2024 is a big year for community run Netrunner tournaments! This article is part of a short series spotlighting some particularly notable tournaments being organised separately from NSG Organized Play this year. Today, CobraBubbles swaps his NSG Lead Editor hat for his UK Tournament Organiser hat to tell us all about UK Regionals!
Sheffield, November 2023. As UK Nationals come to an end, 100 or so of the country’s most infamous Net Runners and their associates begin to drift back to their home bases across the islands, their enhanced brains swimming with thoughts of future Organised Play. They do not know it yet, but a handful of these intrepid Cyber Punks will soon be drawn into a shadowy conspiracy of plots, schemes, and cool alt-arts. Their locations are various; their means, mysterious. But their motive is clear: to bring new life to the UK Netrunner scene with a series of community-run Regional Championships!
That’s right, melodramatic narrator – UK Regionals are back! A group of dedicated TOs are putting on a series of six community-run Netrunner tournaments at strategic locations across the nations in Summer and Autumn 2024.
These are not official NSG events, but nonetheless you can expect a high standard of competitive play, some totally sick prizes and a damn good time at every Regional. Each event will consist of a one-day tournament, so you don’t need to stay overnight if you don’t want to, but be prepared to leave late so you can head to the pub after swiss, cheer on the top eight competitors, or compete amongst them yourself!
Speaking of prizes, let’s cut to the chase: on behalf of the UK Regionals TOs, I can now reveal our exclusive prizing for UK Regionals 2024!
Each of these three brand new alt-arts, by beloved UK-based artist Brindelmold, will be available as a participation prize at two of the six regionals. See if you can make it to multiple events and collect them all! And while you’re at it, if you can best the competition and make it to the top eight of a Regional, you’ll also win yourself a playmat:
We asked Brindelmold to deliver an image of how different the UK might look in Netrunner’s cyberpunk future, and he did not disappoint! Reimagining the iconic Angel of the North as part of a foreboding megacityscape, with a twist of dark British humour, the work holds a distorted mirror up to a crisis-stricken country. And it looks cool as hell!
Lastly, the winner of each Regional will be able to claim a paid-for ticket to UK Nationals 2024, taking place in Cambridge 15th-17th November. Look out for more details on Nationals coming soon.
Here are the details of the six 2024 UK Regionals – with links to each event’s AlwaysBeRunning page, where you can find more info.
South West Regional Championship:
- When: 27th July
- Where: Excelsior Games, Bristol
- Participation prize: Hannah “Wheels” Pilintra
- AlwaysBeRunning page
Midlands Regional Championship:
- When: 10th August
- Where: The Dice Cup, Nottingham
- Participation prize: Wage Workers
- AlwaysBeRunning page
South East Regional Championship:
- When: 24th August
- Where: The Games Shop, Aldershot
- Participation prize: Oppo Research
- AlwaysBeRunning page
Scotland Regional Championship:
- When: 7th September
- Where: Tabletop Scotland, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
- Participation prize: Wage Workers
- AlwaysBeRunning page
East Anglia Regional Championship:
- When: 21st September
- Where: The Tram Depot, Cambridge
- Participation prize: Hannah “Wheels” Pilintra
- AlwaysBeRunning page
The North Regional Championship:
- When: 5th October
- Where: Patriot Games, Sheffield
- Participation prize: Oppo Research
- AlwaysBeRunning page
We know many players (from the UK and elsewhere) are excited to meet old friends, make new ones, and test their cardboard-slinging skills at Regionals this year. It’s gonna be a blast – come join us!
