A Grand Day Out – The Bolt Action Grand Tournament 2024

The games are over, the dust has settled, and the armies have been packed away – the 2024 Bolt Action Grand Tournament has concluded! Let’s recap all the highlights from a fantastic weekend celebrating the competitive side of our hobby!

Before we get into the results and awards, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made this awesome weekend possible. Gary and Colin Betts provided their fantastic terrain setup to ensure all games were played on beautiful tables, as well as acting as lead T.O.s to ensure the event ran smoothly, while the inimitable ‘Wee Man’ was a powerhouse on the admin desk, making sure that all the players knew where they were going and what they were doing.

Warlord Resin’s own Ed Tomlyn gave selflessly of his time to help with setup and pack-down, quite in addition to fielding his Eighth Army in the tournament! Mike Goss was invaluable throughout the weekend, lending a hand in all aspects of the event, as well as being on standby as the reserve player – luckily, his absolutely terrifying Italian list wasn’t needed to fill in! Tim and the rest of the Britcon team from BHGS, alongside the Nottingham Trent University events staff made sure that the experience for organisers, traders, and attendees was excellent and well-organised, and were always on hand to help if needed.

The final ‘thank-you’ must of course go to the players! Without them, there’d be no Grand Tournament at all, and it was absolutely awesome to see so many people turn up and play Bolt Action with so much passion and enthusiasm – a great time was had by all, and that’s down to the great attitude of everyone present!

So, onto the report! With seventy players, the main hall at Britcon was absolutely packed, with people coming from far and wide to take part. The overseas contingent this year was particularly strong, with Germany and Australia well represented, alongside a trio of players who made the frankly astonishing journey from Thailand for the weekend – how’s that for commitment? With a great mix of old faces and new friends, the field was set for an absolutely cracking weekend. Britcon itself was buzzing with wargamers, and there was even a special Warlord sponsored beer at the bar – the fantastically named ‘Ale Caesar’!

Games began bright and early on Saturday morning, with three games to play. Two-hour-long rounds meant that players were against the clock as well as their opponents, and encouraged fast, decisive actions – and there were plenty! The atmosphere was the perfect mixture of friendly and competitive, with plenty of closely matched games and a few big upsets and surprise wins early on! The Welsh attendees were particularly keen to place well, as they would be using their GT results to determine which of them would make the cut for Team Wales at World Open War later this year! After three hard-fought games, the day’s end saw Gerwyn Michael wearing the BHGS’ yellow ‘Overnight Leader’ shirt at the top of the table… but with another three games on the Sunday, it was by no means a certainty that he’d be able to hold onto it!

As is GT tradition, a large proportion of the players and staff decamped to a local pub for the evening, swapping war stories, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. This continued long into the night, and more than a few players didn’t return to their hotels until the small hours – a bold decision, given Sunday’s 8AM start!

Sunday saw a few slightly fuzzy heads, but to their credit, not a single player dropped out or failed to make their first game! With the tournament boiling down to three crucial games, the competition ratcheted up a notch, but the spirit of fun and friendship remained the same, despite the increasing stakes (and increasing temperature in the venue!). No-one was able to run away with the competition, and it all boiled down to the very last game, with multiple players still in the running for the win right up until the last moment, and some big positional jumps possible all up and down the table. When the final bell rang, we discovered it really had gone right to the wire!

Before we announced the results and piled into the very welcome air conditioning of a nearby lecture theatre, everyone pitched in to help clear down the tables and pack everything away in a great display of community spirit – it’s amazing how quickly all those beautiful tables go back into their boxes and bags with so many hands helping out!

And… cue the drumroll!

First Place – Gary Morgan, USA; the Welsh Wizard managing to defend his crown and going down in history as the final Grand Champion of Bolt Action: Second Edition. Will he be able to three-peat with the arrival of 3^rd Ed? Only time will tell!

Second Place – Ben Andrews, Imperial Japan;, right in the hunt for first until the very end.

Third Place –  Paul Wickens, Great Britain; a strong finish for the veteran international player.

Best Painted – Nick Ellis; with a stunning late-war German force on urban basing.

Best Themed – Chris Bucknall; who went all-out with his Battle of the Bzura Polish army, even bringing an informative display stand!

Youth Champion – Jamie Bucknall; in his final year of eligibility – can he translate this to success at the senior level next year?

Wooden Spoon – Jason Cotterill-Attaway; who played every game with a smile on his face and a fantastic attitude

Best Sportsmen – A shared honour for Jirawat Ratjirot, Rathapat Srifah, & Sumaythang Srianonantakij; who, having made a 22-hour flight to be here, each displayed the utmost level of sportsmanship and positivity throughout the tournament – we hope to see them all again  next year!

The full results table is below:

And there it is – the final Bolt Action: Second Edition Grand Tournament! The GT will return to Britcon in 2025 with the new edition in full swing, and you can pre-order your tickets for 2025 at 2024’s prices for a limited time, starting right now! You’ll have plenty of time to get building, painting, and practising, so why not get involved!

If you haven’t had your fill of Second Edition goodness just yet, there is one more chance to bring your favourite force out for a final hurrah – Bolt Action will be at the London Grand Tournament on the 28^th and 29^th of September – and I’ll be TO’ing! Come down and say farewell, and join us in welcoming in Third Edition – grab your tickets here!

For now though, all that’s left to say is – good games, well played, one and all!