Paintball Magazine Paintball Media Magazine April 2019 | Page 21

The 2019 National Xball League season
started off as it has since taking the reins
from the PSP with its inaugural event taking
place at the Craig Ranch Regional Park in Las
Vegas, Nevada in early March. While west
coast pro/am competitive paintball events
have seen a decline in participation the past
decade, this year’s event bucked the trend
with the highest team total in more than ten
years. With that the NXL has been drawing
more teams across the board in the U.S. than
anyone in a long, long time.
The venue chose again for the Las Vegas
Open is located about twenty minutes from
the downtown and the strip areas and it’s
close to all of the attractions, the airport,
restaurants and hotels. Eight natural green
grass, flat fields were used for the event, all a
short walk from the parking lots and the trade
show. Some of the vendors present were GI
Sportz, Virtue Paintball, Planet Eclipse, HK
Army, Carbon, Gog/Luxe, Ninja Paintball,
and newcomer to U.S. paintball, Pro Shar.
Setting The Stage
At the end of the 2018 season Chicago
Aftershock had announced it was retiring
from the NXL and would be competing in the
ICPL (International Classic Paintball League),
leaving a spot open in the pro division. Three-
time 2018 event winners and series champs,
San Diego Aftermath would step up for 2018.
There’s a new number one seed coming into
this NXL season in the Pro Division. For the
first time in three years Edmonton Impact will
not start a season ranked first, as Houston
Heat now holds that honor after taking the
2018 pro title. The pressure is on San Diego
Dynasty and San Antonio X-Factor. For
Dynasty to go a season without a major win
as they did in 2018 is almost unheard of. But
is it a trend or an outlier? And X-Factor has
been hanging around the pro finals for years
without a win.
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