Paintball Media Magazine December 2020 | Page 18

It ’ s hard for me to fathom that the World Cup moved from New York to Kissimmee , Florida 26 years ago . The event ’ s history is deep and wide , dating back 30 years to the first ‘ Cup in New York . Back then the top teams in world included the Lords of Discipline , Wild Geese , California Black Diamonds , the New England Grim Reapers and the first World Cup winners , the PMI Piranhas . Traditionally the World Cup is the largest event on the paintball calendar each year , with more teams in attendance than any other event in the world .
The World Cup is not only the biggest yearly event in the world , it is probably the most interesting in terms of the game ’ s history . The Jeremy Salm sniper incident happened at the World Cup ; early World Cup events saw Aftershock become almost unbeatable ; the original NXL Championships were held at the World Cup ; paintball players got to see and meet people like Dick Clark , Penny Marshall , Maurice Gib and Ken Griffey Jr at the ‘ Cup ; season series titles have been decided at the ‘ Cup since the NPPL formed in 1993 ; Dynasty pulled off one of the most amazing finishes at the World Cup in 2015 ; Two pro teams conspired to keep the UK Predators out of the top two spots at the World Cup in New York in 1993 ; Dynasty ’ s first pro win happened at the World Cup 19 years ago ; And the list goes on and on .
Having been to every World Cup , New York included , it feels like yesterday that the first ‘ Cup was played in Florida . Although the World Cup location has moved more than a half-dozen times in its history , its new home on the property of the Gaylord Palms
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