South Africa won the 3-player division of the UPBF Women's Paintball World Championship in Prague in May 2018. It was the first time South Africa had sent a women's team to compete at this level, and the first year the UPBF ran a 3-player women's division.
A first for South Africa
The championship was held from 25 to 27 May 2018 in conjunction with the second leg of the NXL Europe Open. The UPBF added a 3-player division to the usual 5-player division so that smaller countries still working to bring more women into the sport could enter. That allowed South Africa to send a three-woman national team for the first time. SANPA invited supporters to follow the team on social media and on the live webcast broadcast by GoSportz.
Six countries took part: France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, Panama and South Africa.
The games
| Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group | Panama | Won 2–1, with the deciding point in overtime |
| Group | Russia | Lost 4–2 |
| Group | France | Won 3–0 |
| Final | Russia | Won |
In the group game against Russia, a mix-up at the start meant South Africa was not yet on the field and Russia ran through to take the first point in about 12 seconds. The team recovered and played the rest of the game, but lost.
In the final, Russia took the first point. In the second, with two South African players out, the last South African player took out all three Russian players to level the game. South Africa went on to take the next point, and with 1:40 left on the clock held its ground until time ran out. South Africa were the first 3-player Women's World Champions of the UPBF.
The UPBF record agrees: Women 3-Player, 1st, 2018.
Thanks
SANPA thanked GI Sportz and Blades and Triggers, the national paintball sponsors that made the trip possible, and Anthrax Paintballs for the jerseys and off-field gear.
The women's team returned in 2019 to defend the title. See six national teams at the 2019 World Championships and the results page.
