A Tournament Date - Mulligan's Open 2026 Review
- Simon Whitehouse
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
So it's that time of year again where Blood Bowl coaches descend on Scotland for Mulligan's Open the Scottish National and this year it drew in 106 coaches from 12 nations which is amazing to see. This is my second Mulligan's Open and this year it moved venue from the Biscuit Factory in Edinburgh to the Glasgow University Student Union. In my opinion this was the right move as this is a venue upgrade.
What made this tournament special for me was that my wife Jill Whitehouse (LostandConfused) was attending and it's her first ever tournament. We used this tournament as a chance to spend some quality time together without the kids and what a way to do it playing this amazing game. So we travelled from Dumfries on the Friday afternoon and explored the surrounding area and that evening we went to Sano Pizza in Ashton Lane and has to be the best pizza we have ever had, so anyone staying in this area of Glasgow we would recommend checking it out.
Saturday morning comes and after breakfast we head to the venue all excited for the weekend. Jill was a little nervous, she attended last year on the second day watching but watching instead of playing. We get to the venue and was pleased to hear that we was playing on the ground floor only as it was advertised before the event that it would be over 2 floors. With Jill's disability this was a welcome change. When we get into the room we are meet by 2 very good friends Kevin and Kris Mcmurdo (Actually_Zod and CapnRedbeard) and have a catch up with them.
Before I go into the weekend I just want to shout out the TO Chris Rafferty (ChrisRaff88) as the communication leading up to the event was top notch including the statistic breakdown he produced of the races and where people are travelling from. His experience was evident as all weekend everything went smooth.
So going into the tournament I set myself 2 goals, most CAS and best painted. I didn't achieve these goals but came 2nd with Most CAS with 23 behind my friend and fellow club from Dumfries Gamers member Ross Miller (Fabulousmeat86) who got 24 with his Khorne team. The thing I love about attending these tournament is catching up with people and also meeting new people. Over my 6 games I played 5 new people I had never played before including a coach travelling from Germany. Jill just wanted to experience what a tournament is like and why I go to them and hopefully win 1 game. For the weekend i went 1-1-4 and Jill went 1-0-5. The game of the weekend for me was my final game against Stoffer Hoyle (IcelandicShayman) who I meet at UKTC last year as we were the only 2 people crazy enough to run Halflings at it and have struck up a friendship since, so it was finally nice to play a game against him.
The lunch provided on both days was refreshing from the usual greasy food I'm accustomed to seeing at Scottish Blood Bowl tournaments, it included a can of fizzy juice, a sandwich or wrap, a piece of fruit , a pack of crisps and a Scottish staple Tunnock Caramel Log which was served up stairs. It was good over the weekend over lunch chatting to people and finding out how they got on. It was nice over lunch on day 2 because me and Kevin wearing our Dumfries Gamers tops I had Ken MacDonald (Kenmacdonald) come over to me as he was originally from Dumfries and me and Jill had a great chat with him and Nuffle has a great control of fate because when round 5 was drawn I see was drawn up against Ken and his lovely Orcs.
The best story of the whole weekend was my friend Kevin winning the whole thing. I have been travelling with Kevin to tournaments for the last 2 years and for the last year he's come so close to winning one but was always the bridesmaid never the bride. At the start of day 2 when he gets into the venue he comes up to me and says "I'm wearing my Dumfries Gamers shirt because I could win it today". He was running Chaos Chosen which people have been saying are not a top team in the 2025 rules. It pleased me so much to see him win not only his first tournament but to win Mulligan's Open the Scottish National, I hope this success continues as he deserves it the work he puts in to improving but also the way he plays the game.
The things that make this tournament special is not the Blood Bowl as every tournament has that it's all the things that are provided around the blood bowl. Not only was the effort made by Chris and Jock (Scotland Team Captain) to put on socials outside of the tournament. On Friday night they advertised a social for coaches to meet up at some bars and a curry was organised for the second night. Me and Jill didn't take part in either as we wanted to maximise time as a couple and enjoy some us time without the kids.
So I asked Jill what her experience was like for her weekend. She had a brilliant weekend she said "the people are so lovely and welcoming". She was so happy to win a game and the fact the people not only were nice but the fact that they were willing to give a bit of their time to give her some tips on how she could improve her game, which she has used and has managed to win her first league game since the tournament. She has enjoyed it so much she has signed up to other tournaments.
So the at the end of day 2 we find out who won what.
1st - Actually_Zod
2nd - Siggi
Most TD's - LordGarlack
Most CAS - Fabulousmeat86
Stunty Cup - Edwith1D
Best Painted Single Model - AMSFELD
Best Painted Ream - Fireolli
Wooden Spoon - MK1Ultramatine
So to conclude me and Jill had an amazing weekend and it was nice for her to experience what I love doing playing this crazy game. Mulligan's Open is a great tournament and in my opinion got better this year. The venue change was a great change from last year, the food provided for lunch was also a step up. This tournament has something for all levels of experience and is welcoming to all types of people. We are both excited to attend again next year and with the dates already released we have it marked in our calendar already. Hope to see people there next year.
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