Hello ladies and gentlemen of the 40k persuasion, SaltyJohn from TFG Radio here with another article looking at the current state of the ITC.
The top 30 in the ITC has changed a lot over the last few months, more so than the top 10. I like to take a look outside the top 10 from time to time to avoid tunnel vision and also to explore some of the players that are making big moves but get less attention.
Let’s look first at Tom Ogden and Jony Velazquez in 15th and 16th places respectively. They’ve both put together impressive runs so far with some great finished at events in the United States. They are also playing more than one army, but not quite codex hopping with the meta.
Both Ogden and Velazquez had stuck to just two armies, for the most part, this season. Tom Ogden has put together a set of GT wins with Dark Angels and a very respectable 3rd place at the FLG Atlantic City Open with Dark Angels as well. He has also played Cult Mechanicus this season, taking them to 2nd place at the Michigan GT for his 2nd highest score of the season. Jony Velazquez has stuck with mostly two Chaos armies this season, Death Guard and now it seems he hopped to Thousand Sons. Velazquez took the Thousand Sons, just after their release, all the way to an 8th place finish at the US Open in New Orleans. His high place finished in several Texas events and first place at the Branson Brawl with Death Guard round out his scores. Mark Perry, Junior Aflleje, and Steve Trimble are also some great players putting together impressive seasons running up to the Las Vegas Open in 2 months.
Mark Perry from Art of War has been busy, like his teammates, tearing up the competitive scene. Particularly at the Games Workshop US Open events.
Mark has played mostly Chaos of some flavor this season but has recently jumped to Orks and has been doing very well with them. His 3rd place finish at the US Open in New Orleans is his highest score, and a 9th place finish with his dreaded Aeldari artillery spam list at the US Open in Orlando is his 2nd highest score. A first-place finish at Dakka Kon with Chaos is his third-highest score and an impressive feat as well!
Junior Aflleje is one of the best players on the West Coast, he has consistently put up big numbers the past few ITC Seasons and this year is no exception.
Junior has been splitting his time, unevenly, between Blood Angels and Drukhari this season. He won one of the first GTs in So Cal when things opened back up for gaming in Pasadena, the Hammer of Wrath GT which is a mainstay of the Southern California tournament scene being one of the first GTs in the area when the ITC began. His third-place finish with Drukhari at Frontline Gaming’s So Cal Open has earned him his most points so far this season, just be sure to double-check any lists he might help you with to make sure they’re legal. His lists always are, but he isn’t as careful with his friend’s lists…
Steve Trimble is another great player making moves this season. The events he has attended have some of the most entertaining names I have seen.
Steve has been playing Custodes, for the most part, this season, and his best finishes are all with Custodes. His highest score was a 3rd place finish at the US Open in Orlando with Custodes. First place finishes at Tau Tipping, Ferrus Manus Memorial, and Keone’s Hawaiian Shirt Birthday Tournament join Fabulous Bill’s Vaccination Extravaganza for his best showings with Custodes. I told you the events he attended have some great names. I am excited to see how the players in the top 30-100 place at LVO and where they end up in the final rankings for the ITC season.
Next up are a few important notes about the Las Vegas Open 2022. I wanted to put some of this info out there because we are starting to get questions all over Facebook and other places. Much of this is covered in the player packet found here.
- There will be an event FAQ. It will not be linked to, or published, until some point after Frontline Gamings next event in New Orleans in two weeks.
- You can expect rulings from the New Orleans event will stay the same for LVO unless there’s a Games Workshop FAQ/Errata before LVO.
- The new rules cut off and list submission dates were changed so that list submission is no longer before the cut-off.
- Frontline Gaming Player Optimized terrain will be used at the Las Vegas Open 2022. You can expect only minor changes, if any, from the FLG New Orleans event and LVO in terms of terrain rules.
As we get closer to the event there will be the traditional PSA video from the Las Vegas Open 40k Championship judges. We try to make sure information is disseminated in as many places as possible over multiple mediums so we can cover all our bases. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Las Vegas Open in 2022!