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
