The 2011 paintball season has come to a close and the paintball community is taking stock and preparing for next year. Back in July we uncovered a secret meeting in Las Vegas, NV between the major US paintball leagues. The subject of that meeting was one that many paintball players and fans take seriously – a merger and unified format for paintball. Response to the pro paintball league merger rumors (and semi-official announcements) was overwhelmingly positive. Those in favor wanted to see both a unified format and a unified push to bring paintball into the mainstream. Many in the community commented that by combining the NPPL and the PSP, paintball would be in a strong position to grow the game. The NPPL would bring the marketing muscle and a wealth of outside industry contacts while the PSP would bring the dominant game format, event experience and player database. Dream come true, right?

The paintball community has been awaiting for an update to the news and rumors concerning the much rumored paintball league merger. During the 2011 PSP World Cup Webcast final match between Tampa Bay Damage and Russian Legion, Dave Youngblood mentioned that the merger was almost complete and to look forward to official announcements in the coming weeks. Two weeks later, the PSP and NPPL met again in Las Vegas, NV at the 2011 NPPL Championships and tried to seal the deal. Sources suggested this would be a “closing” meeting and the deal was “basically” done. Unfortunately we don’t have specifics on the meeting but we do know the meeting took a nasty turn.

ProPaintball insiders figured that the two parties would come to their senses after the season wound down and finish the deal. This however was wishful thinking.

According to very credible ProPaintball insiders, the Paintball League Merger is off the table – Update, an official release has been issued. Each league is said to be going its own way and continuing in a “business as usual” manner.

Is this a major win or an epic fail for paintball? Sound off in the comments below.