Players 12.0 2018

I’ve lost count of the many Players events we’ve attended over the years.

The show itself pre-dates Speedhunters by a couple of years, but it’s often been said that it’s the show that best reflects the Speedhunters ethos of all-encompassing car culture. Everyone is welcome here, and the same is true for Players.

I’ve often considered Players to be the most accurate reflection of UK car culture. Whether you like what you see or not is irrelevant, as it’s the show simply holding up a mirror to the scene. Yes, there’s an element of quality control involved but it never feels elitist, as it’s just the organisers rewarding those who have put in the work or executed an original idea. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

It’s a show that continues to grow as the years tick by, both in quantity and diversity. Rather than try and re-invent the wheel every year, the founders Jay McToldridge & Carl Taylor have let it evolve organically so it always feels the same, but just a little bit better each time around. Players Classic on the other hand, is the venture with which they’ve allowed their creative ideas to flow.

I’m going to purposely keep this brief, as to be honest, there’s only so much you can write about an event before you venture into repetition. I couldn’t make Players 12.0, but thankfully our very own Mark Riccioni did, and he took enough photographs to likely give you a repetitive strain injury.

Words by Paddy McGrath

Photography by Mark Riccioni