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2023 has been the Great British Hobbit League's most successful season ever. With over 1100 MESBG fans attending at least one GBHL event this year we've nearly doubled the number of people taking part in the league compared with 2022. The hobbying prowess has been extraordinary:
The level of competitive play has also reached new dizzying heights (so much so the rules have had to change to reflect the number of people winning the biggest events, click here to find out more about that) but as we approach the twilight of this year's league it seems only time to ramp up to the GBHL Finale, which takes place on December, by having a look at the front runners in that race to the top. But first, the Finale itself!
THE FINALE
Just a quick note on the GBHL Finale, which is the final event of 2023 on the 16th and 17th of December. Not only is it the last GBH100 event of the year, it's also the GBHL's annual Christmas Celebration. Expect top banter from those with no chance of a podium spot (plus plenty from those aiming for Gold I'm sure!), a fantastic social event and the chance to win some incredible prizes:
This year the event is taking place in the Central Region (it changes location annually) near Nottingham and so far over 60 players are attending, with tickets still available. It's also taken on a life of its own with unofficial plans for a Christmas dress code on the Saturday and a black tie dress code on the Sunday (which I will certainly taking part in!).
It also sees all the awards for the year being dished out, including hobby, sporting, regional and team trophies, as well as the top three players in the league.
So who is in the running for that?! There are plenty in with a shot still, but let's take a look at the front runners:
Jake Rawson
It's easy to think of Jake as a veteran of SBG such has been the level of his dominance in the last couple of years, but last year he was a newcomer to the league and the game as a whole. His rapid rise to the top tables saw him crowned Best Newcomer in the 2022 league, as well as coming 5th in the league. Clearly he was bitten by the bug, this year he's played at 16
tournaments and has even more in the calendar. As of today he's top of the leaderboard with an incredible five wins at GBHL100 events and two second places as well. Although he started the year successfully running his Lothlorien force which provided him with the Best Newcomer prize last year, he's since mixed it up by taking Arnor armies and Iron Hills heroes combined with Elves. He says he wants to keep his regular top table opponents guessing, to avoid facing any lists designed to beat him.
Key List:
Arvedui, Last King of Arnor 14 Warrior of Arnor 1 Warrior of Arnor with Shield swapped for Banner; ---- Malbeth the Seer 6 Warrior of Arnor 5 Ranger of Arnor with Spear; ---- Captain of Arnor 5 Warrior of Arnor 5 Ranger of Arnor with Spear; ---- Captain of Arnor 6 Warrior of Arnor 2 Ranger of Arnor with Spear; 2 Ranger of Arnor 1 Hobbit Archer with War horn; ---- 700 Points, 51 Models
David Farmer
Mr Farmer has been a consistent performer over the years, regularly reaching the podium of events since his first year in the league in 2015 but it's fair to say in the last couple of years he's stepped into his stride and has upped the ante. For many years he'd been hovering around the top 20 mark for end of year results but in 2020/21 he was within a whisker of making the podium. It clearly galvanized him into action as last year he secured the elusive GBHL podium spot but not the top spot.
Currently he's in the silver medal position again, but one GBHL100 win puts Dave on the same top 7 scores as Mr Rawson. It's clear the competition has driven both of them to compete at insane levels over the last year, if one turns up at an event you're almost guaranteed to see the other snapping at their heels for a ticket. Currently Dave has been to two more events than Jake and actually has a higher average score per event... But can he make it to the top of one more podium before the end of the season? Although Dave has experimented with the Assault on Lothlorien and other lists this year, his go-to is almost certainly some sort of Mordor Serpent Horde Alliance featuring his trusty Shagrat alongside some magical support... Or will he mix things up in the sprint finish to help him get ahead... Keep an eye out to see!
Key List:
The Witch-king of Angmar with 3/13/2; Crown of Morgul; Horse; 9 Orc Warrior with Shield; Spear; 9 Black Númenórean ---- The Shadow Lord with Horse; 9 Orc Tracker 1 Warg Rider with Throwing spears; ---- Shagrat, Captain of Cirith Ungol with Heavy armour; Shield of Cirtih Ungol; 7 Orc Warrior with Shield; Spear; 5 Black Númenórean ---- Suladân the Serpent Lord with armoured horse; ---- 800 Points, 44 Models
Ashley Woolger
Ashley may well be one of the freshest faced players in the GBHL but don't let his relative youth fool you, he's a smart player with an analytical mind and his incredible surge to the top tables in such a short space of time proves he's one to watch. In fact, he made it to the GBHL Masters in his second year playing in the League, and managed to beat former league winner Will Champion in his final game to take third place in that shark tank of a competition.With three GBHL100 wins to his name, as well as wins at two GBHL90s, he trails Jake and Dave by one GBHL100 win and needs a couple more podiums to really secure his place... But with some results still to input and a home territory event for Ash to play in this weekend (Contest of Champions in Swindon) all that could change - Ashley certainly seems to perform best when playing in the south (perhaps it's the long journeys and lack of sleep affecting gameplay when he heads north? Or maybe it's too cold for his soft southern skin XD).
Ash regularly plays with a Suladan, Witchking and Mouth of Sauron combo, the double caster combined with Black Numenorean/Morannnon shieldwall seems to have all the tricks he needs to do well, though adding in Kardush at Masters seemed to be worth a shot (read more on that here).
So if you see him in the south, armed with a similar army to this one...Watch out!
Key List:
Warband 1 18/18
The Witch-king of Angmar with 3/13/3; Crown of Morgul; Horse;
4 Orc Tracker
7 Morannon Orc with Shield; Spear;
7 Black Númenórean
----
Warband 2 15/15
The Mouth of Sauron with armoured horse;
5 Orc Tracker
5 Morannon Orc with Shield; Spear;
5 Black Númenórean
----
Warband 1 3/18
Suladân the Serpent Lord with armoured horse;
3 Serpent Rider
----
650 Points, 39 Models"
The Chaser Pod!
With four GBHL100 events still yet to take place (Contest of Champions, Swindon; Battles on the Coast, Bangor NI ; The Scouring of Stirlingshire, Stirling; and the GBHL Finale, Nottinghamshire) almost anyone in the top ten could take the crown (if they win all four of them that is...) but given that's unlikely, who is still left in the running?
Jay Acharya - he says he's gone for gold this year, and has deftly negotiated his way to numerous top tables with various hero heavy lists. With three GBHL100s under his belt he's SO close to overtaking Ashley as third on the Podium at the moment... A performance just TWO points higher for his 7th highest score (87.64pts) will put him in Bronze position, or another first and he's knocking at the door of sneaking the win away from even Jake... Watch this space...
Jakub Krochmal the Polish titan is in a similar position to Jay, but trailing by one GBHL100 in comparison so has a tougher battle to the podium... But don't write him off. One GBHL100 win would put him above Ashley, who knows what inspiration that would give him?
Ed Ball, the multiple time league champion has shown that despite the ever changing Meta, he's still a fearsome opponent this year. With a GBHL100 win, and more podium spots than you can shake a stick at, he is far from out of contention.
Michael Bradford is definitely worth keeping an eye on. A win at the Bangor event (which not many of the rest of the GBHL frontrunners are attending) would put him straight to 4th in the league... Who knows what could happen after that...
Ben Haslam, former League Champion Alastair King and Ivan Sheehan are also within grasping distance... Strong players, the three of them with a number of excellent performances at big events. A win at a GBHL100 propels them into contention. But do they have enough gas left in the tank for a sprint finish?
Who knows what the following weeks will bring, but either way it's always a thrilling chase to the end of the year, and more than ever the League is far from decided.
In the coming weeks I'll be writing more about the Teams competition, the Regional leagues and the Hobby... So keep your eyes peeled!
CURRENT GBHL PODIUM:
Jake Rawson
David Farmer
Ashley Woolger
Team Rankings:
The Guardians From Distant Lands
7th City Crusaders
Gollum's Gamers
And to get the latest results and pictures from events head over to "the insta" where we're regularly posting about the best MESBG players and Painters! Tap here to follow the official GBHL Account @gbhl_official .
UPCOMING EVENTS*
GBHL100 Contest of Champions - 650pts - Swindon - (28/29 Oct)
GBHL90 Shadow in the East - 750pts - GvE - Norwich -(28/29 Oct)
GBHL90 - Fellowship of the Geek Retreat - 500pts - Glasgow - (29 Oct)
GBHL100 - Battles of the Coast 2 - 1000pts - Bangor, NI- (4/5 Nov)
GBHL90 - The Home Nations Cup - Singles, Doubles &Teams - Cardiff - (11/12 Nov)
GBHL90 - Echoes in the East - 650pts - Birmingham - (11/12 Nov)
*With event pages on the GBHL and Tickets still available.
We'll talk more about the 2023 league soon, but in the meantime check out the calendar of events here, read winning army lists 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