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It feels like just yesterday when I was telling you about the 2023 GBHL League, the excitement over a new season with new SBG stars...
But now, with Autumn round the corner, we look ahead to the Finale of this season and to next years' league too.
This evening tickets go on sale for the GBHL Finale, a most prestigious event held every year in different regions of the GBHL. It not only forms the final tournament of the calendar year, but also doubles as the awards ceremony for all the prizes the league gives out, including Painting, Sporting and Team Awards.
Last year it was held in the Southern Region (in Bristol), before that it was in Scotland, and this year it will be hosted in the Central region, in the Nottingham area. Just of the M1 the Trowell village hall will be dominated by titans of the game looking to potentially secure a spot on the League Podium. For the first time ever the finale is a scored event where points affect EVERY region in the UK - potentially causing huge shifts in regional placings and also securing the league as a whole.
It's an 800pt event on December the 16th and 17th with 6 two-and-a-half hour rounds to ensure as many of the 80 player capacity finish their games to natural conclusions. There will also be as much live coverage of the event as possible, with a team of TOs from the Management Committee of the league involved to bring this epic event to fruition. We're tremendously excited about this tournament - and Pre-Christmas bash! - to see 2023 off with a bang.
Now, looking a little further ahead, the committee has been hard at work trying to improve the experience for players in the league. With the tremendous growth in popularity of events in the UK, GBHL tickets have been selling like hotcakes in almost all corners of the isles. Scotland has seen a huge growth in events being run, the island of Ireland has just seen its biggest event ever, and events across England are seeing events sold out twice over in a matter of seconds. We realise this is frustrating for players keen to get to events, especially those who can't always buy tickets exactly on their release or who are new to the league and unsure of whether to take the plung or not.
We've heard you, and have implemented some changes to the GBHL League Rules we hope will encourage bigger events and therefore less FOMO.
The first, is that GBHL100s tend to be the most likely to sell out so the minimum capacity of those events will change next year, to ensure the most people have an opportunity to access the highest tier points (and guarantee a quality event!). But we know some regions are growing at different rates so have allowed a caveat in the rules which will preserve GBHL100s in regions with a smaller player base whilst also encouraging bigger events in areas with larger player bases.
Some other changes are that the scores from a GBHL100 will no longer be 100pt for winner, 95 for second and 90 for third, but will be a sliding scale based on the number of attendees (like gbhl80s and 90s are) hopefully this will reward players who've come second in a 100 player event more than those playing in a 64 person event.
National Rankings will also now include a players' 6 best scores, meaning tie breakers are far less likely to be used, and rewarding top players who do well at more events. The best newcomer award will also follow this pattern. And to keep the Regional Leagues as representative as possible of local talent 4 scores will count towards a player's regional ranking.
There are more rules which will change, for Tournament Organisers, and for players alike, but largely all you need to do is carry on taking your toys to GBHL events and meeting up with like minded friends for games. The competitive element probably doesn't factor into most of your thinking, and that's fine, but we hope these changes will help more players attend these awesome events put on by the community and get involved in a scene which has seen thousands of MESBG players take part.
We'll talk more about the 2023 league soon, but in the meantime check out the calendar of events here, read the army lists mentioned above here, and check where you are in the placings for both gaming and Hobbying here!
Until Next time, may this hobby be a light for you when all other lights go out.
BURARUM - HARRY - GBHL Marketing CoOrdinator