The UPBF Men's Paintball World Cup took place on 5 and 6 July 2018 in Basildon, England, alongside the NXL Europe Open. Fifteen countries took part, each sending its top players. South Africa's national Men's team reached the quarter-finals.
The group stage
South Africa was drawn in a group with Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group | Germany | Lost 4–2 |
| Group | Luxembourg | Won 4–1 |
| Group | Belgium | Won 4–1 |
| Quarter-final | Russia | Lost 4–0 |
The Germany game was close. South Africa pulled level at 3–3 late on with a point scored in the closing minutes, but Germany eliminated the team and scored the final point with seconds left.
The quarter-final
Two wins were enough to reach the quarter-finals, where South Africa met Russia, one of the strongest countries in paintball. Russia won 4–0, and went on to be the overall champions of the 2018 event.
The UPBF competition history record lists South Africa 8th in Men for 2018. SANPA said at the time that it was proud of the team and of the support from spectators at the event and from home, and that it would build on the experience to grow its national teams.
Thanks
SANPA thanked GI Sportz and Blades and Triggers as national paintball sponsors, Anthrax Paintball for the team's jerseys, and the families, friends and individual sponsors who made it possible for each player to compete.
Earlier that year South Africa's women's team had won a world title: see South Africa's first women's team wins the 3-player world title. All results are on the results page.
