Within the sport of Wargames, there are events that are held throughout the calendar year that generate fanfare that supersedes everything else that the sport has to offer. The winners of these events are marked down in the annals of history, never to be forgotten, but that is a privilege which is very much earned through the grueling process that these events entail.
X-1
The X-1 tournament is the absolute pinnacle of all of Wargames, being the most storied, and prestigious tournament in the sport’s over two-hundred year history. It is simply a knockout tournament containing the top sixteen ranked solo Gladiators in division one, with the winner being crowned the winner of the X-1. The winning Gladiator of the X-1 tournament is granted a fight with the number one ranked Gladiator in the world, with a chance to take their spot at the top of the rankings.
Most Wins – Kensei Hikari | 6
Raging 8
With the X-1 being the pinnacle of solo competition, The Raging 8 is the equivalent in tandem competition. This again is a knockout tournament between the top eight ranked tandem teams in division one of Wargames. Just like the X-1, the winning team is granted an opportunity to take the top spot of the tandem rankings.
Most Wins – Raven Lorre and Elijah Garrett | 5
Galactica Invitational
The pinnacle of faction competition takes on a very different shape to the X-1, and the Raging 8. It’s still a tournament, between the top eight factions in the world, however this field does not include the top ranked faction, but the ninth instead. The winning faction then takes on the top ranked faction at the Galactica Stadium, located in Darwin, Japan. Galactica Stadium is much larger than other stadiums, with obstacles set up in the arena itself. It was set up this way for the final match of the Galactica Invitational, a capture the flag. This entails all five members of each faction working cohesively to protect their own flag, while defeating their opponents in order to capture their flag. This event was actually introduced by arguably the greatest faction in history, Galactica. Due to the lack of competition that they faced, they set this tournament up to give the winner a fair shot at taking their top spot in the rankings directly.
Most Wins – Red Dragon and Guillotine | 15
Best of the Juniors
The Best of the Juniors is a great stepping stone for the next generation of Gladiators to take their first steps into the history books of the sport. It is a knockout tournament between the top eight Gladiators that are under the age of twenty.
Most Wins – Keizou Ikeda, Kensei Hikari and Venom Okoro | 3
Bloodbath Royale
The Bloodbath Royale is an event like no other in Wargames. It is an event limited to every member of division one of the solo league, where they are all thrown into the arena simultaneously. It all takes place at Stadium Tourbillon in Manila, Japan, a stadium that is set up with a gargantuan floor space. The rules are simple, all of the entrants are thrown into the arena at the same time, and the last one standing is the winner. In order to force combat, and not allow any sort of fleeing, the size of the arena is shrunk over time using two huge walls that act as the hands of a clock, closing down the area. Once there are four combatants left, they climb up to the central raised area to finish the fight. As well as this solo Bloodbath Royale event, there is a tandem version which also occurs in the same arena. The rules are very much the same, but both members of the tandem have to be taken out for the team to be eliminated.
Solo Most Wins – Rodrygo Costa | 7
Tandem Most Wins – Mason Moroyna and Amos Jones | 6
King of the Hill
The King of the Hill is another very unique event on the Wargames calendar. This event takes place at Drago Arena in Seoul, Japan, an arena like no other. This arena is simply a platform, suspended high above the ground. One by one, at a regular interval, sixteen members of division one of the solo league are dropped from an airship above onto the platform. Each Gladiator attempts to knock the others from the platform, and the last one that remains is considered the King of the Hill.
Most Wins – Rei Takeda | 9
Breakthrough Invitational
The Breakthrough Invitational is an invitation only tournament in which sixteen gladiators are handpicked from division one and occasionally division two to compete in a knockout tournament. Most of the time, the invitations are sent out to lower ranked members of division one. This is because this tournament is seen as an opportunity for a slightly lower ranked Gladiator to propel themselves to the top of rankings.
Most Wins – Gerard LeBeau, Anatoly Drago and Akihiro Nagata | 3
The Battle Series
In the months of November and December, the regular league fixtures of the top divisions of all three forms of Wargames are put on hold. This is to make way for the battle series, five tournaments across all three forms. These five tournaments are as follows:
Battle of the Aces
Battle of the Seconds
Battle of the Fifths
Battle of the Tandems
Battle of the Factions
The first three tournaments are all solo competition. They are knockout tournaments consisting of the top sixteen Gladiators that hold the required position within their faction. For example, the Battle of the Aces is sixteen-Gladiator knockout tournament consisting only of Gladiators that are the Aces of their respective factions. The Battle of the Tandems works in the same way, but in the tandem form. It takes the top sixteen ranked tandems that occupy that spot within their faction. The Battle of the Factions is the same sixteen-entrant set up but for three-on-three faction based competition.
Battle of the Aces Most Wins – Kensei Hikari and Mistico V | 5
Battle of the Seconds Most Wins – Akihiro Nagata and Katsuyori Ibushi | 4
Battle of the Fifths Most Wins – Bastian Klein | 6
Battle of the Tandems Most Wins – Luka Sesko and Jaka Sesko | 5
Battle of the Factions Most Wins – Warrior’s Code | 13
New Years Carnage
New Years Carnage is arguably the biggest and most storied event overall within Wargames. It is a memorial show that marks the end of Wargames events for the year. The majority of the card for that event is consisted of league fights that the fans have been clamouring to see the most, and it always features the top ranked solo Gladiator and tandem in action. There is one unique match-up on the card however. With Japan being the centre of Wargames, a lot of Gladiators originate from the country. As part of the event, two one-off factions are created for the night, one made up entirely of Japanese Gladiators, and the other of Gladiators from any other country around the world. This Japan vs The World bout takes place under the rules of the longer form of faction competition, and the winning team are all handed a commemorative trophy.