Big news on the Bolt Action tournament front – we’re excited to reveal that we’ve partnered up with the fine folks at Southend-on-Sea Wargames Group (SSWG) to bring a fantastic new event to life – World Open War! The brainchild of SSWG’s own Russell Wright, World Open War is a no-holds-barred international team event that will see players from as far afield as the USA, South Africa, Spain, and more besides go head-to-head over a weekend of high-octane action. Some of the very best players in the world will be competing for glory, and we fully expect World Open War to become a key fixture on the Bolt Action competitive circuit. As a result of our partnership with SSWG, World Open War is confirmed as the second official Warlord Games annual event, joining the Bolt Action Grand Tournament, with all the prizes and plaudits that brings!
So what’s the deal with World Open War? We’ll be going into greater detail in a series of articles, social media posts, and interviews over the next few weeks, but in brief, it’s roughly analogous to a ‘world cup’ of Bolt Action! The sixteen teams taking part are made up of a selection of the world’s top players (some of whom have never played in an event on English soil!), who have earned their places through their performances in a variety of national-level tournaments (and other gruelling challenges!). This means that there’s not just personal glory at stake – national pride is on the line too! They’ll have to battle their way through the group stage on the Saturday, with only the top-performing teams eligible to go on to fight it out for the championship title on the Sunday. I was privileged enough to take part in the group stage draw (you can see a video of it here!) to sort out the initial running order – let’s take a look:
| Group A |
|---|
| Poland Black Brigade |
| Team Wales |
| USA SNAFU |
| S African Kommandos |
| Group B |
|---|
| Denmark MBM Vikings |
| Tim Cymru |
| USA Swans |
| Switzerland Helvetia Guards |
| Group C |
|---|
| Team Deutschland |
| Team England |
| Spain Almogavares |
| Barbarians |
| Group D |
|---|
| Spanish Legion |
| Scotland Saltires |
| Denmark Jutland Company |
| Germany Luftwaffel |
World Open War isn’t just about having three good players – it’s a team event, after all, and good captaincy will be vital. The captains determine the boards and matchups, and this is going to play a massive role in the overall outcome – with players this strong, every little advantage counts, so it’ll be on the captains to know their stuff!
We’re really excited about this event, and it’s going to be a regular part of our calendar going forward – while all spots are booked for this year, we’ll be bringing you regular highlights from the event on both the 21st and 22nd of October, via social media, as well as plenty more articles in the tournament lead-up looking at the rules in more depth. For now, check out the event website and see what all the fuss is about:
It’s gonna get competitive – it’s time for World Open War!
