» Category: Esports

Welcome to the seventh season of the EU RCS Power Ranking! This season Europe saw data from offline majors and locals be used on the ranking for the first time since season 4 alongside our established online majors. This opened the floodgates for a multitude of fresh talent to prove themselves and for veteran players to reclaim their spot at the top of the European PR.

Because smaller-scale locals were once again tracked for the power ranking, we decided to weigh non-major results less than those from majors and raise the bar of the minimum number of tournaments to qualify to 3 majors and 4 tournaments total, while still favouring players who entered more than others. This ensured that we had enough head-to-head data to accurately rank players who qualified, while allowing smaller tournaments to be considered for the PR, albeit with less importance.

We’d like to give a special thanks to all the offline/online TOs, production team and commentators that were able to make the past year’s ranked season in this new era of rivals as great as it was.

Panelists: arnoo, Boss Hog, Defileus, Fireicey, Lucy, Memento

Head of Writing: Boss Hog

Writing Team: Defileus, Fireicey, Kasu, Kravten, Lucy, Memento, Orticoltore, Raven, rhea, Xiphos

Project Leader: Lucy

Video Editor: Age

Honourable Mentions

This season we had a handful of players who had a PR-worthy performance but didn’t meet the minimum requirements or had eligible records that were just outside the level needed to make the top 15. Since these players were close to making the PR they deserve an honourable mention for this year’s ranking.

The honourable mentions for this season are:
Blark, Nion, orkanone, Slimepuffen, TheDripCollector, Transco

Top 15

“still cookin'”

15. Bowman

Bowman rooted himself on the PR as Europe’s premier Sylvanos main. With wins over FullMetal, Slap, Blark, orkanone and Midmol, it’s not a surprise that he was able to defend his spot on the ranking, showing our region what the character can do once again.

Last season Bowman’s record was the hallmark of consistency, not getting many major wins but being an impenetrable wall that never got upset in bracket, being reflective of his well-rounded playstyle without obvious flaws. However this year he was able to take home wins on higher ranked players, allowing him to maintain his spot on the PR and prove that he is much more than a PR-gatekeeper, while also remaining consistent by placing top 8 at almost every tournament he entered.

We’d love to see Bowman return for the three-peat on the PR next year, if he continues to improve his already solid gameplan further, it’s likely he could burrow even further up the ranking where no European Sylvanos has gone before.

“Hukon Thies Hodan real”

14. Retro

Last season Retro was the highest ranked Shovel Knight player, placed above fellow mains of the character Veapron and PiKay. This year Retro held down the fort as the best SK in Europe, while also adding Hodan to their roster as a dual main, creating a menacing pair of characters to face off against.

Even after learning an entirely new character Retro was able to keep up with some of the better players in our region, with wins on Bowman, orkanone and even an upset over Sheush.
Retro showcased what Hodan was capable of with their usage of sweat spirits, down special and the “flying gorilla” technique, abusing the character’s strengths to build a gameplan you need to prepare for.

It’s certainly clear that Hodan and SK are perfectly suited for Retro, and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing if they can push their duo of mains further with refinements to their play next year.

“arkadaşım eş, arkadaşım şek, arkadaşım eşek”

13. Slap

With the return to offline tournaments after season 6 concluded, Slap was able to travel around Europe to claim a spot on the PR once again, and earn his third appearance on the PR alongside his placements in seasons 3 and 5, as well as being an HM in season 4.

Slap is a long-standing player with a vast knowledge of the game that goes far beyond just Orcane. Even though Slap missed out an entire season, he has shown precision, flair and years of experience that have proven he is one of the best players in the European scene time and time again. Using his keen punish game and refined understanding of Orcane’s tools that Europe has never forgotten.

Despite Slap only attending offline tournaments, he was able to show good performances throughout the season, only losing to Fireicey and OliveOily in 3 of the 4 tournaments he attended, while taking sets over Bowman, Retro, and a handful of players just outside of the PR. The lack of data from not entering more events prevented Slap from reaching a more prestigious rank, but ranking this high without that data confirms that Slap has the potential to take names and obtain an even higher placement in the future.

“The evils of Lucy was all around me”

12. Orticoltore

Following his reign of terror at the top of the Italian PR for over a year, Orticoltore makes his debut on the European PR!

With impressive wins over the likes of Lucy, Midmol, arno and Bleb, Orti has shown that he is a player you should respect if you encounter him in a tournament, as he’s capable of making upsets and taking names no matter the opponent.

Orti’s playstyle is focused on an aggressive neutral with a deadly yet precise punish game that makes every neutral loss hurt, then switching to a calculated edgeguard once you get offstage, draining your resources away as he slowly but surely takes your stock. Couple that with classic dash attack tech-chases and unorthodox but effective down specials, and it stacks up to an Etalus you have to be ready for.

While he has a lot going for him in terms of wins, low attendance and a couple of losses to players below the top 15 land him at a modest but admirable 12th place. With a higher attendance and some work on particular matchups, Orti could rise to even higher techheights next season, possibly contesting Bleb for the title of best polar bear in Europe.

“enjoy therapy”

11. Lucy

Lucy dashbacks her way into 11th place this year, making her first appearance on the EU PR after being at the top of the Italian scene since it picked up speed in 2020. Despite being head TO of her regional community alongside helping with Europe’s tournaments and PR season, she still found the time to climb the rankings by entering 8 different majors throughout the season.

What defines her most as a player is her defensive, bait-and-punish style of play. By combining this playstyle with Ori’s good base stats and effective Sein usage, she infuriates her opponents, which has proven to be an effective strategy.

Despite having some unfortunate runs, she’s still a menacing player that has reached top 8 at two different majors, while also having peaks that netted her positive set records against Bleb and FullMetal in addition to wins on both arno and Orticoltore.

We hope to see more of what Lucy and her Ori can achieve on the next season’s PR, as well as more of her banger outfits on twitter.

“Transco 4ever my goat”

10. FullMetal

After an uncharacteristic absence from last year’s ranking, FullMetal returned with a newfound vengeance as a consistent top 8 contender at both online and offline tournaments. Even though he has now been on the EU PR 7 times in his career, giving him the third most appearances of any player, this veteran still plays with the same fury, aggression and unyielding confidence as always.

Vinny’s deep knowledge of matchup-specific strengths and weaknesses was shown by his successful mid-set character counter picks, which often kept his tournament runs from biting the dust. His skills resulted in impressive records against both old and new competitors alike, and in a season filled with surprising upsets performed by a new school of Orcane players, he managed to not drop any tournament sets versus the character. While on the other hand, longtime Dutch rivals in arms like Blark, Kravten and J.E.V.B barely managed to scratch the metal of the fullsteam aerial down-special fuelled train that passed both Gladius 2 & 3 with a 5th place finish, Ghent Winter at 7th place and Ghent Summer at 2nd place.

If there is one thing to take away from FullMetal’s performance this season, it would be that the recognisable clicking of his keyboard will remain a lasting warning to any player in his path in the years to come.

“Thanks to everyone who’s kept me around and supported my improvement”

9. Midmol

Making his first splash onto the PR and beating the “No fundies” allegations, this season Midmol truly proved that he isn’t mid at all. Only placing outside of the Top 8 twice, this UK player has been making a name for himself, picking up online wins on fellow Orcane main arno, Retro and also several players just outside of the top 15in the process.

However where Midmol really shined this season was in his offline runs. His most notable tournament being Rivals Odyssey Winter in Ghent, where he went on a losers run after being knocked out of winners by Fireicey, tearing through Bowman and fellow countryman PiKayMaster along his way to losers finals. Then facing off against OliveOily, he went on to have a nail-biting Game 5 set, besting her in a last stock situation and picking up his highlight win of the season.

This year Midmol put in a resolute effort to push his well-rounded play further. By utilising all of the Puddle Jumper’s tools and solidifying his persistent neutral and reliable advantage-state, he landed himself a deserving 9th place on the PR. If he continues to work on his Orcane it’s likely we’ll see him climb even further up the ranks of Europe in the seasons ahead.

“no mind to think”

8. arnoooo

arno was already making a name for herself as a focused, hard-working player who was improving quickly during the off-season, but no one was able to predict the level of play she would be bringing to the competition this year. Entering 7 tournaments this season, she only missed out on a single top 8, taking sets over Sheush, Slimepuffen and Lucy alongside recently dominating her home region of Italy, before she closed out her record with a huge upset over zonyx.

Compared to her more methodical Orcane contemporaries, arno boasts a uniquely fast-paced and technical punish game that makes her one of the scariest players to get hit by in Europe.  She has seamlessly implemented and refined many tricks specific to her character that allow her to overwhelm her opponents and turn the smallest of mistakes into stocks. If her improvement over the past year speaks at all for her trajectory as a player, who knows how early her opponents will be dying by the end of 2023.

“My two biggest improvement spikes were when I got told to look at my opponent and to wait more, imagine what will happen when someone tells me to stop playing Etalus.”

7. Bleblemlic

Bleb cements himself as one of Europe’s top-tier players this season by rising up from his previous 10th place. Now he’s only outplaced by EU veterans, successfully defending his title from the multitude of players rising to high level with wins over Midmol and arno while simultaneously climbing to a higher rank.

After the release of the workshop quartet, Bleb saw potential in Hodan as his punish-focused playstyle naturally fit the character well. He picked the character up as a secondary and showed Europe what the funny monkey could do, blessing us with three Hodan combo videos that could only be summed up as masterpieces.

Later in the season, he decided he had his work cut out for him in order to reach a higher rank, so he went back to solo-maining his tried and true Etalus, and focused his improvement on proactive play, while simultaneously implementing more patience into both his advantage and neutral game. Aided by his improvement, he achieved a breakout run at Gladius 2, placing 3rd with wins over both Sheush and zonyx.

This year only further confirmed Bleb’s potential to be a top-tier threat. If he continues to finetune his gameplan at the same rate, it’s likely we could see him break into Top 5 and become one of Europe’s legends in the near future.

“I met my girlfriend at the first event I attended this season, only attended the rest as an excuse to go on vacations with her.”

6. OliveOily

Last year OliveOily flew under the radar by being an honourable mention, some may have questioned whether she was still as dominant as in the years prior. But with the reintroduction of offline tournaments Oily makes it back to the PR at 6th place, reminding everyone why she has been a staple of Europe’s top level for multiple seasons.

Her iconic pink Wrastor, recognized worldwide for ruffling the feathers of competitors in Europe and overseas, ravaged through brackets like an unstoppable whirlwind this season, often only slowed down by Fireicey in top 8. The two players met a total of 7 times this season, with Oily keeping it close nearly every time, taking Fireicey to game 5 on multiple occasions and even resetting the bracket against him at Titans.

Oily continuously pushes her boundaries with theory crafting that’s backed by years of experience, which is especially notable in her creative punish game. However one thing that sets her apart from other competitors is her ability to keep her movement, combos and confirms on-point during high intensity situations, giving her gameplay a flair of confidence that makes her a thrill to watch.

Despite her lack of matches against other top players due to only playing offline, OliveOily was still able to end the year with a high ranking, due to the three top 3 finishes at majors and multiple 1st places at locals under her belt. Now that she has reclaimed her position as one of Europe’s best, we’re more than curious to see where the winds will take this consistent top player.

“”yo mista bad” “it’s alright jesse, you can just call me breaking””

5. Sheush

Now appearing on the 3rd PR of his career, Sheush maintains his spot as Europe’s prime Elliana, soaring to his highest placement to date at 5th, above his previous 6th and 7th places.

This year Sheush has continued to prove why he is one of the most nerve-wracking opponents to meet in bracket. Gameplay that’s spiced up by the endless tricks up his sleeve, topped off with a punish game that makes stocks magically disappear, this seasoned Elliana was able to strike fear into the hearts of Hukon, arno, Bleb and even Boss Hog, taking sets over all of them. Sheush even went toe to toe in game 5 sets against Fireicey on multiple occasions, proving that no matter the challenge, he won’t go down without a fight.

Throughout tournaments this year we’ve seen him swap to Zetterburn mid-set, while Sheush has also mentioned himself that he is considering swapping main, making the future of his Elliana uncertain. Even if Sheush does end up following through with the Zetter switch, Europe will never forget that his Elliana was one of the best to ever do it.

“I’ll be here forever and ever and I’ll live for 1000 years.”

4. Hukon

Returning to the PR at 4th, Hukon continues his streak of making it on every PR since season 1. He started this season off strong at Bifrost 4, taking sets over both OliveOily and Slimepuffen, then continued the season with wins on Orticoltore, arno and Midmol, before closing out his record with a bang by eliminating both zonyx and Sheush to claim 3rd place at the EU RCS Finals.

Effortlessly switching between rapid splashes of creative combos and patiently waiting for the right moment to find a kill, Hukon always keeps his opponents guessing on what is coming up next. He masterfully incorporates moves from Orcane’s entire kit in a way that seems to keep his combos flowing endlessly. Hukon shows that he is unmistakably the best Orcane in Europe, and will likely keep that title for quite some time.

Although beyond this amazing feat, Hukon can also be found carefully sweeping mines, delicately stacking blocks and brilliantly checkmating his way through different games. To top it all off, he also manages his hugely successful Twitter account where he shares these accomplishments for a wide audience, so be careful dear reader, lest you shall fall victim to one of Hukon’s viral Twitter clips.

“Quoicoubeh !”

3. zonyx

zonyx indisputably stakes his claim to top 3 of the PR this season. Being the only player to win a tournament with Fireicey in attendance, other than Fireicey himself, while also having a dominant 4-0 record over Sheush and a multitude of wins on players within the top 10, he makes it clear that he belongs at the top of the ranking.

From his playstyle alone, it is easy to see why zonyx is a fan favourite among both players in Europe and overseas. zonyx brings an edge of finesse to Clairen that you won’t see anywhere else, hunting for big neutral openers, leading into a punish game which is both precise with baby-dash jabs and deadly with daring combo extenders. Many European players have tried to play like him, but no one can come close to the level of confidence and creativity that zonyx brings to each set he plays.

Now that the season is over, zonyx has his sights set on other games like HDR, playing Rivals more for fun and less for competition. Even if we see less of zonyx in the future, you can guarantee from the time he has put into the game that his level of style and prowess will never decline.

“S1J, just the one”

2. Boss Hog

The Boss of Hogs. From Honourable Mentions to being ranked 8th last season, the Boss has evolved his gameplay even further and attained 2nd place on this year’s PR. With two historic wins on Fireicey, a myriad of second place finishes and complete decimation of the competition, it is of no surprise that Boss Hog is this year’s undisputed number two.

Boss Hog plays Kragg like a well-oiled Scottish machine: He be groovin’, schmoovin’ and, certainly, not losing (unless you’re named Fireicey). The Boss is incredibly consistent at punishing bad habits, dissecting gameplay styles and applying the appropriate countermeasures all the while hitting some of the cleanest combos you’ve ever seen. The Hog Lord isn’t just studious in game either, he is studying game development at University in the hopes of bringing his very own platform fighter to life so we wish him all the best in his endeavours!

As an absolute staple of the UK weekly and subsequent stream (featuring fan faves Defileus and Jack Fox; tune in every Saturday) and a pillar of the community as a whole, we can only hope that Boss Hog continues to strive for that number one spot if only to add it to his already impressive collection. Boss Hog, Europe’s best Slap City player, second best Rivals player, and we are sure that when he receives his Fraymakers backer key someday he will be highly ranked in that game too. Remember kids, Don’t Swear!

“Ek kvam, ek brigða stólar, ek sigraði”

1. Fireicey

For the 4th year in a row, Fireicey returns to his annual rank 1 spot on the European Power Ranking. This position is reserved for the best of the best, and Fireicey has clearly shown that it will be his for a while.

Fireicey’s profound understanding of the game’s mechanics comes from thousands of hours of experience, both from labbing in training mode and perpetually sparring with anyone up for a match. This knowledge is distinctly reflected in his gameplay. No matter how good you think your position is, he has already calculated the optimal way to take your stock with his next series of moves. This, combined with unparalleled composure and confidence, makes for an extremely tough beast to defeat.

The Norse Inferno dominated the entire season. Of the 11 tournaments that he entered, Fireicey placed first in 10, prevailing over strong challengers such as OliveOily, Sheush and Hukon, even managing to take 8 set wins against Boss Hog in tournaments where nobody else could defeat him. He finished the season with two thrilling sets against the Hog, taking gold after winning a hard-fought grand finals reset in the EU RCS Finals.

It seems like Fireicey has yet to find the limits of his improvement, continuing to show progress not only on Zetterburn but with the rest of the cast, despite him going nearly unchallenged for what feels like forever. With him endlessly on the grind, only time will tell what this lion flipping enthusiast will cook up next.

Season 7 Graphic

Graphic by kiirochii – Download in full resolution

Panelists: Fireicey, Boss Hog, Lucy, Fat, Plutonio, MidoMidori

Hello and welcome to the sixth installment of the EU RCS Power Ranking. This season the majority of our competition has been located online due to the pandemic, giving this year a completely different feel from what Europe is used to. Although locals were on the comeback during the season, we decided to only count the five EU RCS online majors to even the playing field for those who weren’t able to travel or didn’t have a local event near them. Since we also didn’t have any other online events considered important enough to count for the ranking, we decided that players only needed to enter a minimum of 2 events to be eligible for the PR. The panelists mainly used head-to-head records from the five RCS events to determine the players’ placements, while slightly favouring players who entered more tournaments and performed consistently.

Despite the season being online-only, our tournaments have still showcased the best of what Europe currently has to offer, both from our returning players and from newcomers to the ranking, with a few of our players being able to achieve the high rank they were striving for. With offline events on the rise, some of Europe’s veterans are returning to the scene after their hiatus during the online era, so we’ll have to wait and see how our new talent from this year fare against many of our toughest warriors next season.

Before we get into the rankings, we’d like to thank our online TO’s, production team and commentators for running this season’s events and keeping our season going throughout this online-era.

Honourable Mentions

This year there were several players with outstanding performances, in events outside of those eligible, who either barely missed out on the ranking or didn’t enter enough eligible tournaments. If the performances at these events were to be considered, they would have likely made it onto the power ranking.

Honourable Mentions:
OliveOily, LZGpom, Maya, Plutonio, Fat, Slimepuffen

Video Editor: Chengi

Writing team:

Fat
Jack Fox
Boss Hog
PikayMaster
Plutonio
Tandoori
Swordsplay
Midmol
Sharpinfinity

Editor-in-Chief:
Fireicey

“Always cookin'”

15. Bowman

Rounding out the PR this year is Bowman. With a solid performance throughout the season, he acts as gatekeeper to high-level competition. While he might not have the best win record against the others in the top 15, he excels against anyone around and below his skill level. This consistency pushes him above the rest of the people considered for the PR, netting him 15th place.

Bowman is most well known for his fundamentally sound Sylvanos gameplay. He uses most of Sylv’s kit with great proficiency and has a well-balanced playstyle. His calm nature and good mental game allow him to consistently play well throughout tough sets. With just enough Sylvanos weirdness to throw off the opposition, he makes for a formidable opponent.

We hope that with more experience and refinement in his gameplay he’ll push through and rise further in the rankings.

“I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds.”

14. Defileus

Everybody’s favourite charging needles in neutral specialist returns for a second PR in a row, jumping up six spots from last year’s 20th. Def’s placements this season have been the hallmark of consistency, after having entered all five online majors he only suffered a single upset to Java, who he still has a favourable record on.

Outside of tournaments, Defileus hosts the UK’s online weekly and is well known for his stream commentary with his partner in crime Jack Fox. The two managed to make the big leagues and commentate the top 8 of one of this season’s online majors together. They are now looking to start their podcast: “Definitely Jacked” featuring Defileus and Jack Fox.

This Scottish warrior has proven this year and the last to be one of Europe’s strongest players, and he is undoubtedly one of the most valuable personalities in our community. We can’t be sure if Def will make it back on the PR for the third year in a row, but one thing we can rely on is that even if a meteor is on a collision course with Scotland, he will still be charging needles underneath one of the side platforms of Tower of Heaven.

“SK Heaven is reached, it is time to move on. And thank you Sveni and Retro it’s been a blast!”

13. Veapron

Veapron makes his way onto our power ranking at 13th place as one of the first Shovel Knight mains to reach the European PR. He made a name for himself this season with a breakout 7th place finish at RCS Melody, where he knocked out Kerus and Downiel. He followed this performance up with 5th place at RCS Fireworks, beating Defileus before repeating his victory over Kerus.

In addition to entering tournaments, Veapron has kept busy by putting his time into the community, becoming an admin for the Rivals of Aether EU discord, and helping out by TOing for some of the region’s weekly tournaments.

Veapron’s style of play leans towards effectively using Shovel Knight’s base kit. You’re not too likely to see him go for a fish, as he prefers to pressure his opponents with the tools he has available from the start of each game. When he finally buys his relics it’s often all he needs to turn around a bad situation or to blow away the last stock.

Looking towards the next season, Veapron has been working on his Olympia secondary wanting to bring it out in future brackets. With the return of locals going into season 7, we hope to see him perform well offline and punch his way into a higher placement on next year’s PR.

“Thank you Daglas for showing me the possibilities, Sveni for the grind, and Robert for being my mental foundation.”

12. Retro

Retro is a newcomer to the European PR, reaching ranked status after competing in just two RCS seasons. His season started relatively poorly with two 25th places, but he gained momentum swiftly. And at the next two tournaments, RCS Firework and RCS Crystal, he earned himself a 9th and a 7th place respectively. While propellering through these tournaments he obtained a huge upset on Shayd as well as important wins on Downiel and Kerus. He’s even shown potential for more upsets, managing to take both Kalamahri and Bleb to game 5s.

Being offstage against Shovel Knight is especially scary when playing against Retro, as he has the deadliest edgeguarding amongst SK mains in Europe. He specialises in forcing you offstage quickly and carrying you into the blastzone, or baiting you to chase after his offstage fishing before lethally dropping his shovel on your head. With gemstones in hand, he makes expert use of Shovel Knight’s relics, and with enough gold he’ll wisely switch between them depending on the gamestate.

Some bad losses and inconsistency hold him back from being higher on the season 6 PR. However, Retro’s the type of player who loves to know everything about his character and improve at every aspect of his play, so with some small adjustments and more consistency we’re sure he’ll gear up for a better showing next season.

“¡VAMOS!”

11. Kerus

Kerus makes his return to the European rankings after a two-season absence. Despite this period of inactivity, he has stayed at the top of his game, finishing top 16 or better in each of our ranked events. Showcasing his reliability, almost all of his losses were to ranked players and HMs, while managing to take home wins against Boss Hog, Retro and several of the players who barely didn’t make it to the PR.

Kerus has a fast-paced and risky playstyle. His daringness can be a bit of a double-edged sword and his matches often finish quickly, win or lose. He excels at edgeguarding, ending many of them lethally with a swift kick. Furthermore, he is an expert at using tongue offensively whether it be for movement, to net a kill or to rack up damage.

Kerus is perhaps the longest-standing premier Ranno in Europe, but after the dev team released the workshop characters he’s been feeling that his creative juices flow better when playing Mollo, so he decided to make the switch. We look forward to seeing if he can continue his competitive success and if his fireworks are as deadly as his poisonous fist.

“Shoutouts to Dima.”

10. Bleblemlic

Bleb makes his first PR appearance ever this season with a very solid performance throughout the year. He peaked with a 4th place finish at RCS Crystal, while having a strong 2-0 record on Downiel and other good wins such as Retro, Defileus and HM Slimepuffen under his belt.

Bleb’s Etalus proved to be a nigh unstoppable force in RCS this year, keeping to the simple yet effective neutral of dash attack wavedash back timing mixups. When Bleb found his opening he hit harder than almost anyone in EU, taking his opponent offstage with sleek nair and bair strings, and finishing them off with brutal icicle edgeguards or cheeky up special spikes.

Since the release of the workshop quartet, Bleb has decided to pick up Hodan, already proving to be one of the character’s strongest players. It’ll be exciting to see how far the Romanian great ape can swing in the next season, you might be looking at the next king of the jungle.

“And if you gaze long enough into an endless abyss, the endless abyss will gaze back into you.”

9. Downiel

Making his first appearance on the PR, Downiel turned up the heat and rapidly climbed his way through the ranks this year. He played fiercely throughout the season and managed to pick up impressive wins over other top-ranked players such as Zonyx, Hukon, and Kerus. In the end, he netted himself numerous top 8 placings and peaked with a respectable 5th place finish at RCS crystal.

Near the end of last season, the avid Forsburn nair1 enthusiast ended up swapping over to Zetterburn. He has come a long way with the character since, and with high-level experience on two characters under his belt, he has become more well-rounded than before. His play is mainly characterised by his ferocious combo game, where he often forgoes early combo enders for unorthodox but lengthy punishes.
Always very curious about how he can change up his advantage, he’s not afraid to go for follow-ups others would consider unusual, and by using his technical movement and a good eye for openings he usually finds a way to make them work.

Despite switching characters, Downiel still managed to have an outstandingly strong performance. We’re excited to see if he can keep refining his play and continue making big upsets until his big wins are upsets no longer.

“Making the mother of all power rankings here, Jack Fox. Can’t fret over every placement.”

8. Boss Hog

One of last season’s honourable mentions, and the best Slap City player in Europe, Boss Hog has waveflexed his way into the top 10 of this season’s PR. Sporting a huge upset in the form of a win over Kalamahri, while only being upset once himself, Boss Hog has shown himself to not only be consistent but to have the ability to punch above his weight class.

Boss Hog plays Kragg with a focus on conditioning his opponents into predictable options and punishing them brutally, which makes him very difficult to combat unless you have a game plan as well-rounded as his. Boss Hog makes incredible use of all the tools available to him, from Kragg’s normals to his mixups on recovery. He explores every option he can, with a special emphasis on his use of Kragg’s rock shards, which may have been influenced by his time spent calculating dumbbell angles as a certain muscular Fishman.

We’re all looking forward to seeing just how high Boss Hog can climb in two platform fighters at the same time. Maybe we’ll see him become a double champ, as the number one in both EU Rivals and Slap City, then the Boss of the Really Banana Circle will become the boss of us all. _mangoBB

“Squid games.”

7. Shayd

Shayd makes a return for the EU season 6 power ranking, once again solidifying himself as a top-tier threat in European competition. He eliminated both Boss Hog and his long-time training partner Zonyx at RCS Melody, as well as Bleb and Kalamahri at RCS Fireworks to earn his two best placements at 3rd and 4th respectively.

Shayd has reached a first-class level of consistency with Elliana, likely due to his proficiency on both offence and defence. Once he’s left clouds of steam all over the stage he becomes incredibly difficult to catch, and his insane accuracy with what feels like heat-seeking missiles can make any situation feel treacherous. Even when you’re comboing Shayd, he can return a missile from off-screen to open you up and immediately take your stock thanks to his mastery of Elliana’s punish game. Shayd’s effective gameplan, alongside him being the only ranked Elliana in Europe makes him one of the scariest menaces to face in our brackets.

Shayd proved once more that he’s one of Europe’s finest players this season, and he no longer has to represent France alone on the PR, being joined by his good friend Zonyx. We hope that Shayd continues carrying the torch for his country as one of France’s best players.

“Every RCS should only be held on black history month IMO.”

6. Zonyx

Zonyx showed up out of nowhere with a 2nd place at last year’s RCS Finals, but didn’t quite meet the requirements for the PR. This season he secured his spot as one of EU’s best players by placing well at every ranked tournament including two 2nd place finishes. While tearing up the brackets he grabbed strong wins against established competitors such as Hukon and his familiar rival Shayd.

Though he’s replacing Japal as the sole Clairen main on the power ranking, do not mistake them, for they have entirely different styles. Zonyx is famous for his creative and lethal punish game, and when he finds an opening, you can expect to find yourself in his next combo video. He pushes the limits of what Clairen can do and inspires aspiring Clairens, especially in France, to imitate him.

What most people might not know is how much hard work and dedication Zonyx has put in to get here, since he only seriously started entering events in the past year. He’s been grinding almost non-stop since 2017 and it’s that polish that has made him shine with such a brilliant lustre. Zonyx shows no signs of slowing down and we expect to see him rush past the competition and blaze his name into the rankings for as long as they exist.

“You already got outplayed on the character select screen.”

5. alkihamzie

Alkihamzie burns a path through the competition securing himself another top five spot on the PR. With his only majors being RCS Fireworks and the RCS Finals, Alki has still undoubtedly demonstrated his skill by placing 3rd twice, taking down other prominent players on his way there such as Boss Hog, Kalamahri, and Shayd.

Alki is known for his over-the-top swagger and unshakable confidence, which he backs up with overwhelming aggression, deadly reversals, and an iconically flashy Zetterburn. In addition to his Zetter, Alki also sports several vicious secondaries, most notably his Kragg and his Clairen, which demonstrates his versatility and his extensive understanding of the game.

Keep your eyes on Alki if you’re looking for someone tearing through the competition in full Zetter drip, and know that when he loses it’s never his fault.

“I’m like the Mang0 of EU Rivals and everyone agrees.”

4. Hukon

Hukon makes his grand return into the top 5 this year with impressive performances all around. While bouncing between characters last season due to the RCS themes he settles back into playing Orcane and demonstrates his expertise with the character. He came out guns blazing in the Hot Springs tournament, defeating Zonyx, Shayd, and Kalamahri on his path to an impressive 3rd place.

Dropping his many personas allowed him to focus solely on Orcane, and he made the character shine with a strong understanding of neutral and defence. His punish game isn’t the flashiest, but with solid combos and a strong sense of when to go for opportunistic kills, he makes his opponents feel unsafe. This, coupled with Orcane’s natural ability to tech-chase, enables Hukon to take out some of Europe’s best.

Viral Twitter personality Hukon has appeared on every PR thus far and we believe he will continue to do so. He might not be the most active player around, but with this season he proves how important long-term experience is for competitive success.

“Cherish the journey. Thanks for the support.”

3. Kalamahri

Kala made a huge leap this season, shooting from last year’s 8th place all the way up to 3rd, taking the position previously held by his fellow Austrian Japal. Kala has proven to be an absolute force in every bracket he enters, from his huge 4-0 record on Z0nyx and strong record against other ranked players, to being one of only two people to win an EU RCS this season, Kala has clearly cemented himself as one of the best players in all of Europe.

Kala’s mastery of Ori is undeniable. His advantage is clean yet deadly, his recovery slippery and unpredictable, while his signature usage of flame-reversing will catch you off-guard and leave you wondering if he started his jump facing the other way. Alongside Ori, Kala has also shown off his prowess on Clairen this year, using it as a counterpick in a couple of this season’s major tournaments.

The future for Kala looks uncertain, as with the season’s conclusion he decided to take a step back from competing in Rivals. But something we can count on is Kala remaining one of Europe’s strongest players, if he decides to make his return.

“New PoE season kinda hot.”

2. Transco

The God King of Europe returns for yet another PR, once again at second place. Transco boasts a positive record on almost all of this season’s strongest players, never dropping a set to anyone with the sole exception of Fireicey, who he was still able to keep up and have close sets with.

Transco brought his trademark read-heavy playstyle back this RCS season. Where other players would take a guaranteed conversion or safe neutral opener, Transco strives for a much more brutal read on your defensive habits and movement, leading into the explosive combo game he is famous for. Anyone unlucky enough to get their habits picked up on by Transco will find themselves in the blast zone before they even realise what hit them.

As long as he doesn’t sleep in too late or get sucked into a new Path of Exile league, it’s near-certain that Transco will return to the top of the ranking next season, and when he’s back be sure to stay on the lookout for “Transco combo video #3”, you just might be in it.

“…”

1. Fireicey

Fireicey makes his return as the reigning champion of the EU Rivals scene with an even better showing than last year. He placed first in everything he entered, including weeklies, and didn’t lose a single set along the way. While he did miss check-ins for one of the online brackets, making him enter only 4 out of the 5 RCS tournaments, it is still the most dominant performance European Rivals has on record. The highlight of his season was undoubtedly during the European Finals where he managed to take out Bleblemlic and Kalamahri on the way to an intense winners finals game 5 against Transco, before closing out the tournament in classic Fireicey fashion with a 3-0.

What is remarkable about Fireicey is his desire to improve despite being firmly at the top for a couple of years now. He once again shows off his excellent punish game and aggression while incorporating more defensive techniques to confidently deal with any situation thrown his way.

Fireicey is an avid grinder and someone who continually seeks out improvement. Unless the world goes up in flames we don’t see the Zetter enthusiast losing his spot at the top anytime soon.