WCW 40k Digital Rules Pack DRAFT
WCW 40k Digital Rules Pack DRAFT
WCW 40k Digital Rules Pack DRAFT
You are joined by fellow hobbyists from over 40 countries. Before you begin rolling dice,
ponder the shared community you all represent, and the opportunity this presents for you to
build friendship and connection with people from around the world who share your passion
for Warhammer.
This rules pack is by necessity dense; we want to ensure every eventuality and rule
consideration is covered and clear. In summary, your experience will be as follows.
For the first two days of the event, you’ll compete in an internationally diverse Pool of
players, with the winners of each Pool advancing to the Championship Bracket, and
everyone else continuing in seeded groups for the chance at earning Medals (for themselves
and their represented Country) and numerous other awards. Unless mathematically
unavoidable, you will not play against others from your own country. Two days to seed the
field, then two more days to sort it out.
Every Game Counts
More importantly, every game you play can
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contribute to your country’s standing. Wins, losses, Unlike most events, your performance during the WCW
victory points, and faction ranking can all contribute has a chance to contribute to your Team’s finish - in this
case, your team is your home country! Even if you enter
to your country’s rank at the end. In a sense, you your final game with a losing record, winning it might help
represent those hobbyists from home who cannot be your country standing by impacting Faction Rankings, Best
there with you. Overall scores, Opponent Win %’s, and more.
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country back home than to your individual standing. Never
Most importantly, you’ll have at least 8 opportunities underestimate how important your performance will be
from start to finish, even if it isn’t for your own rankings!
to build a lifelong friendship with a fellow hobbyist
and competitive peer from around the World. Despite
every attendee being a champion from their home region, only one at most can be
undefeated throughout. For most of you, your four days in the World Championships will
include defeat on the table; how you carry yourself, however, will determine whether you
stand proud as a winner by the end.
Take a moment, enjoy where your hobby led you, and welcome to the World
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Championships!
DRAFT: At this time, this pack is considered to be in DRAFT. Additional editorial work
and format clarifications may occur. A final pack will be published in the near future.
This draft has been shared to enable existing qualifiers to begin preparations.
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In the meantime, if you have any questions while reviewing this pack, please e-mail
[email protected] with “WCW” included in the Subject.
2.0 Schedule
2.1 Pool Play
Thursday and Friday are dedicated to Pool Play. All players compete in a Pool of up to 26
opponents, the results of which will determine their course of play in Bracket Play (2.2).
Thursday, 16 Nov 2023; Pool Play Day 1
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Event Time
Event Time
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Round 3 + Break Time 8:00- 12:00
Event Time
*By design, only 2 players compete in the Death’s Match. All others either have been
eliminated by this time or have earned a bye until Day 2.
Sunday, 19 Nov 2023; Championship Bracket - Double Elimination
Event Time
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Awards Ceremony - Championship and 20:30 - 21:00
World Bracket Combined**
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*Only played if both players end Championship Round 6 with only one loss each
**If the Championship Bracket ends with only a single final round at 16:00, we will move the
award ceremony for most awards up to facilitate departure, if necessary
Event Time
Event Time
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3.0 Policies
3.1 Army Construction and Army Lists
Your army must meet guidelines set forth in the Warhammer 40,000 core rules and the
Leviathan Tournament Companion
For army construction, the following are approved sources for rules on army construction
and composition:
● Faction Indices
● Faction Codices
● Warhammer 40,000: The App
● Leviathan Tournament Companion
● FAQs, errata, and commentary found via www.warhammer-community.com/faqs
When building your army, use all the most up to date Warhammer 40,000 rules published
prior to the following date:
Please note that Codices not published as a standalone product are not considered to be
legal for Matched Play use.
Additionally, we will use FAQs published after this date as they are clarifications to how the
rules work and not updates or changes to rules.
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scratch-built components), and be fully assembled and painted to at least a Battle Ready
standard. Below are some examples of models painted to a Battle Ready standard. (More
information on Battle Ready can be found at
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/05/21/introducing-battle-readygw-homepage-
post-1fw-homepage-post-1/)
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You must maintain a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) standard for models. For
example, if your army includes a Space Marine equipped with a Meltagun, the model must
be equipped with a Meltagun. Equipment such as Frag Grenades that are included on every
model within a unit, but not included on every model of that type, need not be modeled.
WYSIWYG ensures fewer miscommunications between players at the table. Ideally, each
player will remember the full load out of each opponent’s army, however in practice this
rarely happens.
3.2.1 Converted Models and Units
Many players “scratch build” or heavily convert elements of their model collection, and these
activities are a hallowed part of Warhammer hobby history. For the sake of fairness, any
conversion should be comparable in size to the most current version of the model they
represent. You may not gain a benefit from converted models, but may incur penalties.
For any converted or scratch built models, you must seek permission from
[email protected] including photos of the models in question where
possible, two weeks prior to the event. If you do not obtain permission for conversions
before this date, you run the risk of them being removed from play, or possibly incurring
score penalties.
Please note that any Forge World models must be the actual models and not conversions to
look like Forge World models.
A Note on Basing: Many models are no longer produced on the bases they originally came
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with. Wherever possible, base your models according to their current boxed kit. As with other
exceptions, if you wish to have a model reviewed, please email
[email protected] for approval.
3.2.2 3D Printed & Third Party Miniatures & Components
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You may use 3D Printed & sculpted components for your miniatures if you designed and
printed them yourself. Any components or entire miniatures supplied by third parties (either
as a printable file or purchased component/miniature) are not permitted at the World
Championships. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
For clarity, this provides each player with, on average, the following time breakdown for the
typical game:
⦁ Pre-Game activities, review army lists, select secondaries: 5 Minutes
⦁ Deploying your actual models: 10 Minutes
⦁ Playing your First Turn: 20 Minutes
⦁ Playing your Second Turn: 20 Minutes
⦁ Playing your Third Turn: 15 Minutes
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⦁ Playing your Fourth Turn: 10 Minutes
⦁ Playing your Fifth Turn: 10 Minutes
For at least half your games, you will be provided with 4 full hours in which to play (plus
break time). Nevertheless, we will call time based on 3 hours to keep the pace throughout.
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3.4 Players’ Code & Conduct
game, we place sportsmanlike behavior far ahead of winning games at the WCW.
Winning with skill and grace is a rewarding and perfectly acceptable goal. Losing with skill
and grace, however, is both more challenging and more laudable. Keep in mind that while
one of you will earn the title of World Champion, roughly 99.5% of you will not. Roughly half
of you will lose most of your games. Despite all of you being prior tournament winners.
However, you will all earn something this weekend; the shared experience of being the first
group of players to compete for the title of the World Champion of Warhammer 40,000.
The real opportunity presented at this event is the chance to build friendships with players
from around the world, and revel in your success at making it to the very pinnacle of your
preferred aspect of the Warhammer Hobby.
Finally, remember that you represent your homeland or adopted country. Your conduct is not
only a reflection of yourself, but your fellow friends and hobbyists back home.
3.5 Judges
Our Judge Staff will be prominently visible in the tournament hall throughout the event and
hold the final say on all game rules and tournament issues. Rulings may be changed at the
judge’s discretion with new information presented, and will always be based on correct rules
interpretations rather than adhering to the precedent established by a previously incorrect
ruling. When calling for assistance, please be prepared to provide any relevant rules to the
particular question. Also, do not ask questions or solicit answers without your opponent
present. Moreover, show respect for both your opponent and the judges when resolving
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questions or disputes. Disrespectful treatment of staff or players at the WCW can incur
in-game VP penalties or, in extreme cases, automatic game losses.
Judges are also empowered to prevent instances of intentional “gotcha” play or enforcing
gentlemen's agreements between players where one player is attempting to renege on a
promise of good sportsmanship.
While we will not have judges at every table, and we cannot stop every instance of a minor
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misplay, our goal here is to make sure all games played are as enjoyable and fair as
possible for all players.
Please note: many attendees may be familiar with third party rules documents that govern
the course of play in non-Games Workshop run events. While our rulings on unclear
subjects may occasionally intersect with these documents, under no circumstances should
they be used as reference material with judges OR opponents as a guide for how to play the
game. In short, only official Games Workshop publications, answers from the
[email protected] email, or judge rulings at the event can be considered
official for purposes of the World Championship. Third party event rulings do not constitute
precedent or guidance for how to rule any question at the WCW.
3.7 Dropping / Conceding / Quitting the Event Early
That said, withdrawing, conceding games early, or skipping Rounds is otherwise not
permitted at the WCW, and can result in forfeiting future qualification for the event. Why?
1. Players are ranked by Win Record, then by Opponent Win %, then VP total. While
BCP tournament software adjusts for early withdrawals, quitting games, conceding
games, and skipping rounds can harm the standing of your opponents.
2. Country Rankings, as illustrated below, can include point contributions based upon a
player’s final VP total and Faction Rank. If you’ve brought a currently less powerful or
less “meta” faction, you may hold a mediocre record as an individual, yet still be in
contention for placing within the Faction rankings. Moreover, even a relatively
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low-standings game can impact the Opponent Win % of your and your opponent’s
prior competition. Finally, Best Overall is based only 50% upon your competitive
score, so a large swathe of the field remains in contention for this and many other
awards throughout the course of play. It is entirely possible that a game on a “low
table” in Round 8 on Sunday may be even more important for where a Country
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Best General. So you not only let down your prior opponents by quitting early, you
may even let down your entire country.
Simply put, do not drop early, concede a game early, or skip a Round during the WCW.
Of course, if you have a personal or medical emergency that arises during the event, we will
be happy to accommodate you. Should this unfortunate case arise, we will ‘stop’ your event
for the purposes of scoring. You will not have losses assessed in future games, however you
will no longer accumulate wins or points.
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3.8 Disqualification
Games Workshop does not tolerate any form of physical or verbal violence or harassment,
both at the event or online. Players who demonstrate aggressive or demeaning behavior to
staff or other attendees, who repeatedly break the rules or who repeatedly fail to follow
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Games Workshop’s instructions at the event, may be disqualified and removed from the
event without refund. Games Workshop reserves the right to remove players from the event
at our discretion.
That said, we take pains to show understanding and respect for all players, regardless of
their personality traits or comfort in a social setting. Should a game become contentious and
penalties become enforced, disqualification and removal is the very last resort in all cases.
4.0 Tournament Format
4.1 Tracked Categories of Performance - World Championship Points
Every participant in the World Championships of Warhammer will have their performance
tracked across a number of different scoring categories. Each category’s top finishers will
earn Medals both for themselves and their represented country throughout the event.
Additionally, each placing within a category earns a number of World Championship Points
(WCP) that may contribute to each Country’s Performance within the event (see Section 4.2
- Country Performance). The tracked categories and their values for placing are as follows:
● Overall Score, WCP Value
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151st Place & Lower 1 -
● Generalship Score
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Placing WCP Earned Medal Earned
101+ 1 -
● Paint Score
Placing / Paint Score WCP Earned Medal Earned
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VP Over 1st 8 Games WCP Earned Medal Earned
750+ 7 -
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700-749 5 -
600-699 4 -
500-599 3 -
400-499 2 -
100-399 1 -
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80-99 0 -
● Faction Ranking
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1st 5 Gold
2nd 4 Silver
3rd 3 Bronze
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event pack for each standing a player can hold in each relevant category (Overall 50/50
Paint/Competitive, pure Generalship, Victory Points or similar criteria, Paint Score, and
Faction). Each Country will maintain a Country Score composed of the 5 best WCW-Valued
standings across all its participants in the event. Unless a country is represented by less
than 5 attendees across all game systems (see 3.2.1.1 below), no one attendee can
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contribute more than a single score to their Country score, nor can countries earn more than
a single score within the same category within the same event system.
For Example, from Finland:
● John is 2nd Overall in Warhammer 40,000 (9 WCP)
● Sam is 3rd Overall in Warhammer 40,000 (8 WCP)
● Joe is 4th Overall in Age of Sigmar (7 WCP)
● Sarah is 1st Generalship in Age of Sigmar (10 WCP)
● Jacob is 1st Generalship in Kill Team (9 WCP)
● Mary is 1st in Stormcast Eternals in Age of Sigmar (5 WCP)
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● Mark is 2nd in Space Wolves in Warhammer 40,000 (4 WCP)
● Finland’s WCP score would then comprise the 5 BOLDED bullets above. Since John
contributes 9 in Overall Warhammer 40,000, Sam’s lower (but still impressive) score
cannot be used from the same category, but Joe’s 4th Overall can be used since it is
in a different game system. Further, while Mark’s 2nd place finish in Warhammer
40,000 Space Wolves can be used, it is lower than any of the other 5 available
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promote cooperation and coordination between individuals representing their countries. We
recommend and encourage that individual Qualifiers on Country Teams contact one another
prior to traveling to the event.
Discussing the format presented here and developing a Country strategy based on this
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information will greatly increase your chances of earning WCPs and improving the overall
rank of your Country.
4.5 Thursday/Friday, Phase 1 - Pool Play
The World Championships are divided into two distinct phases: Pool Play (Days 1 and 2)
and Bracket Play (Days 3 and 4). The top 8 finishers from Pool Play will advance to the
Championship Bracket, while the rest advance to the World Backet (Section 4.7 below).
For Warhammer 40,000, there are 8 pools of between 24-26 players each (with each pool as
close to the same size as possible). Players are distributed amongst the pools based on
their represented country, and otherwise randomly (the pools are not seeded, nor does any
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factor besides your country representation impact which pool you are placed in). This
distribution is done to minimize the chance representatives from the same country face each
other during Pool Play. The pairing software used for the event (Best Coast Pairings) will
seek to avoid pairing players from the same country during Pool Play unless otherwise
unavoidable.* You will also not be forced to play the same opponent twice during Pool Play
unless otherwise unavoidable.
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*Be aware, unlike many events, no other factors will influence pairing avoidance (i.e. being
from the same gaming club or team).
Ties are possible during Pool Play. By design, no Pool is large enough to guarantee your
elimination from contention on the basis of only one loss. However, winning all 5 games will
mathematically guarantee you advance to the Championship Bracket from your Pool. Simply
put, if you lose a game you aren’t out of it, but if you win all of your games you are
guaranteed to advance. Should no player go undefeated, there may be multiple instances of
competitors with the same Win Record. Where this is the case, standings will be determined
first by Opponent Win %, then by Victory Points across all games. By the nature of a 5-round
Pool Play, it is unlikely Victory Points will come into play as a tiebreaker, but they are used
once other factors are exhausted. If players remain tied for first place, we will move to
head-to-head record (i.e. if one defeated the other during Pool Play), then finally randomly.
4.6 Field Separation - Championship & World Brackets
The highest placing finisher from each Pool (see Section 4.6) after Round 5 will be placed
into the Championship Bracket for the second half of the event on Saturday and Sunday. All
remaining players will compete in the World Bracket on Saturday and Sunday. Each Bracket
has a different schedule, reflecting the different stakes they represent.
4.6.1 Championship Bracket
The Championship Bracket is a Double Elimination tournament to determine the sole Best
Warhammer 40,000 General for the 2023 World Championships of Warhammer. In addition,
each player in the Championship Bracket will - at worst - contribute more WCP points to their
Country Standings than any player outside this bracket. No player is eliminated until they’ve
lost two total games, and ties are not permitted in this bracket (see Section 4.8 for rules on
Tie Breaking at the World Championships), which means the player with 1 loss entering the
final game must defeat their unbeaten opponent in consecutive matches to win. For
purposes of Faction Ranking, Victory Point totals, and Best Overall (as impacts Country
WCP scoring), eliminated players after the first 2 games on Saturday will still play a third
round to complete their required 8 games for these categories. The following illustrates the
path followed by each player in the Championship Bracket, and identifies at what times they
play.
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4.6.1.1 Seeding the Championship Bracket
Player Seed within the Championship Bracket will be based upon their performance during
Pool Play. It is likely many players will exit Pool Play with a similar record (either 5-0, 4-0-1,
or 4-1). Rankings will use tiebreaking criteria to differentiate within the same record for seed:
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Opponent Win % first, Victory Point total second, and randomized if those criteria also tie.
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Wins in Pool Play Medal for 3-0 in World
Bracket will receive a Silver Medal. All players who go 3-0 in the
1-win and 0-win subgroups will receive a Bronze Medal.
4 Gold
These of course also add to their country’s overall Medal
3 Silver Count.
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4.7 Championship Bracket Ties
If a tie should result at the end of the game in the top
1 Bronze
bracket, players will immediately consult a judge without
0 Bronze altering the board state in any way. With the judge's
assent, play will then continue for additional battle
rounds wherein the only scoring done is a count of the
number of objectives held at the end of each player's respective turn. If, at the end of any
subsequent Battle Round, one player held more objectives at the end of their turn than the
other did at the end of theirs, that player wins and the game immediately ends. For scoring
purposes, subtract one point from the losing player's score as it stood when the game was
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tied after the end of regulation.
The Warhammer 40,000 hobby is multi-faceted; including social, gaming, and artistic
components. With that in mind, the overall winner is determined by equal parts artistic and
competitive score from all games of the event. Both scores are normalized, then added
together. The highest score wins Best Overall. The formula for Best Overall at the 2023
World Championships is Wins/8 + Paint Score/85. Ties are broken by Opponent Win %,
followed by total Victory Points. Each player’s first 8 Games over the course of the event are
the only ones considered for purposes of assessing Best Overall (so, the end of Saturday for
players in the Championship Bracket, and the end of Sunday’s games for players in the
World Bracket).
The player who wins the Championship Bracket will be the Best General. Due to the nature
and timing of how and when Best General and Best Overall are determined, should a player
manage to win both awards, they will instead receive 2nd Best Overall.
Both the winner of Best Overall and the Best General will earn incredible, bespoke trophies
designating them the Best General and Best Overall in the world for 2023. We consider
these awards to be equal in prestige.
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together and added to the base 70, giving the player a paint score between 55-85. These
marks are awarded against the combined considerations of technical skill, visual impact,
artistic decision, and consistency across the army.
A visually arresting display may help to improve your score at the judges’ discretion, but the
inclusion of a display does not automatically garner points. However, particularly stunning
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displays may be eligible for independent awards.
As mentioned above, in addition to Best Painted and 2nd Best Painted awards, every
player's paint score will be normalized and added to your normalized competitive track
score. Combined; these represent your Best Overall score.
5.4 Medals
Along with WCP, the chart presented in Section 4.1 above indicates different placings in the
tracked categories of performance that will earn a medal.
The medals will be Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Players satisfying the criteria for each medal
will be presented with and keep these medals as a memento item to return home with.
Awards and recognition may be given at random for superior sportsmanship. Players may be
disqualified or removed from the event for consistently poor sportsmanship.
Additionally, we will award a special recognition award(s) for those players who best
demonstrate the international spirit of the event.
In addition to individual sportsmanship and special recognition awards, the opportunity for
Country level accolades for spirit and sportsmanship exists.
Countries that display superior sportsmanship and embrace the international spirit of the
event will be recognized for their commitment to building a global Warhammer community.
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6.0 Terrain & Missions
6.1 Mission Selection
All missions will be selected from the Leviathan Tournament Companion. Every mission will
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be used at least once, with the exception of Sites of Power. Sites of Power will not be in play.
The mission order and any missions played more than once will not be revealed until you
arrive at the World Championships.
6.2 Table Layouts
Terrain Layouts can and will change on certain tables throughout the course of play. These
layouts may differ from table to table throughout the event. You will always be playing on a
layout, however, that is appropriate for the Mission currently in play (according to the
Leviathan GT Pack). If you arrive at a table and the terrain layout looks incorrectly set-upor
the layout is inappropriate for the current mission, please contact a judge before beginning
the course of play. Once armies are deployed and play has begun, judges are not able to
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guarantee a subsequent change in the terrain.
7.0 Coverage
Photography and filming may take place throughout the weekend by Games Workshop staff,
press and partners. Any photos or video footage taken may be used by Games Workshop
and their partners for promotional purposes. No financial compensation will be given for use
of the photos or footage.
Warhammer Community will be closely covering the happenings throughout the World
Championships of Warhammer. This will include, but is not limited to, stream coverage on
the Warhammer Twitch Channel, numerous Warhammer Community articles before, during,
and after the event, and an updating Country Medal and WCP tracker.
During the event, you may be asked to play games on stream, discuss game outcomes with
a host on stream, recount games for Warhammer Community articles, and many other
situations where you will be presented publicly. You are not required to participate in any of
these activities if you are uncomfortable with doing so. If this is the case, please tell the staff
member asking that you do not wish to participate in coverage.
Those players who perform particularly well, have exceedingly beautiful armies, or display
great spirit should expect to be covered in more detail. This especially applies to players that
make it to the Championships bracket. These eight players will receive a higher level
coverage on Saturday and Sunday, as one will be crowned the World Champion!
You should expect the entire global community of Warhammer fans to be paying close
attention to your game play and conduct throughout the event. As such, you must ensure
that you use appropriate language while on stream or while conducting any interviews.
Finally, if you have a particularly important story about your journey through the Warhammer
hobby or the path you’ve taken to reach the World Championship, and you wish to share it,
please feel free to let a judge or Warhammer Community member present know. We are
always keen to hear more about the ways Warhammer impacts the lives of those who enjoy
it as a hobby.
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We will adopt a zero tolerance policy to coarse or foul language.
By entering the World Championships of Warhammer, you agree that your name (and your
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ranking, performance, etc.) may be shared publicly by Games Workshop and their partners.
At any time, you may request your personal data by emailing [email protected]
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9.0 Disclaimer
Games Workshop PLC reserves the right to make changes to the event rules or schedule,
for any reason, at any time, without prior notice.