Tom Cole, 2022 Hall of Icons Inductee

The Face

Notable Teams: Bad Company. 
​
Before he was leading the largest tournament series in the World, Tom Cole was first and foremost, an elite pro player and leader of team Bad Company. Tom has always been an ambassador for the game and from his start in the 1990s he was always supporting and promoting the game to a worldwide audience. With Bad Company, Tom did what many thought impossible; he led the team to event wins using entry level, blowback paintball markers from Spyder as the rest of the pro league were using high-powered, electro pneumatic markers. Known as an elite communicator, Tom helped Bad Company win multiple events against the odds. He also developed many players that would become superstars in the pro leagues of the 2000s like JC Whittington, Jason Andre, and Wayne Davis. Tom was critical in player rights and the forming of the NPPL, and he currently is the head of the NXL Professional and Amateur paintball league.