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The Outrider's leather armour flapped as he deflected a pendulous swing from an orc pick, he shoved his sword up through the ugly morannon's face. He looked around wiping black blood from his sword and hands - the city of Osgiliath had been reclaimed for Gondor.
Now his thoughts returned once again to his homeland, had his messages arrived to the Golden Hall in time? After some quick farewells to his brothers in arms, he mounted a horse for his final ride back to the land of the horse lords. Who knows when he'll next be riding out carrying words of war, but this time his message did arrive, it reads:
"It's done." The Great British Hobbit League's 2022 season has come to a close after the League finale this weekend gone - and not without some controversy... But more on that in a bit!
First we must delve into the results from one of the longest running events in the GBhL calendar: The Scouring of Stirlingshire.
With 54 players it was the biggest event in the Northern Region this year, and renowned for its quality organisation unsurprisingly compelled a good number travelling over sea and borders to try their hand against the brave sons of Scotland.
First we should celebrate Tom Pickard who has recently moved to the nation and clearly has won over hearts and minds - despite being an Englishman - because he took home yet another Most Sporting Trophy from a Scottish tournament - clearly he'll be welcome to dance at the ceilidh come Hogmanay. It also means he's tied with Jonny Wright as Friend of Middle Earth (the winner of the most overall Sporting prizes), though as the prize goes to the person who ranked highest in the league (it's generally considered harder to be nice and win, than be nice and lose!) sadly for him that prize will land in the lap of Mr Wright. Comiserations to Tom but hearty congratulations to Jonny, landing a coveted prize which if I'm correct in thinking has only ever been awarded to the people of Greater Manchester...
Next for Hobbying, John MacCorquodale's Troll-tastic Black Gates list & His Lothlorien army impressed the throng of hobbyists enough to award him Runner Up in the painting competition.
But, alas, it wasn't John who took home the top painting prize. That went to a regular for this blog, the indomitable Sean Sproule. The almighty painting machine of a man has churned out a ridiculously high number of armies and display boards this year (many of them including outlandish or fantastic conversions) to impress players not just once or twice at events (which is no mean feat) but to win 7 Best Awards. It's almost unheard of. He secured his win here with a gorgeous White Council and an insanely impressive Mordor force:
This win helps him leapfrog his arch rival in Brushmanship, Julian Hammond, to become Artisan of the Year (winner of most Best Painted awards in the League) both Sean and Julian are true gents and wonderful craftsmen so, unlike in previous years, the League Committee has elected to award a "Runner Up Artisan of The Year" shiny trophy to Julian in recognition of the huge achievement of winning 6 Best Painted awards. Bravo to you both for providing us all with countless gasps of amazement and inspiration for our next projects.
Onto gaming now, and like the famous battle on these hallowed grounds many centuries before - the fighting was furious and bitterly contested (well, actually, by all accounts it was a delightfully sportsmanlike event - but that doesn't sound as dramatic does it). So violent was it that some players couldn't even stand the next day (though that may have been because of a few wee drams too many on the night before).
First we must hail the big glorious dead - David Allan, winner of the Wooden spoon - who went away with 5 Major losses and one Minor Loss but at least claimed a rather nice spoon after his weekend. Some must always fall in Battle for others to reign supreme - HAIL!
So, to those who came, saw and conquered at this 800pt Good Vs Evil event (each player had two armies and played 3 games with each).
We must first remind ourself that this was the final event to settle the Northern League, which until this saw Iain McGregor in first place - but all could change if Micheal Bradford (who travelled over the Irish Sea) could win the event outright and prise the prize from Iain's Grasp.
In third position was Jamie Moore, whose Fiefdoms list (Imrahil,Forlong, Cptn, Duinhir, 42 models with a mix of all Fiefdoms troops) and Host of the Dragon Emperor (Emperor, Rutabi, Brorgir, Dragon Knight, 40 Models inc 4 Katphraktoi & 2 Acolytes) almost secured a victory for the home nation. Alas it wasn't to be, and still after 9 years Stirling has yet to have a Scottish victor... Maybe at its 10th anniversary next year...
In Second, proving the flying circus hasn't retired just yet, is Ed Ball. He's the winner of so many trophies over the many years he's been competing, he doesn't have a trophy cabinet, or even a trophy room, he has a trophy home he visits on weekends. Ed's 20 Beornings & 2 bears proved the force is definitely viable at higher points levels assuming the pilot can Bear the pressure. His evil force was reminiscent of the multiple Fell Beasts he became known for over the years, but with Sauron, the Witchking on Fell Beast, a Ringwraith on Fellbeast and a single orc with a banner. 4 Models is incredibly difficult to win games with - even if one is Sauron - and no doubt Ed leant heavily on his years of experience to pull enough wins out of the bag to secure Silver.
But topping off the podium was Will Champion - who has once again proved himself to be one of the greatest SBG players of all time. With two wins at GBHL100s and two Silvers (as well as multiple other podiums at GBHL80s) it's an undoubtedly impressive feat. His armies of choice for the weekend were a Laketown alliance featuring Saruman, Thorin and Bifur alongside two wargoats as his good force. His evil force was the Fell Beings of Mirkwood, not yet proven at higher points level, but clearly Bats, Spiders and some heavy hitters alongside nearly 50 orcs will do the deed (in the right hands of course).
So with that in mind, the board was set and pieces were in position for the GBHL Finale, which proved to be an unforgettable weekend in so many ways. Evening antics two nights in a row, commiserating England's loss in the Football, snowfall overnight and an impressive Sausage Casserole for lunch were among the non gaming highlights - but the tabletop tittletatter proved just as worthy of remembrance.
With many positions in the league now secured, the event was more like the jostling to form a queue at a new checkout opening at the supermarket. The first positions were decided - but who would wriggle their way onto the podiums?
There were multiple people who could sneak spots on the podium, including three former GBHL League Champions (Alastair King, Ed Ball & Jay Clare) and others looking to make a name for themselves ...
But First let's admire the painting talent on offer at the finale, Phil Beale, won both Wooden Spoon and Best Painted with his awesome Gundabad Monster list. It's filled with lots of creative conversions to spice up the army and truly make it stand out on the tabletop. The Catapult Troll is particularly impressive - given it was designed, built and painted purely by Phil alone. A fantastic achievement... Phil says "it was a ton of fun to work on, and hilarious to get the spoon with!" He managed to end the tournament with 0 wins despite getting more VPs in his first game (sadly he was tabled!) but the army certainly looked glorious in defeat.
The Most Sporting crown was handed to all round nice guy Ashley Woolger, a thoroughly deserving win!
But in the gaming comes the controversy I mentioned earlier...
It was off to a strong start for many of the fiercest of competitors - with most of the big names competing for podium slots taking early wins, but it was thrown into doubt halfway through the tournament with some big names like Ed Ball, Jay Clare, Jake Rawson and David Farmer either losing games or scoring draws.
But, Will Champion - who could have rested easy at the event, having already secured his League Champion title in Scotland - wasn't making life easy for those fighting for second and third. Despite scoring fewer VPs in Game 1 than his opponent (Sorry Phil...) Will didn't lose a game day 1, and in the final round of day 2 clashed against David Clubley; the only other player with 5 wins.
The scenario was drawn and a collective sigh across the event revealed Storm the Camp, notorious for its ability to provide draws. But the board was set, and the players duked it out for 135 minutes, Will playing aggressively and Dave being a tad more cagey, and resulted in a 1-1 draw.
The League Podium was sealed in that single draw.
But, what's this!? After the dust had settled, hands were shaken, backs were slapped and war stories were exchanged in the car... Something happened we did not expect...
Will - in explaining his army list to his car buddies - realised he had inadvertently played the weekend with one too many Gundabad Bats in his Hunter Orc force. The list he'd submitted was correct, but he says after borrowing most of the army from other people he had hasitly picked up one too many models and played with it the entire weekend. Immediately he notified Tournament Organiser Dewi, and the League Management Committee, saying he wanted to forfeit all of his wins from the weekend.
This dramatic revelation, after the League prizes had been given out, threw a potential spanner in the works. But after removing Will from the competition, and bumping all other players up one space the scoring revealed a surprising conclusion.
Despite awarding David Clubley 1st, Jamie Wiggans 2nd, and Alastair King 3rd, the changed scoring actually didn't change the League's podium positions at all. David Clubley would have been in Third either way, David Farmer would have been in Second irregardless, and as we've heard, Will had already secured the win for the league in Scotland.
BUT this is a lesson for all of us on a few things.
Firstly, it's a testament to the importance of something as simple as printing your list off, and checking your opponents' armies before each game. Had Will or any of his opponents done this, the extra bat may have been noticed earlier and changed the course of the tournament - maybe the league.
But secondly, it's important to notice who picked up on this error, and flagged it to the league. Will himself confessed his error as soon as he spotted it (and this only happened because he was kindly sharing his excellent list with lesser players!). There was little dither on this, Will contacted TOs and Committee Members humbly, despite knowing the upset it would cause, and the impact it could have on his own and others' positions. Personally, I believe this kind of honesty shows true character and integrity, and far from undermining his standing in the league, actually elevates him to be a true inspiration for players everywhere. It's possible to win the largest competitive SBG League in the world and not need to be a nasty guy or a cheat.
So, it's Done. It's Finished. 2022's Great British Hobbit League is over - but there's room in this book for a little more...
With the New Year comes exciting new developments, including your chance to form a Fellowship of your own to see which Team can reign supreme in 2023. But 2022 is yet to be fully decided - in April at the home of the hobby itself, Warhammer World comes the 2022 Masters.
This is an exclusive tournament where the top 12 in the GBHL, plus the winners of each regional competition and the Best Newcomer, are invited to a shark tank of an event to truly settle who is the best of the best (after all, some of these top players have never met over the table tops!). If best newcomer/regional winner has already qualified as part of the top 12 goes to the 2nd place in their respective competition. If 2nd has qualified, goes to the 3rd place in the relevant competition etc
But, "I'm going now. I bid you a very fond farewell..."
We'll talk more about the 2023 league soon, but in the meantime check out the calendar of events 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