Editing US Paintball League


The '''US Paintball League''' ('''USPL''') was an American professional [[paintball]] tournament organisation established in January 2009 following the collapse of the previous operating company of the [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL). Formed by a group of 16 professional teams, the USPL continued national seven-player competition under a player-owned organisational structure.[1][2]

The league held four national tournaments during 2009, including the Huntington Beach Surf City Open, West Coast Open, DC Challenge and Las Vegas World Championships. It subsequently acquired rights to the NPPL name, with the tournament circuit returning to NPPL branding for the 2010 season.[3][4]

== History ==

=== Formation (2009) ===

In December 2008, Pacific Paintball announced the liquidation of its assets, including the NPPL Super 7 World Series.

The announcement followed financial difficulties that prevented the organisation from continuing its previous operations.

In January 2009, representatives of 16 professional teams established the US Paintball League to continue national seven-player tournament competition.

The new organisation appointed former NPPL president [[Chuck Hendsch]] as commissioner.

Camille Lemanski was named general manager, while Tom Cole, another former NPPL president, was appointed ultimate judge.[1][2]

The USPL adopted a player-owned structure intended to give participating professional teams greater involvement in league management.

Its organisers proposed lower entry fees, larger prize packages and greater opportunities for amateur teams.

The league also announced plans for eastern and western regional conferences, although its final 2009 tournament schedule differed from the original six-event proposal.[1][5]

=== Huntington Beach Surf City Open ===

The USPL held its inaugural tournament from 3 to 5 April 2009 at Huntington Beach, California.

The venue had previously hosted the opening event of the NPPL Super 7 World Series.

The competition featured professional and amateur seven-player divisions, alongside five-player competition.

[[DC Arsenal]] won the professional division, defeating [[San Diego Dynasty]] in the finals.

Dynasty Entourage won Division 1, Arsenal Predators won Division 2 and Sadistik won Division 3.[3]

=== West Coast Open ===

The second USPL national tournament was the West Coast Open, held from 24 to 26 July 2009 at SC Village in Corona, California.

The event continued the league's seven-player professional and amateur competitions.

It formed part of the four-event national championship season.[6]

=== DC Challenge ===

The third tournament took place from 28 to 30 August 2009 at Pev's Paintball Park in Aldie, Virginia.

The competition included professional and amateur seven-player divisions, five-player competition and a pump division.

DC Arsenal won the professional division, with Oakland Blast finishing second and San Diego Dynasty third.

Dynasty Entourage won Division 1, Arsenal Predators won Division 2 and Wired won Division 3.

Devotion won the five-player Division 3 competition, while Indy Mutiny won the pump division.[7][8]

=== Las Vegas World Championships ===

The fourth and final tournament of the 2009 season took place from 16 to 18 October at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event was promoted as the Las Vegas World Paintball Championships.

The competition included professional and amateur seven-player divisions, five-player competition and open pump play.

The tournament also incorporated a trade exhibition, continuing the commercial exhibition format associated with previous NPPL championships.[9]

=== Return to NPPL branding ===

During 2009, the USPL obtained rights to the NPPL name.

For the 2010 season, the national tournament circuit operated under the NPPL identity.

The change restored the established league name while continuing national seven-player competition.

The NPPL subsequently operated through 2013 before announcing the suspension of its national series in 2014.[4][10]

== Competition format ==

The USPL retained the seven-player tournament format previously associated with the NPPL Super 7 World Series.

The 2009 season included professional and amateur divisions.

The league also offered five-player competition and pump divisions at selected events.

The USPL introduced a revised classification structure intended to accommodate players previously registered in the NPPL and [[Paintball Sports Promotions]] circuits.

Its 2009 rulebook included provisions governing player classifications, rosters and divisional eligibility.[11]

== 2009 season ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Event
! Dates
! Location
|-
| Surf City Open
| 3–5 April 2009
| Huntington Beach, California
|-
| West Coast Open
| 24–26 July 2009
| Corona, California
|-
| DC Challenge
| 28–30 August 2009
| Aldie, Virginia
|-
| World Championships
| 16–18 October 2009
| Las Vegas, Nevada
|}

The four events formed the completed USPL national tournament schedule for 2009.[3][6][7][9]

== Documented tournament results ==

=== Professional division ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Event
! Winner
! Source
|-
| Surf City Open
| [[DC Arsenal]]
| [3]
|-
| DC Challenge
| [[DC Arsenal]]
| [7]
|}

The table includes only results directly confirmed by the cited contemporary tournament reports.

=== DC Challenge divisional results ===

{| class="wikitable"
! Division
! Winner
|-
| Professional seven-player
| DC Arsenal
|-
| Division 1 seven-player
| Dynasty Entourage
|-
| Division 2 seven-player
| Arsenal Predators
|-
| Division 3 seven-player
| Wired
|-
| Division 3 five-player
| Devotion
|-
| Pump five-player
| Indy Mutiny
|}

The results are recorded in contemporary WARPIG reporting and official USPL announcements.[7][8]

== Relationship with the NPPL ==

The USPL and NPPL were closely related but were not identical organisations at the time of the USPL's establishment.

The USPL was formed following the liquidation of the company operating the previous NPPL tournament series.

Its professional-team ownership structure distinguished it from the earlier organisation.

The new league retained the seven-player format, selected venues and personnel associated with the NPPL.

The acquisition of the NPPL name subsequently allowed the tournament circuit to resume operating under the NPPL identity in 2010.[1][2][4]

== See also ==

* [[National Professional Paintball League]]
* [[Chuck Hendsch]]
* [[Paintball Sports Promotions]]
* [[DC Arsenal]]
* [[San Diego Dynasty]]
* [[SC Village]]
* [[History of tournament paintball]]

== References ==

# [https://warpig.com/paintball/articles/news/uspl_founding09/ WARPIG, Bill Mills, "US Paintball League Seeks to Fill Gap Left by NPPL", January 2009. Contemporary coverage of the league's formation, ownership and management.]
# [https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-xpm-2009-01-28-hbi-paintball012909-story.html Los Angeles Times, Candice Baker, "H.B. Paintball Tournament Gets Another Shot", 28 January 2009.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/uspl/2009/hb/ WARPIG, "USPL Huntington Beach", 3–5 April 2009. Tournament coverage and results.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/uspl/2010/hb/ WARPIG, "NPPL Huntington Beach 2010". Contemporary coverage of the restored NPPL competition.]
# [https://www.uspaintballleague.com/dev_subdomain/news/3/ US Paintball League, "A Letter to the Players from the US Paintball League Commissioner", January 2009. Official statement of the league's proposed competition structure.]
# [https://www.uspaintballleague.com/dev_subdomain/news/34/ US Paintball League, "USPL Affiliate Paintball League Program", 2009. Official announcement identifying the West Coast Open dates and SC Village venue.]
# [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/uspl/2009/DCOpen/index.shtml WARPIG, "USPL DC Challenge", 28–30 August 2009. Tournament coverage and results.]
# [https://www.uspaintballleague.com/dev_subdomain/news/66/ US Paintball League, "Congratulations to the DC Challenge Champions!", 2009. Official divisional results.]
# [https://www.uspaintballleague.com/dev_subdomain/news/68/ US Paintball League, "Las Vegas World Paintball Championships", 2009. Official tournament announcement.]
# [https://paintballruinedmylife.com/2016/09/05/nppl-will-be-back-in-2017/ Paintball Ruined My Life, Brad Johnson, "NPPL Will Be Back in 2017", 5 September 2016. Retrospective covering the USPL and later NPPL seasons.]
# [https://www.uspaintballleague.com/pdf/NPPL-Rulebook-2009.pdf US Paintball League, "2009 NPPL Rulebook". Official competition regulations and divisional classifications.]

== External links ==

* [https://www.uspaintballleague.com/ US Paintball League archived website]
* [https://warpig.com/paintball/articles/news/uspl_founding09/ WARPIG: Formation of the USPL]
* [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/uspl/2009/hb/ WARPIG: 2009 Huntington Beach tournament]
* [https://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/uspl/2009/DCOpen/index.shtml WARPIG: 2009 DC Challenge]

[[Category:Paintball organisations]]
[[Category:Paintball tournaments]]
[[Category:American paintball organisations]]
[[Category:Defunct paintball leagues]]