Coventry 2026: the field and players to watch
This weekend at Coventry, we have over 250 40K players in attendance across the two events. Among them are 18 of the top 100 40K players in the world playing in the three-day event, and six playing in the two-day event. There are some wonderful armies coming with them, too: a sea of Kroot, a gathering of Greater Daemons and enough daemon engines to make deployment an event in itself.
The Coventry Super-Major takes place at the Sports Connexion in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, with the three-day tournament running 23–25 October and the two-day tournament on 24–25 October. With the weekend approaching, let’s take a look at the field and a few of the players we’re particularly looking forward to following.
The faction breakdown
Space Marines are the most popular choice in the three-day event, with 21 players bringing them along. Dark Angels, Custodes and World Eaters follow on 11 each. That gives anyone preparing for Friday plenty to think about, from armoured infantry to the prospect of World Eaters arriving on their doorstep.
Over in the two-day event, Orks lead the way with 12 players, closely followed by Space Marines on 11 and Necrons on ten. Here’s how some of the biggest contingents compare:
Faction | Three-day players | Two-day players |
Space Marines | 21 | 11 |
Orks | 5 | 12 |
Dark Angels | 11 | 6 |
Adeptus Custodes | 11 | 6 |
World Eaters | 11 | 7 |
Necrons | 8 | 10 |
Chaos Daemons | 9 | 4 |
Adepta Sororitas | 8 | 2 |
T’au Empire | 7 | 4 |
There are some very different ideas about how to win a game of 40K among those armies. Ross Tully’s T’au army is a particularly good place to start if you enjoy seeing a faction take an unexpected shape.
Three-day ones to watch
Mani Cheema — Glasshammer — Death Guard — #2 in the world
With wins at Leeds and Manchester Summer already behind him this year, Mani comes to Coventry as the highest-ranked player in the field. Those victories came with Chaos Space Marines and Custodes; this weekend, Mortarion gets his turn.
Mani’s Death Guard list combines Paragons of Putrescence and Shamblerot Vectorium, with Mortarion, a Defiler and an allied Knight Despoiler backed by 40 Poxwalkers and three Myphitic Blight-haulers. Anyone facing that lot has some difficult decisions to make about where their firepower goes.
Keep an eye on Craig Bedford of Carnage, #74 in the world, as well. His Death Guard army shares much of Mani’s core, with a Foetid Bloat-drone and two Blight-haulers in place of the three Blight-haulers. For Death Guard players following from home, having both versions in the same event gives us a lovely opportunity to see how they get on.
Ross Tully — Secondary Objective — T’au Empire — #4 in the world
Ross has already won South Coast and Beachhead with T’au this year. Now he is bringing 80 Kroot Carnivores to Coventry, and they have plenty of company.
His Experimental Prototype Cadre and Kroot Hunting Pack army also includes 18 Krootox Rampagers and nine Krootox Riders. Farstalkers, Hounds and Kroot characters fill out the hunting pack, with Darkstrider and Vespid joining them.
Just getting this army onto the table should be quite a sight. With so many units available, Ross has decisions to make all over the table, and his opponents will need to keep track of threats across the board. We’re looking forward to seeing how much room those Kroot leave everyone else to work with.
Ben Jones — Vanguard Tactics — Orks — #12 in the world
Ben is coming off second at Manchester Summer and fifth at Bristol, both with Orks. He is back with them for Coventry, and Ghazghkull is coming along for the ride.
His Brute Bosses, Bully Boyz and Green Tide list brings Ghazghkull Thraka, Nazdreg, two Big Mek Dakkarigs and eight Meganobz. Behind them are 20 Beast Snagga Boyz, 20 Boyz and three units of Gretchin.
There’s plenty to enjoy here for Ork fans. The big names demand attention, while all those Boyz and Gretchin give Ben bodies to spread around the table. With his recent results, he has every reason to be aiming for another strong finish.
Christopher Langton — Mind Goblins — Chaos Daemons — #15 in the world
Christopher has already taken Daemons to second at Leeds and third at Nottingham this year. His Coventry army gives Tzeentch a rather large share of the carrying case.
Scintillating Legion and Warptide bring Kairos Fateweaver, three Lords of Change and a winged Daemon Prince, with Flamers, Screamers and a Beast of Nurgle in support. Four enormous birds and a Daemon Prince are quite a greeting for anyone arriving at the table opposite him.
There’s a family story to follow, too. We touched on the Langtons’ sibling rivalry in our Winter ITT preview, and Matthew is also playing the three-day event, bringing Tyranids for Carnage. A meeting between the brothers would certainly add something to the weekend.
Jonathan Summerfield — Powerhouse Wargaming — Emperor’s Children — #92 in the world
Jonathan will be familiar to readers of our Bristol preview. A previous winner there and a long-time Chaos Space Marines player, he went on to finish fourth at this year’s event. For Coventry, he is giving Emperor’s Children a go.
His Coterie of the Conceited army includes Lucius, Flawless Blades and two Lords Exultant, alongside two Defilers and three Maulerfiends. That is a serious collection of daemon engines, with smaller infantry units working around them. If you enjoyed following Jonathan’s Chaos armies earlier in the year, this should be a fun development to watch.
The three-day field has plenty more familiar names. Carnage’s six players include Kyle Grundy, #17 in the world, with T’au, and Scott Morris, #19 in the world, with Sisters, alongside Craig and Matthew. Expect some lively conversations between rounds.
Two-day ones to watch
Andy Quas-Cohen — Warmasters — Necrons — #11 in the world
Andy heads the two-day field as its highest-ranked player, with fourth at Sheffield and a win at Battlefield Birmingham 25 among his Necron results this year.
His Awakened Dynasty army brings the Void Dragon, Illuminor Szeras, Imotekh and Nekrosor Ammentar. Six Lokhust Destroyers and three Heavy Destroyers join them, along with 15 Immortals and a Canoptek Reanimator.
There are some big personalities in that list, and Andy has plenty of experience putting Necrons through their paces. He should give the other nine Necron players in the event a useful benchmark to chase.
Byron Sidhu — Fire and Dice — Chaos Daemons — #18 in the world
Byron has called his army Monsters Inc., and it’s easy to see why. Be’lakor, Skarbrand, a Great Unclean One and two Lords of Change all make the trip to Coventry.
Two units of Plaguebearers and a unit of Fiends complete his Daemonic Incursion list. There’s a lot riding on those five characters, and deciding which one to deal with first could be a headache in itself. Byron’s fourth at South Coast and ninth at Windsor, both with Daemons, make him a serious contender.
Danny Evison — Warmasters — Adeptus Mechanicus — #24 in the world
Danny has had a busy year with several armies: Astra Militarum at Beachhead, Dark Angels at Manchester Summer and AdMech at the LGT. For Coventry, he is sticking with the machine cult and bringing a proper collection of robots.
His Cohort Cybernetica and Eradication Cohort list contains eight Kastelan Robots and six Ironstrider Ballistarii, supported by Belisarius Cawl, Thulia Ghuld, 30 Skitarii and a Skorpius Disintegrator. The robots will draw the eye, while those Skitarii will be busy around them. Alongside Andy, Danny gives Warmasters a strong pair of contenders in the two-day event.
Jordan Penning — Tuesday Knights — Imperial Fists — #41 in the world
After 20th at the LGT with Grey Knights, Jordan is bringing the Imperial Fists to Coventry. His list title makes his enthusiasm for their return quite clear.
He is running Assault Brethren and Ceramite Sentinels, with Darnath Lysander and an Ancient accompanying ten Assault Terminators. Tor Garadon, Eradicators, a Land Raider Redeemer and a Storm Speeder Thunderstrike round out some of the other threats.
Lysander and ten Assault Terminators are an inviting centrepiece for anyone who enjoys a good scrap over the middle of the table. We’re keen to see what Jordan can do with them across the weekend.
Samuel Smith — Fire and Dice — Chaos Space Marines — #66 in the world
An eighth-place finish at the LGT makes Samuel a name worth remembering when the first pairings arrive. He is back with Chaos Space Marines, bringing a Pactbound Zealots army with ten Terminators, 20 Possessed, three Mutilators, a Defiler and two Predator Destructors.
There is a lot for an opponent to keep busy with there. Samuel and Byron give Fire and Dice two of the top 100 players in the world among their five players in the two-day event, so their clubmates should have plenty to cheer on.
The Warwickshire Warhawks are bringing 12 players to the two-day event, giving them its largest club contingent. Between them, the travelling clubs and everyone joining us for their own weekend of games, there will be plenty happening throughout the hall.
See you in Coventry
Whether you’re coming with ambitions of a trophy, hoping to beat your previous best or looking forward to a weekend with your club, we’re excited to welcome you to Coventry.
You’ll find the venue and practical details on the official Coventry event page. Follow the three-day event and two-day event on BCP for pairings and results, and keep an eye out for these players as the weekend unfolds.
Watch the action on UKTC TV
Following from home? UKTC TV will be streaming Coventry, so join us on our YouTube channel and cheer on your favourites. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you’re ready when we go live.
Make Bedford your next weekend of 40K
If Coventry has you itching for another tournament, our next singles Super-Major is Bedford on 5–6 December. Get your clubmates together, pick your army and book your Bedford ticket. We’d love to see you there.
Two ticket launches for your diary
Looking ahead to next spring? Tickets for Leeds and Spring ITT go on sale on Friday 30 October at 2pm UK time.
Leeds Super-Major — 3–4 April 2027: join us at The Edge for a weekend of singles 40K.
Spring ITT — 24–25 April 2027: gather your team of five for our move to NAEC Stoneleigh, with room for over 600 players.
Set yourself a reminder for launch day, send the dates to your group chat and sign up to the UKTC newsletter for ticket news and event updates.
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