five-player
| Team Bro Army
| Miami DVS
| ThunderCats
| Hostile Ground
| TEAM SPEED GOLD
|-
| Division 5 five-player
| Extreme XSV Silver
| Shut up we're trying
| Detroit Action IV
| Detroit Action IV
| Shut up we're trying
|-
| Mechanical Intermediate five-player
| THE eNMEy
| THE eNMEy
| THE eNMEy
| THE eNMEy
| —
|-
| Open pump five-player
| Dirtbags
| —
| —
| —
| Batteries Not Included
|}

At World Cup, DST Alumni also won Amateur ten-player, while CT Redemption won Amateur 5.5 bps three-player.[14]

== Season champions ==

The following teams finished first in the published season standings for divisions contested across multiple national events.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Division !! First-placed team !! Season points
|-
| Professional X-Ball || Edmonton Impact || 933
|-
| Semi-Pro X-Ball || Sacramento DMG || 464
|-
| Division 2 X-Ball || NRG Elite || 430.06
|-
| Division 3 X-Ball || TBD Jits || 427.61
|-
| Division 4 X-Ball || Project Mayhem || 406.63
|-
| Open ten-player || AAF 2 || 455.79
|-
| Division 3 five-player || West Coast Sharks 3 || 401.42
|-
| Division 4 five-player || LVPP OUTKAST || 408.83
|-
| Division 5 five-player || Detroit Action IV || 263.71
|-
| Open pump five-player || Batteries Not Included || 170
|-
| Mechanical Intermediate five-player || THE eNMEy || 400
|}

=== Two-player competition ===

NXL two-player competition had a separate registration and standings system, encompassing local tournaments and championship events. Greenwich Yacht Club finished first in its published Amateur season standings with 342.47 points.[17]

The NXL 2vs2 World Championship recorded the following winners:[18]

{| class="wikitable"
! Division !! Winner
|-
| Championship Amateur || Boe
|-
| Female Amateur || Charming Destiny
|-
| Novice || MOB 2v2
|-
| Youth || Los Cubanasos
|}

== Promotion and changes to the professional field ==

P.C. Katana entered the 2017 professional division following its 2016 Semi-Pro championship.[19]

After winning the 2017 Semi-Pro title, Sacramento DMG moved into the professional division for 2018. Contemporary reporting in December 2017 confirmed the team's promotion.[20]

The professional division expanded from 16 teams to 20 for 2018, adding Sacramento DMG, New York Xtreme, Scottsdale Elevation and MLKings.[21] Seattle Thunder, which finished last professionally in 2017, remained in the 2018 professional field.[1][22]

== See also ==

* [[National Xball League]]
* [[2016 NXL season]]
* [[2018 NXL season]]
* [[Paintball in the United States]]

== References ==

# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2017 PBLeagues – National XBall League: 2017 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5174/info PBLeagues – 2017 Las Vegas Open: event information.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5460/info PBLeagues – 2017 Texas Open: event information.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5522/info PBLeagues – 2017 Atlantic City Open: event information.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5524/info PBLeagues – 2017 Chicago Open: event information.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5585/info PBLeagues – 2017 World Cup: event information.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/4981/info PBLeagues – 2017 Winter Classic: event information.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/4981/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 Winter Classic: final rankings.]
# [https://paintball.media/san-antonio-x-factor-wins-first-ever-nxl-winter-classic/ Paintball Media – San Antonio X-Factor Wins First-Ever NXL Winter Classic, 15 February 2017.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5174/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 Las Vegas Open: final placings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5460/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 Texas Open: final placings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5522/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 Atlantic City Open: final placings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5524/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 Chicago Open: final placings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5585/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 World Cup: final placings.]
# [https://mvpsevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NXL-RULES-2017reduced.pdf National Xball League – NXL Rules 2017, sections 8 and 9; copy hosted by MVPS.]
# [https://paintball.media/nxl-vegas-update-chin-straps-mandatory-in-2017-related-info/ Paintball Media – NXL Vegas Update: Chin Straps Mandatory in 2017 & Related Info, 13 March 2017.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/371/seasonRankings/2017 PBLeagues – NXL 2vs2 Series: 2017 season rankings.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/5620/rankings PBLeagues – 2017 NXL 2vs2 World Championship: final rankings.]
# [https://paintballruinedmylife.com/2016/12/14/pc-katana-going-pro-2017/ Paintball Ruined My Life – PC Katana Going Pro in 2017, 14 December 2016.]
# [https://paintballruinedmylife.com/tag/sacramento-dmg/ Paintball Ruined My Life – Sacramento DMG archive, including “Shocker RSX Price Drop, Damian Ryan CS1.5 & Pro Paintballs Newest Team”, 11 December 2017.]
# [https://zenandtheartofpaintball.com/tag/laxtremepaintball-2/ Zen and the Art of Paintball – Retrospective comparison of teams entering the professional division, including the 2018 expansion.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/league/316/seasonRankings/2018 PBLeagues – National XBall League: 2018 season rankings.]

[[Category:National Xball League seasons]]
[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]
[[Category:2010s in American paintball]]
[[Category:2017 in paintball]]