[John]

Rumors of the National Paintball League (or NPL) have been swirling for months and I got some of the first real information about their plans in the last few days. The NPL is a new professional only league being started here in the United States from the ground up with the emphasis on making paintball spectator and media friendly. The plan is for no divisional divisions at all and every decision will weigh not just playability but also viewability. That means things like split deck aren't even being considered since nearly everyone agrees it does make it harder to follow a match.

The goal is to show off a format much like old school Xball complete with semi-auto paintball markers and penalty boxes in a league made just to show off professional paintball in the best light possible. One of the changes they do plan to make is limiting paint in some capacity, but nothing as drastic as the two pod rule the Millennium Series used to enforce. The rate of fire has not been finalized to the best of my knowledge.

Obviously, much of this can change and the first event isn't yet scheduled and the first teams haven't even been announced. So this is the time to weigh in.

What would you most like to see as a spectator?

If you play at or near the pro level, what would like to see as a competitor?



David Mullis Photography


EDIT: Limited Paint

Originally Posted by John

The NPL did confirm their plan for "limited paint" is 4 pods + a hopper. Nothing revolutionary, but it does limit players from taking out a dozen pods.

[Intern1]

Nice to see another league throw their hat in the ring. I wonder how many NXL teams will move over to this league, or try and play both. That is if they are allowed too play both.

[John]

The NPL isn't limiting where teams play.

[chase.n]

I would 'like' to see FREE webcasts. Although I realize how unrealistic and terrible business model this is.
Put honestly though, paintball is ONE of MANY sports/hobbies I enjoy and unfortunately it ranks lower than a handful of others I participate in as far as time/money I allot it. Perhaps a free webcast would get me to watch more, then in turn spend/play more paintball? That may not be the case, but it may help people like me turn to paintball more, and have a good long term return on investment. Just wishful thinking

[chase.n]

but I would like to say I am excited for this new league regardless of free webcasts or not. In fact, if no free webcast (most likely scenario) I would love to see high quality recaps of some games

[Intern1]

Originally Posted by John

The NPL isn't limiting where teams play.

That doesn't mean the nxl won't. I really hope they don't, but you never know.

[Relshin]

Originally Posted by chase.n

I would 'like' to see FREE webcasts. Although I realize how unrealistic and terrible business model this is.
Put honestly though, paintball is ONE of MANY sports/hobbies I enjoy and unfortunately it ranks lower than a handful of others I participate in as far as time/money I allot it. Perhaps a free webcast would get me to watch more, then in turn spend/play more paintball? That may not be the case, but it may help people like me turn to paintball more, and have a good long term return on investment. Just wishful thinking

I totally agree. Maybe some kind of deal with Twitch. Get it on the front page, ads can run, and maybe some cool extensions can be made. I've been running twitch streams on a corporate level and not just a solo streamer. It's ****ing great.

[yeahthatsme]

I'm interested to hear how funding will work without lower divisions. Will be very expensive for paint companies also since they will have to deliver paint just for pro teams.

[Uiruru]

Originally Posted by Intern1

That doesn't mean the nxl won't. I really hope they don't, but you never know.

More importantly that doesn't mean sponsors won't limit which league a team can play in.

We saw this back in the PSP vs NPPL days and we all know who won that battle.

[Nor Cal Shocker]

Uncapped semi auto as a player & as a spectator. Uncapped semi takes more skill to shoot with both hands & learn to shoot with both hands on the trigger just as fast. Old school NPPL style. Having capped ROF, IMHO, doesn't teach a player the same skills from left to right shooting (or vice versa).

[xXkillaXx]

Yes. More of this!!

[Trevor the great]

Get rid of split deck, and they’ll have the NXL beat

[#1P8ntballer]

I feel like we're in some odd alternate universe of NPPL vs NXL.


Excited for this though. Hope they have a good revenue model. It'll be more challenging without additional divisional teams.

Would like to see Huntington Beach.

[BMJoker]

The question....Who is behind it?

[Trevor the great]

Originally Posted by chase.n

I would 'like' to see FREE webcasts. Although I realize how unrealistic and terrible business model this is.
Put honestly though, paintball is ONE of MANY sports/hobbies I enjoy and unfortunately it ranks lower than a handful of others I participate in as far as time/money I allot it. Perhaps a free webcast would get me to watch more, then in turn spend/play more paintball? That may not be the case, but it may help people like me turn to paintball more, and have a good long term return on investment. Just wishful thinking

Nothing’s for free, that’s not how the economy works buddy. More spending money equals more jobs and income for everyone, and more jobs and income means more spending money. #trump2020

[vijil]

Hmm.

Well... Good luck to them.

[WillyW0nka]

I don't follow pro paintball much, but I'd happily support this league if it helps divisional and professional events part ways. Pro ball needs to either be its own entity, play in to amateur paintball or not exist.

Nerds, not paying $2600 for D4 entry to subsidize your alleged "pro" tournaments.

[Turbo9922]

I'm excited about this new league. I remember watching the old xball tournament on TV and it's what made me fall in love with the sport. Making paintball a positive TV experience will be huge for the growth of the sport.

[Doctoring]

I love this idea. I’m also super curious how inital teams are picked and if there is a relegation process. I’d love to be able to do anything to help this league too as I’ve believed this is something the sports needed for a long time.

[chase.n]

Originally Posted by Trevor the great

Nothing’s for free, that’s not how the economy works buddy. More spending money equals more jobs and income for everyone, and more jobs and income means more spending money. #trump2020

hey thanks for explaining that 'buddy'.

Funny thing is, I have a comfortable 6-figure salary. I feel like my post explained well that I have other hobbies (more expensive) that draw my time/attention/funds.

I realize nothing is free.

I was suggesting the NPL find ways to fund a webcast without charging a premium. Because, frankly, I am not willing to pay to watch paintball. At least not yet, maybe if I watched some tournaments live I would like it and want to watch more. As of now, I dont have the desire to pay to watch. I'm happy without.

Or as I also suggested, good recaps are sufficient.

[paintballer3]

Honestly. Take the NXL field. Chop it in half long ways. Do 3 on 3 race for 20 minutes. Each team can have 7 players.

Have 5 division in the USA, with 6 teams in each division. South West, North West, Midwest, South, and Northeast.

Each division meets up on a different Sunday and plays 1 match against another team. You can broadcast over TV each match in 1 3 hour block.

After each team plays each team in their division twice. The top team from each division and two wild cards move onto the play Offs

Everyone who is hating on my idea... wgn already did it and it was incredibly successful.
https://youtu.be/uSGNiHFhs2E

Play offs happen at a single event.
First the wild cards play each other. Then each division champion plays each other. Who ever scored the highest during the regular season plays the winner of the wild card match. Play offs continue until only two teams are left. The final teams play in the World Cup.

Want to expand into Europe... just create a new european division.