How The Bristol GT Changed The Rankings
- Charles Gould
- May 27
- 4 min read
Why the Super Major mattered, who moved, and why turning up is half the battle.
Some events add a few names to the rankings.
Some events quietly shuffle the pack.
And some re-write it all.
Bristol did not just crown a champion. It moved the rankings in a big way. Players climbed, the top end tightened, new names entered the system, and a lot of people who did not attend found themselves sliding down the table.
That is not a criticism. That is simply how a live ranking system works.
When hundreds of players turn up to one of the biggest events in the country, the people in the room get the chance to score. The people who are not there are relying on everyone else not to overtake them.
At Bristol, a lot of people overtook.
First, the champion
A huge congratulations to Eirik Rokne Stensland, who won the Bristol 40K Super Major with Emperor’s Children.
And to all the other competitors over the weekend, the top 5 were:
1st. Eirik Rokne Stensland - Emperors Children
2nd Mani Cheema - Chaos Space Marines
3rd Jon Farrell - Chaos Space Marines
4th Jonathan Summerfield - Chaos Space Marines
5th Ben Jones - Orks
These awards and more were celebrated in our results and podium Post on monday, if you haven't already, you can read it here.
So, with that context lets take a look at how Bristol changed the rankings.
228 players were already ranked before the event
107 players entered the rankings afterwards
As usual, this super major did two things:
It gave established players a chance to climb, and it brought a lot of new players to the board. This is exactly what big events do - the bigger the event, the bigger the impact.
The main stat: playing Bristol paid off
This is the most important part of the whole article.
Among players who played at Bristol:
213 of them climbed
Only 12 fell
3 stayed exactly where they were
That means that well over 90% of already-ranked Bristol attendees improved their ranking.
Now compare that with the players who were ranked before Bristol but did not play.
3,912 of them fell
Only 127 climbed
3 stayed the same
That means more than 95% of non-attendees dropped places.
That is the rankings story in one sentence:
If you played Bristol, you were very likely to climb. If you did not, you were very likely to fall.
Not because non-attendees did anything wrong.
Not because their results got worse.
But because hundreds of other players had a chance to score points at one of the biggest events in the country.
The race for number one is now very real
Before Bristol, the top three looked like this:
Rank | Player | Points |
1st | Mani Cheema | 906.63 |
2nd | Byron Sidhu | 897.70 |
3rd | Ben Jones | 894.45 |
After Bristol, it looked like this:
Rank | Player | Points |
1st | Mani Cheema | 928.87 |
2nd | Ben Jones | 928.40 |
3rd | Byron Sidhu | 897.70 |
Mani Cheema is still number one.
But the gap is now tiny.
Before Bristol, Mani was 12.18 points ahead of Ben Jones.
After Bristol, Mani is just 0.47 points ahead.
That is not a comfortable lead. That is not even breathing room. That is one big result away from changing.
Ben’s 5th place finish with Orks added 33.95 points and moved him from 3rd to 2nd.
Mani’s 2nd place finish with Chaos Space Marines added 22.24 points, which was enough to keep him top.
But Bristol has made the race for number one much, much tighter.
The top ten shifted too
The top ten did not completely explode, but Bristol definitely changed the shape of it.
The biggest top-ten move was Theo Hayat, who climbed from 12th to 8th after finishing 8th at Bristol with Chaos Space Marines.
Player | Pre-rank | Post-rank | Movement |
Ben Jones | 3rd | 2nd | +1 |
Theo Hayat | 12th | 8th | +4 |
Byron Sidhu | 2nd | 3rd | -1 |
Christopher Langton | 8th | 9th | -1 |
Reece Knight | 9th | 10th | -1 |
The top 20 got a shake-up
Three players entered the top 20 after Bristol.
All three played the event.
Player | Pre-rank | Post-rank | Bristol placing |
Chris Irvine | 23rd | 12th | 18th |
Danny Evison | 22nd | 14th | 25th |
Kevin Weaver | 88th | 15th | 26th |
The standout here is Kevin Weaver.
Kevin went from 88th to 15th.
That is a jump of 73 places into the top 20 after one huge event weekend.
That is what a strong Super Major result can do.
If you are sitting just outside the biggest names in the rankings, you are not as far away as it feels. One big weekend can put you right into the conversation.
The top 50 had even more movement
Six players broke into the top 50 after Bristol.
Every single one of them played the event.
Player | Pre-rank | Post-rank | Movement | Bristol placing |
Kevin Weaver | 88th | 15th | +73 | 26th |
Liam Callebout | 84th | 32nd | +52 | 17th |
Aidan Sutherley-Gilmour | 79th | 42nd | +37 | 33rd |
Rory Andrew | 69th | 43rd | +26 | 15th |
Alex Nicolic | 75th | 44th | +31 | 6th |
Jonathan Summerfield | 85th | 47th | +38 | 4th |
This is why big events matter so much.
A player in the 70s or 80s is not miles away from the top 50. They are one great performance away.
And when they make that jump, someone else has to move down.
That is the pressure Bristol created.
The biggest climbers
Some of the biggest points gains came from players who were already ranked, attended Bristol, and then delivered strong performances.
Player | Faction | Bristol placing | Rank movement | Points gained |
Tom Garland | Chaos Knights | 124th | +503 | +171.77 |
Jon Farrell | Chaos Space Marines | 3rd | +956 | +161.68 |
Adam Cooper Watson | Death Guard | 7th | +196 | +158.84 |
Michael Costello | Astra Militarum | 10th | +343 | +156.74 |
Nassim Fouchane | Space Marines | 11th | +117 | +156.05 |
Mark Crombleholme | Necrons | 12th | +224 | +155.36 |
Tom Dale | T’au Empire | 13th | +323 | +154.68 |
Liam Keane | Chaos Space Marines | 16th | +378 | +152.65 |
The lesson from Bristol
The lesson is simple.
If you want to climb the rankings, you need to play events.
And if you want the biggest opportunity to climb, you need to play the biggest events.
Bristol showed that.
Players who attended overwhelmingly gained ground. Players who missed it overwhelmingly lost places. The top end got tighter.
That is the excitment of the UKTC rankings.
They reward performance.
They reward consistency.
But they also reward being in the room.
Because when a Super Major happens, the rankings move whether you are there or not.
So if you care about your position, do not assume it is safe.
The next big event is another chance to climb.
Secure your spot today, tickets available on our website:
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