written by Amsfeld
The inaugural Scottish Team Championships (STC) was a one-day tournament that took place in April. With the Scottish Team Championships moving to a two-day tournament with scope for 120+ coaches next year it’s not a bad time to get the Tournament Organiser’s (TO) perspective from Amsfield below.
Being a first-time TO I can tell you the lead-up to the day brings the nerves as you worry about prizes being delivered on time, will the venue be well received by the coaches, what happens if Tourplay breaks and a myriad of small little things that seem to crop-up without any warning as the day draws nearer.
The biggest challenge for a TO of a team tournament is making sure last-minute gaps in teams get filled with coaches to make sure everyone attending has a match to play. We got there, almost, and we had a fantastic seventy-eight coaches in twenty teams, fighting it out for the first title. With plenty of interleague rivalry meaning this was going to be a hotly contested title to chase.
Turning up early to make sure the venue was set up, it was great to see coaches already there and happy to roll up their sleeves to make sure we were ready for a great day. Running a tournament is definitely a community effort and special thanks for stand out support to; Chris Rafferty, McNaughton, Alistair J and Thomme.
Before the first dice is rolled it felt like a bit of a get scramble to get everything set and ready to go, but once the first dice cup is slammed and the shouts of joy and despair start to fill the air then it’s the time to let out a small sigh of relief as the sounds of Blood Bowl begin.
Round 1 of the Scottish Team Championships
Entering the tournament we had representation from leagues from all over the country as far south as Dumfries in the borders and as far north as Aberdeen. Scotland’s biggest league Murder King Blood Bowl League (MKBBL) had entered in force with five teams and were no doubt keen to bring the title home having lost out to Aberdeen Blood Bowl Community (ABBC) in last year’s constructor’s championship in the Scottish tournament leaderboard.
The Murder Rats were the fastest off the mark in round one recording a clean sweep 4-0 against Dominion B team (ed note: who have just released tickets for Dominion Bowl, a 2-day individual tournament in September). Having seen off the Dominion B team the Rats were then drawn against Dominion A and managed a second clean sweep of 4-0 putting them firmly in the driving seat for the title.
Whilst on the other table the Murder Kings of MKBBL were a happy bunch taking the scalp of Team ABBC 2.5 vs 1.5 points to keep them on two wins also. Going into round 3 there were Murder Rats leading the murder pack with Aces and Kings also on two wins. With a couple of other teams on one win, one draw all was still left to play for.
The draw of the round was undoubtedly the rogue Rats who’d raced off to a strong start versus the Murder Aces, considered the league’s best team. Unfortunately for Lewish - TO of Glasbowl, he’d fielded 12 players and it wasn’t until halfway through his drive that the mistake was spotted - ball carrier sent off! Drive wrecked, giving Gerdleah the chance to take the win to beat Lewish for Best Individual and seal the win for the team 2.5 vs 1.5 points to see the Aces go 3-0-0. All was not guaranteed because on table two the Murder Kings were taking delight in duffing up Aberdeen in a bit of revenge to take the win and also go 3-0-0 for the day.
The Murder Aces - Winners of the Scottish Team Championship (L:R Sporran, Mournival, Purdindas (Cpt.), Amsfeld (TO) and Gerdleah)
This thing was off to countback and it was the Aces who snuck the tie break with one more coach win than the Kings to seal the title and lock up first and second for MKBBL. Forth Valley Blood Bowl League (FVBBL) had been quietly going about their business undefeated to take third with a record of 2-1-0 for the day, congrats! Full standings can be seen on Tourplay
Tourplay had held up, everyone had fun and having given out a myriad of lovely prizes my job was done! Safe to say the Scottish Team Championship was a roaring success bringing everyone in the Scottish leagues together and heightening the rivalry that comes with the bragging rights of victory!
Honour Roll for the tournament:
Scottish Team Champions - The Murder Aces (of MKBBL)
Runners-up - The Murder Kings
Wooden Spoon - DABBL B (Dominion)
Top Individual Coach - Gerdleah (Aces)
Most TDs - Gerdleah
Most CAS - Philb3y (ABBC)
Stunty Cup - Boobootroid (WBBL)
Best Painted - Orcthadontist (MKBBL)
Medals and wooden spoons for the Championships
Scottish Team Championships 2025 - Registration Opening
With the Scottish Blood Bowl Committee keen to grow out the number of high quality two-day tournaments with a view to encouraging other parts of the country to come visit I’m delighted to announce that the Scottish Team Championships 2025 is going to be a two-day, five round affair in Glasgow with room for up to sixty teams and 120 coaches, maybe a few more if response is overwhelming.
Key Information:
Ticket sales for STC 25 going on sale from Saturday 28 July at 10am BST
Teams of four, ticket price is £180 and includes lunch, via PayPal using F&F to amsfeld@googlemail.com
Dates: 17 - 18 May 2025
Venue: Glasgow University Union, 32 University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8LX
Look forward to seeing you there next year. Amsfeld out…
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