In the four years that the NPPL played at
Urban Assault (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000)
two mounds fields were used—along with
several woodsball fields. It’s historically
significant to note that the mounds fields
were introduced before Hyperball and
airball as mentioned above—so they were
the first ten-man open-concept fields used
in the U.S. The mounds fields were also
trendsetting in that spectators were finally
able to watch professional paintball games
from literally inches from the playing fields.
And just a year later open concept fields
and spectating became the norm as it still
is today.
Considering its history, I’m not at all
surprised that interest in playing the
mounds fields was high for the Iron City
Classic both last year and even more so
this year, especially for old school players
that played them in the past. In my playing
days with Bad Company I can’t recall any
fields I enjoyed playing more than these.
That sentiment was echoed by many that
attended the 2017 and 2018 versions of
these famous fields.
The Iron City Classic
Fifty four ten-man teams registered and
played in the 2018 Iron City Classic,
including many teams that date back to
the original mounds fields day—teams like
the All Americans, Bad Company, Image,
Saberwolves, Farside and more. Then there
were teams that came along just a few years
after the original mounds fields days of
the mid-1990s. Some of those teams were
Brimstone Smoke, Gridlock, Los Angeles
Infamous and San Antonio X-Factor to
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