Editing 2023 WNXL Sunshine State Major

The '''2023 WNXL Sunshine State Major''' was the opening professional tournament of the [[2023 WNXL season]], held from 10 to 12 March 2023 at the NXL World Cup site in Kissimmee, Florida, United States. It formed part of the [[2023 NXL Sunshine State Major]].[1]

Eight teams competed in the professional women's division. [[Destiny]] defeated [[Cheetahs]] 3–1 in the final to secure their first WNXL tournament victory, following three runner-up finishes during the inaugural 2022 season.[2][3]

== Venue and format ==

The venue was the NXL World Cup tournament site at 6000 West Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, Florida.[1]

The professional WNXL competition used Xball, with 15-minute matches and a five-point mercy rule. Each team played four preliminary matches, with the top two teams from each bracket advancing to the semi-finals and then the championship final.[1][2]

== Participating teams ==

The professional field comprised eight teams:[3]

* Cheetahs
* Dallas Vibe
* Destiny
* Femmes Fatale
* New Jersey High Rollers
* Northern Lights
* Sacramento Diamonds
* The Heroines

== Match results ==

=== Preliminary round ===

Each preliminary match is listed once below.[2]

{| class="wikitable"
! Team !! Score !! Opponent
|-
| Femmes Fatale || 4–1 || Dallas Vibe
|-
| Femmes Fatale || 5–0 || Northern Lights
|-
| Femmes Fatale || 3–4 || Sacramento Diamonds
|-
| Femmes Fatale || 3–2 || The Heroines
|-
| The Heroines || 2–3 || Destiny
|-
| The Heroines || 5–0 || Sacramento Diamonds
|-
| The Heroines || 5–0 || Northern Lights
|-
| Sacramento Diamonds || 1–4 || Cheetahs
|-
| Sacramento Diamonds || 5–0 || Northern Lights
|-
| Northern Lights || 3–4 || New Jersey High Rollers
|-
| Cheetahs || 4–0 || Destiny
|-
| Cheetahs || 0–2 || Dallas Vibe
|-
| Cheetahs || 2–0 || New Jersey High Rollers
|-
| Destiny || 4–1 || New Jersey High Rollers
|-
| Destiny || 2–0 || Dallas Vibe
|-
| Dallas Vibe || 4–1 || New Jersey High Rollers
|}

=== Play-offs ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Round !! Team !! Score !! Opponent
|-
| Semi-final || Cheetahs || 4–2 || The Heroines
|-
| Semi-final || Destiny || 4–0 || Femmes Fatale
|-
| Final || Destiny || 3–1 || Cheetahs
|}

Source: official tournament scores.[2]

== Tournament summary ==

Destiny completed the preliminary round with three wins and one defeat, their loss coming against Cheetahs. They then defeated Femmes Fatale 4–0 in the semi-final to reach their fourth consecutive WNXL final.[4]

Cheetahs reached the final by defeating the reigning season champions, The Heroines, 4–2 in the other semi-final.[4]

In the championship match, Destiny established a 3–0 lead. Cheetahs reduced the deficit to 3–1 with approximately two minutes remaining, but Destiny maintained their advantage through the remaining playing time. The victory gave Destiny their first WNXL event title and the opening lead in the season standings.[4]

== Final standings ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Position !! Team !! Event points
|-
| 1 || Destiny || 100
|-
| 2 || Cheetahs || 96
|-
| 3 || The Heroines || 93
|-
| 4 || Femmes Fatale || 90
|-
| 5 || Dallas Vibe || 86
|-
| 6 || Sacramento Diamonds || 84
|-
| 7 || New Jersey High Rollers || 82
|-
| 8 || Northern Lights || 80
|}

Source: official event rankings.[3]

== Women's amateur competition ==

A separate WNXL Amateur five-player competition was listed for Sunday, 12 March, using five-minute games.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Position !! Team !! Event points
|-
| 1 || Carbon || 100
|-
| 2 || Suricatos Women || 96
|}

These team names and results follow the event rankings.[3]

== See also ==

* [[Women's National Xball League]]
* [[2023 NXL Sunshine State Major]]
* [[2022 WNXL World Cup]]
* [[2023 WNXL Windy City Major]]

== References ==

# [https://pbleagues.com/event/7927/info PBLeagues – Sunshine State Major 2023: dates, venue and competition formats.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/7927/scores PBLeagues – NXL Sunshine State Major 2023: WNXL match scores.]
# [https://pbleagues.com/event/7927/rankings PBLeagues – Sunshine State Major 2023: final event rankings.]
# [https://www.iconicpaintball.com/post/dynasty-wins-the-sunshine-state-major-behind-mvp-performance-from-marcello-margott Iconic Paintball – Dynasty wins the Sunshine State Major behind MVP Performance from Marcello Margott, Quinn Nadu, 7 April 2023; archived article originally written for NXLPaintball.com.]

[[Category:Women's paintball]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments]]
[[Category:Paintball in the United States]]
[[Category:2023 in paintball]]