Some Warhammer champions said no to their Golden Tickets over Trump’s politics and principles, perhaps leading GW to move the World Championships (WCW) out of the US for 2026.
Winning a Golden Ticket to the Warhammer World Championships is the dream of free flight, global bragging rights, and a shot at Age of Sigmar glory. But in 2025, Warhammer players said no thanks. Their reason? The host country’s politics, and more to the point, the man at the top: Donald Trump.
Perhaps that is why Games Workshop has moved its year-end center-stage Warhammer event to Europe for 2026, a move that’s turning heads across hobby tables and Reddit threads alike.
GW said, “Warhammer is for everyone,” and players are still holding them to it. Here is why.
World Championships of Warhammer Heads to Barcelona in 2026
Updated on February, 20th, 2026, by Rob Baer with the latest information and links.
GW is officially moving the World Championships of Warhammer from Atlanta to Barcelona, Spain. The event is set to run December 3-6 at Fira de Barcelona. It offers a bigger venue, more qualifiers, more countries, and a louder “nation vs nation” vibe, which basically turns the whole thing into the Warhammer Olympics, but with more plastic and worse sleep.
The lineup is the usual end-boss gauntlet of 40k, Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, and Underworlds, and yes, the tournament packet is still English even with the location swap.
But after last year’s exodus of players from the event, it makes you wonder about the level of behind-the-scenes concern over potential negative PR by Games Workshop after the Golden Ticket player boycott in 2025.
While it will never be confirmed by anyone, we think this is at the very least a factor in the relocation of the WCW event from the States.
More Players Say “No Thanks” To Warhammer World Championships
Quentin Dubus isn’t the only one folding his arms at the departure gate. More players are walking away from their World Championship Golden Tickets, and they didn’t do it quietly.
Take Konstantinos Kellis, for example. He crushed it at Lord of the Mounds IX in Sweden, a tough crowd, smart metas, lots of top-tier Age of Sigmar minds around the table. He earned that win. And yet? No Worlds for him.
“I felt greatly honoured to receive the ticket,” he said in a recent interview, but “the reasons are pretty clear, and they get clearer every day, sadly.”
Then there’s Emma Hallinan, who’s been lighting up the Kill Team scene in Australia. She won one of the biggest Kill Team tournaments in the Southern Hemisphere, the Good Times Rolled Grand Major. Not only that, but she also qualified for another major tournament in 2024.
That’s back-to-back dominance. But when it came time to claim her ticket? She passed. “Travelling to the US would be dangerous for me,” she said, referencing her identity as a trans woman.
This isn’t posturing. It’s people weighing their safety, values, and visibility, and deciding the trip just isn’t worth the personal cost. That should cause people to think. When top players bow out despite months of prep, travel, and effort, it suggests something bigger is at play than just paint jobs and podiums.
The New Warhammer Line in the Sand
Three days after clinching second place at the Custom Wargame Spring Tournament near Brussels (which, by the way, is no small feat), Dubus announced on social media that he’d be turning down his ticket. Not because he’s busy, not because he’s short on travel funds — but as a protest. His reason? The host country. Or, more precisely, its leadership and policies.
In his post titled “Warhammer Is for Everyone: Why I Won’t Participate in the Warhammer World Championships,” he laid it all out. And no, it wasn’t a dramatic rage-quit. It was measured, clear, and grounded in his principles.
Dubus believes that traveling to a country where leadership is, in his words, enacting harmful policies against trans people, marginalized communities, and the environment doesn’t align with the spirit of inclusivity that Games Workshop claims to champion.
Seeing that they were the ones who originally posted the “Warhammer is for everyone” article.
When Gaming Meet Principles
Cue the hobby community raising eyebrows. Some nodding in agreement. Others are scratching their heads. This is Warhammer, after all — toy soldiers, dice rolls, painting marathons. It’s supposed to be a break from politics, right?
Well… not quite.
The truth is, Warhammer has always reflected more than plastic and pigment. It’s about identity, community, and shared narratives. And when those narratives bump up against the real world, people take notice. Champions like Quentin aren’t saying “don’t play the game.” They are saying “the stage matters.”
Beyond the WCW’s The Bigger Conversation
Here’s where this becomes more than one player’s stance. It opens the door for discussion within the community. What do we expect from companies like Games Workshop? Does the place where they host events send a message? And are those messages lining up with their own marketing?
These players made their call. And whether you’re cheering them on or silently disagreeing, it’s clear they didn’t do it for applause.
Final Thoughts from Us: Warhammer World Championships It’s Still Your Move
At the end of the day, everyone has the right to choose to attend the Warhammer World Championships if they win an invite. Some chase the dream across borders. Others ask whether the dream aligns with their values.
Neither approach makes you less of a Warhammer player, but one just sparked a conversation the community may not be able to ignore.
Guide to Warhammer Tournaments
The narcissism runs deep with these people and the politics need to stay out of tabletop gaming period. Of COARSE they did it for applause and to get the public to affirm their beliefs. To quote the article “This isn’t posturing. It’s people weighing their safety, values, and visibility, and deciding the trip just isn’t worth the personal cost.” That is hogwash. Honestly do you think the countries that these “champions” come from are better and safer when it comes to freedom of speech? Try posting something about their government, on their soil, and see where that leads you. The trans person should try visiting Africa, half of Asia and the Middle East then talk about personal safety. Nobody is hunting down the alphabet people in the US. A real Champion would accept the invitation and represent their people without the drama.
” it tells us something bigger may be going on than just paint jobs and podiums”. This I would agree with. More division when there doesn’t need to be. It’s gaming, not real life.
This article itself should have never been written in the first place. It’s just throwing gasoline on a match that will quickly burn out.
Just some delusional people virtue signaling a whole lot of nothing nonsense.
These people are letting their narcissism override what they ostensibly earned by playing a miniatures game. Warhammer, WH40K, Kill Team, etc, are just games. They’re not some social commentary, nor are they about identity, community, and shared narratives, like one of the winners stated. If that’s your reality, I’m sad for you. I enjoy gaming immensely and have played miniature, board, and role-playing games for decades, but I keep it in its proper place. The trans person would be perfectly safe in the U.S… the fear is unfounded and absurd. Give those Golden Tickets to someone who just wants to play a game and not virtue-signal or participate in political grandstanding instead of miniature wargaming.
Love to support people’s ability to protest; good on you. But you shouldn’t base your opinions on an algorithmic bubble on social media. Trump isn’t taking rights away from anyone. Stop listening to the talking heads.you will enjoy the hobby more if you leave politics out.
It was, though. It absolutely was. This was useless and performative.
These people are pathetic.
The fact he was second place screams mediocre…
What a muppet
He can do what he wants, join, don’t join.
But why make it a big political thing when he was just afraid of losing.
Warhammer is for Everyone? When was the last time anybody played a game against a woman, or a queer person in a GW store? I love painting the models and would love to play the game but I’ve better things to do than deal with a room full of trolls.
Like dancing at the feet of Slaanesh or do you just sing…
Demon Prince Fulgrim won’t love you anymore if you don’t scream louder.
Sincerely, a woman who plays & trolls with the best of them…
(Also I’m joking so please don’t get mad 🤣💕)
It is his absolute right to do so. However, pray tell what does the president of the U.S. have to do with WarHammer ??? NOTHING !!! I’d Strongly Prefer if folks keep that out of this
Thats fine, its his choice. I’m sure their are others more then happy to take his place. Warhammer is an amazing game. With a diverse community, I would rather keep political views out and enjoy the game.
Over a million people immigrate to the US every year (that’s just the legal ones), fleeing legitimate persecution and looking for an opportunity to live a life that they can’t in their nation of origin.
Yet the woke mind virus & globalist propaganda continues to poison people’s perspective so badly they can’t think beyond Orange Man Bad.
Dude’s entitled to do what he wants with his invite, but he might be better off if he starts spending less time in the hobby and more time in reality.
Brad Nickell I was born and raised proud here. I have visited and lived the world all over. There is NO other country as well round and beautiful as a WHOLE then here. Sure is shit not perfect, still better overall than ANYWHERE else in the world.
Good for him. This president sucks. His policies are hurting americans on all levels
It’s his right to turn down his place. Yet, his reason is not right. The United States had made no law the curbs the rights of any individual group.. If they have then please post it here.