The sound of thousands of dice rolling at a US Open event is a beautiful thing. There are hundreds of beautifully-painted armies battling it out, fast friendships being forged with every round, and Warhammer events and activities galore, all held in a gorgeous event hall in a fantastic city. For many, that’s a dreamy day of gaming bliss – but for those who’ve never attended a tournament before, it can all seem a little intimidating.
In fact, the Warhammer US Open events are the perfect environment for first-timers to jump into the tournament scene! Let us explain.
The US Open series is designed for players of every skill level. Entrants are carefully matched based on something called “win-path pairing” – as each player wins and loses games, they’ll be paired against opponents not just with the same record, but who also won and lost at the same time. This encourages matches between competitors who are on a similar journey through the event – a player who loses their first two games and then wins four more against evenly-matched opponents will not find themselves facing a player who won their first four games and only lost to two of the toughest contenders in the entire event.
This system ensures that you’ll increasingly face armies of a similar power level, opponents of a similar skill level, and hobbyists who are having a similar emotional experience across the US Open – which makes it even more likely that you’ll find new friendships with each passing round.
At the 2021 US Opens, nearly half of the attendees were at their first-ever tournament – and reports were overwhelmingly positive.
Brackets are another major innovation, which kick in after the fourth round. The toughest players in the field – those who’ve all gone 4-0 – will now be paired only against one another in the next four rounds. On the other end of the spectrum, players who brought more flavorful but perhaps less optimised armies – who may have started 0-4 – get to spend the rest of the event competing against those with a similar approach.
Separating players into brackets at the halfway mark means you’ll spend the bulk of your event playing against opponents suited to your skill and the power of your army – and still have a chance at prizes for generalship. There is a prize for the winner of each bracket, not just the overall winner – a dip into the fabled Warchest, which holds mysterious goodies including limited edition models, rare art prints, and even signed Black Library hardcover books!
Got a hankering to play a touch of Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer Age of Sigmar, but just can’t stay for the whole event? There’s an option for you, too! The Open Play Ticket is a super-easy way to pop into the hall at your convenience and play anyone else, all with the full tournament hall experience and that gorgeous US Open terrain.
The 2022 US Open series caters to every type of Warhammer fan. There are some incredible hobby classes on the slate, where Warhammer hobbyists can learn from some of the best artists in the world. Topics include how to base models like a pro, flawless non-metallic metal painting, and even an introduction to airbrushing using the fantastic line of Citadel Air paints.
There’s an Open Hobby pass at the US Open in Seattle, giving hobbyists of any level access to all the Citadel hobby paints, tools, and materials, but it also includes a free model you can convert using our extensive bits bin, paint up, and enter at the end of the event for your own dip into the Warchest!
Last – but certainly not least – is the shopping. Oh, the shopping! The US Events team works tirelessly to stock some of the most incredible products at the travelling Forgeworld store, including Titans, primarchs, rare vehicles, Legion-specific models, and more.
There’s loot to be found for Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Aeronautica Imperialis, Adeptus Titanicus, and the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, and event exclusives that you can’t get anywhere else in the US, including the Primaris Company Champion and Mugruk da Watcha, US Open tournament table acrylics, faction-based neoprene objective markers, art prints, pins, mugs, and accessories galore.
The best part? You don’t even need a ticket to attend. If you’re curious, you can just stop in and check out the whole event, including the shop. That’s right – it’s free to come by and say hi to the Games Workshop team.
There are five US Open series events in 2022, all over the country. Join us at:
US Open Seattle between May 6th and May 8th
US Open San Diego 2022 between June 9th and June 12th
US Open Chicago 2022 between October 6th and October 9th
US Open Kansas City 2022 between October 27th and October 30th
Grand Narrative & US Open Finale 2022 in New Mexico between November 17th and November 20th
We’ve got tons more information available on all five of the US Open events right here. Check it out, and we’ll see you there!