Organized paintball competition is nearly as old as the sport itself, starting with regional tournaments held at National Survival Game locations in 1983 and culminating in the National Survival Game National Championship (Won by Canadian team "The Unknown Rebels" from London, Ontario).



Though tournament paintball was originally played in the woods, the rise in popularity of teams such as Team Dynasty (Then known as the IronKids) in the late 1990s saw speedball become the standard competitive format. The small size of speedball fields brings several advantages to competitive play. The artificial nature of bunkers allows each side of the field to be set up as a mirror image of the other, ensuring that neither team possesses a terrain advantage (as can be the case on woodsball fields). The flat, vegetation-free playing surface makes it easier for officials to see players and make the correct call and, coupled with the small field size, allows spectators to view the entire game at once or be televised. There are many type of tournament rules and regulations for speedball, ranging from the number of players (7 vs. 7, 5 vs. 5, etc.) to time limits. A popular girls team called Team Destiny may help get many females interested in tournament style paintball.

Due to the largely artificial nature of speedball, camouflage is of little strategic use. Clothing with camouflage patterns, common in wooded play, has been largely replaced in tournament play by distinctively colored team uniforms similar to those found in other competitive team sports.