Italian GT Nationals Flames of War – Road to ETC 2024
By Paolo Paglianti
The most important event of the year for Flames of War enthusiasts is at the beginning of August when the best players from every European nation (and beyond, including New Zealand and the USA!) will converge on Krakow. This year, Krakow will host the ETC 2024, the Flames of War World Team Championship (we covered how it went last year here, and the 2022 edition here).
To prepare at their best, but the invitation is also open to players who will not participate in the ETC but want to challenge some of the best European players, we are organizing the Italian National GT, which will take place in mid-June in Milan. On June 15-16, at the impressive sports center of Cornaredo, where I organize all ‘my’ wargame tournaments, the tournament will take place over two days, which will also be the final stage of the Italian FOW Championship.
To allow everyone to participate, there will be an initial ranking on Saturday evening, taking into account the first three matches, which will count towards the Italian FOW Championship. After that, those who wish can also stay on Sunday, and we will continue, starting again from the Saturday ranking. The ranking on Sunday evening, after five matches, will determine the winner of the Italian National GT.
The venue where we will play, from a recent tournament. There is a lot of space!
We already have prestigious sponsors: not only does Battlefront officially support the tournament, providing plaques for the top three players and one of the highly coveted Official 2024 Objectives, but we also have great prizes from the Austrian store S-Games. We will also have the support from videogame publisher Slitherine, with a coupon for their Digital store valid for 15$ – the fact I work in Slitherine is completely a coincidence!
The tournament fee is 25 € per day (50 € if you play both Saturday and Sunday) and includes the lunches. The closest hotel is literally on the other side of the street from the tournament location, so an ideal position to come and play without worrying about cabs.
The lunch moment at the recent ITC 2024, the World Team championship for Ancient/Medieval tournament I hosted in April. Food and venue will be the same for FOW Italian GT Nationals!
This is the “Pinsa”, a special square-shaped Pizza, but lighter. Meet also the Hambugher in the top left corner, while you’ll have to believe for the Pasta Amatriciana.
So it won’t be an easy tournament: we have already 26 players registered, including the Italian ETC Captain, the Swiss team ETC one, the UK team Captain and the former France ETC Captain!
Besides the Flames of War tournament, on Sunday we will also host the Saga – Age of Crusades tournament and the Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team tournament.
So, no matter if you want to play a WW2, Sci-fi, or medieval wargame: we hope to see you in Milan on June 15-16! If you want any info, please email to me (Paglianti@gmail.com)
Some Links, if you are interested:
The official Flames of War Italian GT Nationals site, with all the info
The list of registered players
The Italian GT National Facebook Page
The Magnificent Global list from Soren Petersen and our friends at Breakthru Assault for all FOW tournament in Europe