So i went to the World Cup of Blood Bowl.
I left London for a Tournament that wasnt the uktc or NAFC, for the first time.
I left the country to play Blood Bowl for the first time.
People were surprised by those facts, but they remain true. I may be both the most over rated coach in Blood Bowl, and the one assumed more experienced than I am.
And at the World Cup i was for sure found out. But after 18 months of just lovely dice, i was due.
[8:21 AM]
Everywhere i went, Wednesday to Monday people rushed to say Hi, shake my hand and thank me for OWOBB, which was incredibly flattering, if exhausting. There were also plenty of mates to keep me grounded by pointing out i was a gobshite idiot fooling the World with a beguiling voice backed by a brittle grasp of BB. I took a lot of selfies, had a lot of drinks bought for me, and partied like a man many years younger, with men many years younger. for 7 nights i averaged 3 hours sleep. I maybe need to take better choices going forward.
The gang i coached with were amazing, just all lovely people and the atmosphere in the team was always good. @JB , @Java , @Goblinscorcher and @GreenskinPhil were wonderful company and coached some great BB, but to me rolling dice next to my hero and friend @Christer was a memory i will treasure and if i have any disappointments it's that while time was found to celebrate GalakStarscraper (rightly so) Christer did not get the same respect. with his NAF number of '5', and the fact he built the NAF website and helped start the entire thing, let alone FUMBBL and all its done for Blood Bowl, they dropped the ball there in my eyes.
That aside the organisation was pretty good. There were delays at doors, huge queues for food and other minor annoyances, but overall it was impressively handled and the World Cup VI has a lot to live up to in 4 years time.
The other side of Team FUMBBL were excellent company with @SickAsEggs leading @thulean @pokrjax @The Martian @VultureSquadron and @RyliaKolNami excellently they got some solid results and provided the platform for @thulean to grab the honour of 'Worlds best Amazon coach', a richly deserved reward for a younger Blood Bowler i feel will be topping rankings for years to come. He is humble and quietly spoken, but his BB shouts and screams of the quality he brings. If you face him on the pitch, real or electronic, the game will be tough.

Game 1:
Stewbacca. The London and South East NAF rep. With Dark Elves. You travel abroad for BB and face someone you see at most local Tournaments. It was cagey and tight, but i came away the 1-0 winner. He was lovely and a smashing way to start my international Blood Bowl. I now consider us friends.

Game 2:
Salty Murcut. Rob. its the DBL for us, Londons biggest BB league. My Dark Elves have faced his Lizzards twice before this year. with a 6+ Saurus interception meaning the first was a draw, a 3+ with reroll failing making the second a draw, and costing me a Tournament win, and handing him his first NAF title. We get on great, had a fun game and this time i managed a 3-0, it felt like redemption. I felt it was due. We'll play again, and it will be fun and smiles all round I'm sure. Another smashing young man with a big Blood Bowl future, not afraid to try a 6+ if thats what its going to take, it was, he did, it worked, but i recovered and got it done.

Game 3:
Our first foray into the unknown. Eden from Spain. He is the rookie of their team apparently, having played some years ago and only recently taken the dice back up. His Necro were annoying as hell, he threw six fouls with no bench and no bribe. My drive got there for 1-0 at the half, and despite very low numbers i managed to force a crisis of belief and he scored leaving me 2 turns to reply, a crucial snake in the first turn made it incredibly tough, but i actually found some decent Blood Bowl, allied to good dice, and got the 2-1 win.
3-0-0 first day made me very very happy. Nuffle saw my Hubris and Struck back.

Game 4:
Day two. The dice turned. Afur from the Canaries. Coaching Amazons with Zug. I got steam rolled first half amidst a blizzard of snakes. Literally (actually literally, not modern literally) every 1 i rolled rerolled to a 1. One of those game nothing can be done. He drove home easily, with very numbers of remaining elves i withdrew my offence, he had no idea how to deal with it and piled forward centrally. I would take only 3 2+'s to be up the left flank fully screened and there stall up for the draw. but my fifth snake came on the third 2+ and he went quickly in for 2-0. i had a good shot at 2-1, buit a sixth snake denied it. even than, as all game, with every roll he called out softly 'please a 1' and celebrated when it was. I did find this incredibly annoying, like he wanted me to fail, not him to win. I mentioned it at the end and he was sorry, but I dont coach wanting opponents tro fail, i mean i do, but quietly, and i DO occasionally call for a 1, but not every roll. it was wearing. Not enough to make me have hate, he was pleasant enough, but the game was brutal, and it did leave a bad taste.

Game 5:
AndyDavo. ffs.
I really nearly took andy in our fumbbl practice game pre world cup, only a 1 over the line stopping the win, so i felt pretty confident. Andy is a top level coach, but I'm not entirely rubbish and DE > Khorne, with better choices i should have won. I took a bad decision first half and tried to stall leaving him only 2 turns back instead of three, needing a push ona one die to do it. didnt get it, he surfed me, of course, and the half ended 0-0 after a very lucky pow stopped the turnover td. Second half i nearly got the stop, a couple of bad bounces and 4+ with dodge failed left him a couple of 2 die and a 3+ without rerolls for the win, he got it. but no complaints, he coached far better and i deserved the loss.
We played in good spirits, i call Andy a friend and hope he feels the same. it was a fun game despite the loss, and probably the best coach i faced all week end.

Game 6:
My dice day two were bad. nothing i had done had worked really, even the silly ANdy stall would work 8 time sin 9. But thats bb. My dice stayed bad this game, my 4 rerolls dissapearing by turn 6 both halves on things that just had to be rerolled.
But my goodness did Osskpo have bad dice. probably the worst dice i have ever seen in 10,000 games of BB. his first action skulls, one of hios 2 rerolls went, second action skulls. so the ball is on the floor, in range, a line elf marks the one tz on it, a witch can blitz with no GFI's to clear the TZ. she does, its a 1 in 9, but the wrestle means thats fine. so a blitzer jumps over her, you can do that now, and snakes the pick up. he sets to 2 die the blitzer and clear the ball area, and skulls it, last reroll goes in and he scoops the ball and runs off. He needs another 2 die to free one more player and cage the ball. its skulls again.
I steal the ball and stall the half out with it. he double skulls on turns 3, 4, 5 and 6. at that point we stop counting.
I felt for him. he was really really down.
His dice stayed shit, as did mine but his were worse, in the second half, but i got to 2-0 and got the win.
4-0-2 after 2 days, and a slight feeling there is a meta here im not on top of, im being found out.

Game 7:
Runes, a nice polite French coach. Who now hates me.
He had Varag Underworld. I despise underworld, they need to lose the snotlings. Clear as day. Then they'll be strong but fine.
I was all over his drive, with four shots on the ball carrier, but 4+'s with dodge failed, and one with wrestle failed, and a 2 die failed. I forced him in and left 3 turns to score, it failed on a 1 in 9. (killed his gutter, apo worked) but thats bb.
Yet i had him reduced in numbers and he started second half with 11 only. So the plan was 4 rerolls, plenty of elves, score quick, push for win.
Ball landed in my td zone, not ideal, first action triple skulls. second action double skulls. pick up 1. so three rerolls gone, plans change.
I got the 1-1 easily, in T16. i had coached fast as they'd called half time on turn 6 of his drive, and he had taken the time, not me.
So i throw the elves on the pitch, he takes 6 minutes to set up., with dice all around as he plans the one turner. He's short of numbers and as i put die in the cup for the kick off the refs call time. i put the cup down and say 'c'est finis'. he and the team are not happy, they call a ref, Ref says 'as far as im concerned the game is over, its a draw' but turns to me and says 'but if you choose to let him play, he can'. in a singles game, he gets to play it. if the round was secure, he gets to play it. but if we draw, the team wins the round, if he one turns the team draws the round. So i call it, and its a draw.
6 Frenchmen join the queue of people that hate me, they wont see the front from there. And there is a new small dark stain upon my soul.
But i dont always have to be nice. I try to be a good human, but sometimes I am not.
I am a work in progress.

Game 8:
Padiani, with Necromantic. My only repeat race. I was outcoached and well beaten. I had some shots but didnt deserve the draw, let alone the win. There were dice of course, and he fouled without bench or bribe, but no complaints. I know im not bad at Blood Bowl but there are a lot better than me, and he was one, at least in that game. (edited)

Game 9:
MarcosGrande Orc.
I felt he was sent in to draw vs me. he set up a wall of Orcs i had to one die and push or better to get some elves into the backfield and 'go vertical' as i call it, where you stretch the play the length of the field , rather than across it, it broght me the space to get past and the 1-0 at the half wasnt especially trying.
he drove back in good order, allowing me no shots at the ball carrier, but my elves were able to throttle the space and he felt he had to score turn 15 with no where safe to go. The drive back in 2 turns was tough, a simpleside push got me there, and while the 2+ dodge needed the dodge reroll, the 2 die block to move a goblin went fine, with no reroll cover and i got the 2-1. At least ending with a win.

So... 5-1-3. Not great, but not awful, and over the 50% target. Yet i also leave feeling i had a lot of very bad dice, and my opponents, barring poor Osskpo, not so much.

I had a great time, mad and weird, but good. My team mates were fantastic to be with, and kept me grounded amidst the madness.
My UKTC experiences have made me believe for a long time there are 6 or so teams across Europe that really only 'All The Presidents Men' (Purplegoo, Geggster, Lycos, Joemanji, jimjimany +1 (this time ghorghor) get close to on the UK scene. I was wrong, its probably 30 teams. From everywhere. Which is humbling to realise. There is a level of coaching on Table Top i dont feel im reaching, possibly even an entire meta i am not keying into:
Heavy fouling, one die blocks when needed, snotlings doing 16 dodges to fill the gaps to allow cool plays. A level of aggressiveness (on the pitch) you just dont see in UK tournaments. i do worry the Uk, and maybe North America too, are dropping behind, and when the ageing titans of ATPM finally hang up their dice, i hope some of the young tyros of the Uk have upped their game and we can compete. While Purplegoo will be able to beat all of us even in his 80's, and geggster will still be the coolest man at any event, in shorts and a smile, these are not young men, and BB needs a future.
That said the table top scene has never looked healthier in my time in BB, and everyone seems to have a story of expanding leagues and over subscribed Tournaments, so maybe the future isnt bleak, and I just need more sleep. I am sure a new younger cadre will form, and going forwards i hope to see that happen, and us old timers can shuffle off to play on the lower tables and bemoan how it was all different in our day.
My record of 5-1-3 was fair, if a tad unlucky, and while old, i hope to be there in '27 and do better, there is more Bb in me i hope, and next time i will be better prepared, less overawed and not make the same mistakes. i will make entirely new ones.
Peace love and blood bowl to you all.