Warhammer Open Maastricht 2026 – Part 1

It's been a while since the last event that was hosted in Europe by Games Workshop, if you exclude the Golden Demon at the SPIEL. And it is the first ever Warhammer Open in Europe, hosted at the MECC in Maastricht!

And since we really liked Warhammer Fest Europe 2018 in Düsseldorf, we were excited for the announcement of Warhammer Open in Maastricht, since it is just two hours away from us.

From April 24th to 26th, 2026 at Maastricht Exhibition & Conference Centre in The Netherlands, there was a whole weekend filled with gaming events for Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, Underworlds and even an narrative format.

Games Workshop chose Maastricht as it is well connected by train, road and even air. And as it is just 30 km behind the German border, it is easily reachable, especially for those living in North Rhine-Westfalia. I arrived by car and was initially a bit irritated, as I had the entirety of P1 for myself (first picture was from the arrival, the second once I left). You didn't even need to leave the venue to grab something to eat, as they had catering on site, and even Warhammer-themed the seating area.

Some of the games were livestreamed on Twitch and Youtube, and even the hiring department of Games Workshop had a booth onsite. Thanks to Julia for lending me the helmet for the photo!

As multiple gaming formats were running at the same time, a prominent tournament operations centre was placed in the middle, where everything was coordinated, and these amazing Weta Workshop models of Lieutenant Titus and Abaddon the Despoiler were displayed.

On the other side of the entrance the official store was set up, and had some event exclusive items, Forge World kits and a broad variety of merchandise - including these retro T-Shirts that I just couldn't say no to!

The tournament gaming area was set up in long rows beneath these huge banners with Warhammer artwork. Back in the day on the Games Days, that was the place where the different banners would be shown, crafted by the Warhammer stores participating hosting the event. But these were much bigger.

As mentioned above, multiple formats were played next to each other. About 1,000 players (!) were spread across five different formats, with the most playing Warhammer 40,000 at the Grand Tournament.

As the entire coverage has 80 images, it is split into two parts for faster loading and easier reading - Continue in Part 2 of our coverage on Warhammer Open Maastricht 2026.