Editing Road 2 Aruba

'''Road 2 Aruba''', also promoted as '''Road to Aruba''', was an international three-player [[paintball]] tournament series organised by [[Brass Eagle]] in 2000 and 2001. Local feeder tournaments and regional competitions qualified teams for a sponsored championship. The 2000 championship was held in [[Aruba]], while the 2001 final took place at [[Challenge Park Xtreme]] near Joliet, Illinois, with a trip to Aruba awarded to the winning team.[1][3]

== Format ==

The series was intended primarily to provide amateur and novice teams with a route from local tournaments to an international final. In 2000, three-player teams entered field-paint-only feeder tournaments. A feeder-tournament victory provided free entry to the appropriate regional tournament, although teams could also enter regional events directly.[1]

Regional winners received travel, accommodation, tournament entry and paint for the championship. Four additional contingency teams qualified for the 2000 final through a draw among teams that had used only Brass Eagle equipment at their regional event.[1]

For 2001, the planned qualifying system comprised eight regions in the United States, three in Canada and one each in South America, South Africa and Europe. Teams placing first, second or third at a feeder event qualified for a regional tournament, whose winner received a sponsored trip to the final at Challenge Park Xtreme.[4]

== 2000 championship ==

The inaugural championship was played on 29 July 2000 beside the Holiday Inn Aruba Resort and Casino on Eagle Beach, Aruba. Fourteen teams were selected from ten regional winners and four contingency qualifiers.[2]

The matches were played inside Brass Eagle's enclosed inflatable Pursuit Park arena, which was erected on the beach. The playing surface was the existing coral sand. Players used Brass Eagle protective equipment and clothing, while professional players including Opie Thomas, Chris Cole and Pete Bofill served as referees.[1]

The Shadow Men were delayed while travelling to Miami and could not reach Aruba until after the competition. Following a vote at the captains' meeting, the local team Aruba Madness took their place in the playing schedule.[1]

The four leading teams after the preliminary stage advanced to a final round. The [[Bushwackers]] won all three of their final-round games and became the inaugural champions.[1]

{| class="wikitable"
! Place
! Team
! Final-round points
|-
| 1
| [[Bushwackers]]
| 297
|-
| 2
| Sharp Shooters
| 201
|-
| 3
| Ball Breakers
| 87
|-
| 4
| High Velocity
| 27
|}

== 2001 championship ==

The 2001 final was held at Challenge Park Xtreme near Joliet, Illinois, on 8–9 September. Although fourteen regional places had been planned, twelve teams competed in the final.[3][4] Rather than staging the championship in Aruba, the organisers recreated its theme at Challenge Park Xtreme and offered the winning team a holiday in Aruba.[3]

Matches were played in the enclosed Pursuit Park inflatable arena. Each game had a five-minute time limit. The scoring system awarded 50 points for a flag hang, 20 for a flag pull, seven for each opposing player eliminated and three for each surviving player, permitting a maximum score of 100 points.[3]

The twelve teams played 72 preliminary matches. War Machine, Xpress, BAM and Surge 2 advanced to a round-robin final. The standings remained close until the last match, in which Surge 2 defeated BAM to secure the championship ahead of War Machine. The winning Surge 2 line-up was Joe Hickox, Ed Ramsey and Travis Middlebrook.[3]

{| class="wikitable"
! Place
! Team
! Represented region
|-
| 1
| Surge 2
| Colorado
|-
| 2
| War Machine
| Washington
|-
| 3
| BAM
| Illinois
|-
| 4
| Xpress
| Texas
|-
| 5
| Edge
| 
|-
| 6
| Beach Boyz
| 
|-
| 7
| Mortadelos
| South America
|-
| 8
| Special K
| 
|-
| 9
| Rage 1
| South Africa
|-
| 10
| Tin Men
| 
|-
| 11
| Missouri Magic
| Missouri
|-
| 12
| OPP
| 
|}

== Successor ==

Brass Eagle subsequently introduced the '''Road to World Cup''' tournament programme, which the company described as a sequel to Road to Aruba. Its prize structure included trips to the [[Paintball World Cup]] and a championship at Challenge Park Xtreme.[5]

== See also ==

* [[Brass Eagle]]
* [[Challenge Park Xtreme]]
* [[Bushwackers]]
* [[Aruba Open]]

== References ==

# [https://warpig.com/paintball/tournament/aruba/2000/index.shtml Bill Mills, “Brass Eagle Road To Aruba Championships”, WARPIG, July 2000.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/articles/pressreleases/arubawin.shtml “Road to Aruba”, Brass Eagle press release reproduced by WARPIG, 17 July 2000.]
# James R. “Mad Dog” Morgan Sr., “Road 2 Aruba 2001”, ''Action Pursuit Games'', March 2002, pp. 80–85.
# [https://warpig.com/paintball/articles/pressreleases/cpx.shtml “Brass Eagle's Ultimate Paintball Extravaganza at Challenge Park Xtreme”, WARPIG.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/articles/pressreleases/bertwc.shtml “Brass Eagle's Road to World Cup”, Brass Eagle press release reproduced by WARPIG, 2002.]

[[Category:Paintball tournament series]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments in the United States]]
[[Category:Paintball in Aruba]]
[[Category:2000 in paintball]]
[[Category:2001 in paintball]]