Tournament Report – The Bolt Action World Team Championships

Kieran Leishman is our Tournament Coordinator, providing support to organised play events all over the world. He was invited by the World Team Championships organisers to their 2026 event, held in Denmark. For those who aren’t familiar with the WTC, it’s one of the very largest Bolt Action tournaments, with teams from fifteen nations, and attracts some of the best Bolt Action players in the world! Naturally, we weren’t going to let him jet off on an adventure like this without writing a report for us…

I was delighted to be invited to the World Team Championships in the city of Copenhagen. A city so steeped in history was a fitting venue for what we’re pretty certain is the largest Bolt Action tournament so far. A whopping 120 players had travelled from across the globe to take part in this exciting event, from as far afield as Australia and Canada.

Each of these players had come to play at the highest level of competitive Bolt Action, with hyper-optimised lists and months of planning all in expectation of this one momentous event. For the players involved, this is one of the highlights of their calendar, and I heard players talking about how much they were looking forward to meeting friends that they only see at this event. It is events like this that shows the strength of the Bolt Action community, bringing players from across the globe together to do battle on the tabletop!

Want to see the lists in all their filthy glory? Check them out on orderdice.com HERE!

The WTC itself is a two-day, six-game event. Each four-player team would bring five lists (which all had to be different nations), and the teams would choose which four of the five lists they would play each round. This dynamic gave the event an extra level of tactics, as it allowed teams to counter particular armies or to ensure that the right lists were on the table to take best advantage of a scenario.

Throughout the event, I could see that there were so many teams who had a chance to podium, with very little decided early on. This left all of us excited for each and every game, as it meant that every roll of the dice, every inch of movement, and every cover save could completely change the results of the tournament. This was also something the players knew, and you could see that all of them were giving their absolute all. On the final roll of the last Order Die of the tournament, Poland rose to the top and claimed overall victory!

Speaking of being excited for each and every round, the first round was an energetic one, with all the players fresh and looking to leave their mark on the tournament. There were many exciting games; including a rematch of last year’s champions and the runners-up with Germany v Australia. There were shake-ups as Germany lost to Australia, and England beat Spain. However, there was one highlight that stood out to everyone – Wales v Spain, a titanic (and incredibly close) battle between some of the top-ranked players in the world.

The start of day two saw Germany climbing back up the leaderboard after a number of stumbles at the start of the event. Teams like Denmark, Wales, and Poland were all battling to rise to the top, however there were others who still had a path to gold, namely Germany, Spain, and England. On the second day, the energy was completely different, as all players knew what they had to do, and captains had had some time to get to grips with the table layouts and missions.

There were many moments of tactical brilliance, cries of anguish as double 6s were rolled on order tests, and the tense results of savage close-quarters fighting (thankfully only on the tabletop!). Knowing all of this, if I had to select only one thing to mention from day two it would be the Top Table in the final between Poland and Denmark, both in the strongest position to take it all, but due to some truly unfortunate dice rolls for Denmark right at the death, the round ended in a draw, This completely changed the final rankings, knocking Denmark down to fourth and giving Poland first place, elevating Spain to third and Germany to second in the process. 

While not every game of Bolt Action is as intense as this, I think we can all remember those moments when the dice completely betrayed us or the near impossible odds played out – and here, they did, on the biggest stage! This just goes to show how tight this event was, and how much can hinge on a single roll, even at the very top of the competitive scene.

If you want to make your mark at this amazing event and bring a team next year, you can message the organisers directly at Internationalgamingevents@gmail.com, or ask around your local tournament scene to find out more details about your country’s participation.

If you feel like you have what it takes, there are many ways to jump into the world of competitive Bolt Action. If you want test your mettle and can’t wait for the WTC 2027, you can sign up for The Warlord Games Grand Tournament, held from the 7th-9th August in Leicester. It’s a celebration of all things Bolt Action, with a fantastic crowd of players and plenty of tabletop mayhem!

Alternatively if you’re looking for some Konflikt ‘47, why not join us at Sanctuary Gaming Centre on the 27th of June as we launch Warfront Europa, the Warlord Games Grand Tournament for Konflikt 47!