Winter Teams Tournament
We all came together to play in the largest 40K tournament ever held in Israel, with a whopping 50 players rolling dice against each other. We had a serious number of 5-man teams, all aiming to be the best. With a stacked roster, things were always going to be interesting. Most of the top 10 players, and at least those who are actively playing at the moment, were in attendance, making this a truly representative tournament of our competitive Warhammer scene here in Israel.
Burning Men, Centurion Assault Squad, and Salty Snails were all filled with top players and had a good chance of taking the top spot. Meanwhile, Devastator Centurions, Dice Hard, and Grin Reapers were all vying for a spot on the podium, so there were not going to be any easy games in this one. The first round went as expected, with the top teams taking the wins and setting up an interesting 2nd round. Salty Snails and Burning Men laid down the gauntlet with some comfortable wins, setting up the next day and round 3 as a winner-takes-all. Grin Reapers and Dice Hard finished the day strong and were still in contention for the podium.
Day 2 saw some tired but happy faces enter the arena, with the head-to-head of Salty Snails and Burning Men coming up. Salty Snails continued their strong showing. Centurion Assault Squad came out with a narrow victory over Dice Hard, and Grin Reapers took the win against Dice Harder, setting up a podium showdown between the two rivals. With Salty Snails coming out on top against Centurion Assault Squad—meaning they beat all the top-ranked teams—they took the lead. A draw was all that Dice Hard required to take the 3rd spot on the podium, and they squeaked in with a narrow 1-point margin to claim it. Burning Men finished strong to take 2nd place and ended the tournament on a high note.
There really was a great atmosphere on both days, and a huge thank you has to go out to the captains for managing to bring all their players together, with some late substitutes also stepping in and making everything come together in the end. It's super important to remember that none of this would happen without the players and the wonderful community that has been built here.
A special thanks also to Dima and Geek Shelter. For all those who know him, you understand his passion for this hobby; and for those who don't, next time you see him, give him a hug to show your appreciation. Without the support from Geek Shelter and the behind-the-scenes work of organizing the venue, setting up tables, and even the beautiful trophies, none of this would actually be as big as it is. You are a legend, Dima, and hopefully we can make the next one just as special. There is already talk of a 12-team tournament!
We also need to take a moment to thank Jacob and Ofek for helping us with the judging. They stepped up and helped with answering questions that came up on either of the days. As these tournaments grow, it's important that we have dedicated judges.
Consilium January TTS
As we come up to the penultimate tournament before we reach the halfway mark of the first season of the Consilium, we were happy to be joined by a few of the Cyprus folks that we had our last WTC scrim against. Our boys in blue and white managed to hold their own, with Alexander Kondakov being the best Cypriot, getting sandwiched between Sagi and Jenya. With so much Warhammer being played, the players were a bit pooped, and our February turnout for the TTS was steady. Hopefully, as we head into the WTC season with gusto, we'll start to see an uptick for the rest of the year.