There comes a time in every paintball player's "career" when they consider getting into playing competitive tournament paintball. Now, there are a few different types of tournaments throughout the country with some of the main ones being NXL, ICPL, USXBL, MAXL. Depending on the league or promoter, the rules and regulations may differ. Before signing up for any tournament be sure to read through the rule book so you are always prepared. It always stings to lose a point by neglecting to understand the rules. With the different leagues comes different formats. These can range from pump-only to 10.5 BPS with NXL Ramp Settings as well as 1v1(Duels) up to 10v10 on larger scale hyperball fields. To keep it simple for a first-time tournament paintball player guide, we are going to be discussing what is needed to get into playing the entry level 3 Man Tournament within the NXL.
Commitment
Before we talk about the details surrounding getting prepared and practicing for the event, let's talk about the cost commitment. Given this is the 3 Man series, the costs are much more reasonable compared to playing in the 5 Man series. This in turn makes it a much more enjoyable and affordable option for people who want to test the waters. For 2024 the team entry fee disparity was $300 for 3 Man Beginner and $2500 for D5 5 Man X-Ball.
Cost Breakdowns
Entry Fee: This is split up between the amount of guys you have on your team. In most cases you will have 3 to 4 guys so this will come out to roughly $75-$100 per player.
Membership: In order to play in the NXL you need to have a MLPB player's membership. As of 2024 this cost $65 and includes a few nice perks! One of the nice one's is insurance for all team sanctioned events whether it is a practice or an actual tournament!
Paint: The cost of paint will vary depending on vendor and how long you last within the tournament. For your typical NXL 3 Man event, you can expect to play a guaranteed 8-10 points depending on total teams entered. The last event our team played we were able to get HK Army cases @ $20 a pop. We made it all the way to Quarter Finals, and I used roughly 3-4 cases. When talking to the 5 Man NXL teams, they are typically going through 40+ cases an event which adds up rather quickly even with the extra bodies.
Misc: Outside of the main 3 costs above, the rest will vary depending on the distance needed to travel to said event as well as food and water to stay fueled throughout the day. In total based on the numbers above, for a 4 person, 3 Man team, you are looking at roughly $200 to get in the door and have paint for the day.
Decision Making
Now that the costs are out of the way and you are still committed to playing in your first event, this is when the fun starts to happen! In order to sign up and register you will need to create an account on PBLeauges.com. This is free to do so and when you will need to give your player ID to your team leader as well as sign up for the MLPB Membership mentioned above.
When it comes to decisions, you will need to decide if you would like to get custom jerseys made, wear similar colors, have t-shirts made, the options are truly endless. Don't let the thought of getting a custom jersey made deter you. There are a ton of companies out there with extremely affordable options with great products. I highly suggest reaching out to CRBN Paintball and signing up for their Team Program. Design fees are some of the lowest out there if not THE lowest and their quality is unmatched. Take a look today at CRBN Paintball Team Program.
What to bring non-paintball related? This is a decision that gets talked about up until the day of the event. I would say less is more to this regard since you will need to lug all of your gear and extras to the fields. This is typically not a short walk so think about what you are carrying in and if it would be a pain to do so after grinding all day! At the minimum I would include the following:
Cooler for Drinks - HYDRATION IS KEY!
Cooler for Paint - most of the time we are playing in the blazing heat so keeping that paint in a controlled environment is huge to consistency in accuracy. Some people will get dry ice and layer the bottom with that and put cardboard the divide the bags and ice. I would say this is a little extreme for a first tournament and we had no issues just keeping the bags/filled pods in an empty cooler.
Chairs - Granted you can sit on the ground just fine but after some long points it's extremely relaxing to have a chair to kick back in and discuss what happened with your team.
Shade/Canopy - I would say this is the biggest one outside of having a cooler for drinks. You will see guys lined up along the fences trying to get every bit of shade they can. I highly suggest getting a folding canopy to keep you and your team out of the sun. At the very least snag a couple golf umbrellas to shade yourselves.
Preparation:
In order to be ready for your first tournament, there are a few things you need to do in preparation.
Calls/Naming System: I would say this was the biggest game changer for us in getting ready for our first tournament. There are a few different styles that will vary depending on where you play. Take the time to go over your current practice field layout and go through each bunker and agree on a naming convention. Make sure that this can be used regardless of what side of the field you are playing on. There will be a few bunkers that will flip with you but 90% will be the same regardless of which start box you are in. A good starting point would be utilizing a similar criterion to the below.
Snake side: Use words that start with the letter S, this will help with registering quickly that the call is for a snake side bunker.
Dorito side: Use words that start with the letter D, this will help with registering quickly that the call is for a dorito side bunker.
Snake and Dorito Corner: This is when I will reference an acronym I like to use called KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. Snake Corner and Dorito Corner work best in these situations.
Back Center: Home is typically used here and is easy to convey.
The goal is to have an easy to memorize, easy to communicate system to which your team is familiar with. Have some fun with it and throw in some goofy names. I would always get a kick out of it when I hear a team yell out "BABY! BABY!" which means there is a "baby" dorito in the layout and someone is currently playing it.
Positions: If you are already thinking of playing in a tournament and have gotten this far, you probably have a good idea of what position would best suit you. That is great, it's good to have a personal understanding of YOUR skillset. In order to operate as a team, you need to have an understanding of EVERYONE'S skillsets. Take the time to walk the field and talk through how each person plays a specific bunker. Understanding their techniques will help you home in on your own skills, have each other get behind the bunker and shadow play it as you would. Let the other know what you can see and where they need to tighten it up at. Discuss shots and what part of the field you will be mainly working. All of these things are intuitive to having a smooth, flowing, operationally sound team.
Layout: The official layout usually gets released a week or so prior to the event. There are a few instances where a "blind" layout is used but 99% of the time there will be knowledge of it ahead of time. Make sure you study this. There are a few resources out there like GunzUp Paintball that allow you to virtually walk the field and see angles you would be able to on paper. Bring paper copies with to the field so you can take notes while practicing. Below is an example of how you can utilize the virtual field layouts on GunzUp Paintball.
Day of Event:
Now comes the day you have been waiting for. All the blood, sweat, & tears put in at practice. The hours commuting to the field. It's finally time to see what this whole tournament paintball thing is all about! At the end of the day, 99% of us will not be going pro so the goal here is to just have a fun time with your friends and maybe win a couple trophies if you can! In order to have a smooth stress-free time at your first NXL event I will close out with the following suggestions.
Show up early - Get there with plenty of time to get situated, pick up paint, and stretch before the games start for the day. You will have to go to the vendors booth in order to get your paint tickets so make sure to plan that around your games.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate! - Drink water and electrolytes throughout the day. Even if you aren't thristy, DRINK! Your body needs that in order to think quickly and have energy to move around.
Chrono - There will be chrono stations setup in between each of the fields. Be sure to get your marker dialed in before you are scheduled to play. While you are doing this, this would be a good time to ensure your tournament lock is set on your marker. When entering the filed, the ref may have you shoot a couple single shots to check velocity, but they also may check for BPS as well. Your BPS should not fluctuate throughout the day but be sure to check your velocity periodically in case of any spikes. You don't want to catch a silly penalty for that!
HAVE FUN! - As mentioned before, just go out there and have a good time! There is no need to be getting upset and taking this too seriously. Everyone is there for the same reason and that is to get their feet wet in the tournament scene and have a great time with likeminded individuals!
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