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PGRUv3 EU: Area 51 + 50-31

By PGstats | 08/02/22

Welcome to the reveal of the PGRU v3! This time around, due to the difficulties of traveling in the post-lockdown world, the PGRU will be regional, with one each for North America, Europe and Japan. We begin with Europe, where today we will run through Area 51 and the 50th through 31st ranked players on the continent.

To see the rest of the releases from the PGRUv3 rollout and to see answers to some frequently asked questions, please see the Hub + FAQ post here.

Area 51

Bluesky
By Jack “Jackie Peanuts” Moore
Geoffrey “Bluesky” Rivoire is not exactly a new player in the post-lockdown era – he entered a few tournaments here and there, and made one regional Top 8 in 2019, at French regional ECLA ESPORT SMASH EDITION in August. But now, after becoming a regular in French Top 8s in the post-lockdown era, Bluesky has a strong claim to the title of Best Yoshi in Europe.
Bluesky’s 2022 included one regional win, at BO Troyes #1 over Ismaël and Tomberry, and a number of Top 8s. The most impressive result was his performance at the February edition of Dose2Sel, where Bluesky took down two of France’s best in NaetorU and Raflow, by far his best wins on the big stage thus far. Yoshi has been an under-the-radar character in every region but especially Europe, where the character failed to make an appearance on the regions last full-season rankings, the European Smash Rankings from early 2020. Bluesky is one of France’s most impressive rising players of the post-lockdown era and has put Yoshi back on the map in Europe.
Longo 
By Maurice "yung aegi" Schweers
As a frequent visitor of the European rankings even before the PGRU EU, Long “Longo” Hoang joins the group of Area 51 players this season. Even if a few mixed performances such as his 65th place at Glory result in him being absent from the Top 50, he continues to impress with amazing runs at tournaments like RCADIA SMASH 2, where he beat Ente and Young Eevey to make fifth place, or Smash Contest: DoKomi 2022 where he got ninth place beating otek and Meutrich. While he will sit this season out on an Area 51 placement, it would surprise nobody if Longo returns to the top 50 in the second half of 2022.
Patrino
By Jack “Jackie Peanuts” Moore
It’s only fitting that after a career as the best Ryu in the Netherlands in Smash 4 that Patrick “Patrino” Volwater has re-emerged as the best Terry in the country in the post-lockdown era. The only thing holding him back from the top 50 was a rough performance at his only out-of-country major, RCADIA Smash in Germany, where he finished 49th. At home in the Netherlands, Patrino was a force, regularly making Top 8s at local and regional events. 
He saved his best for the country’s most important event of the season, too. At The Ultimate Performance 3.5, a 121-entrant bracket held in the Netherlands, Patrino made a run all the way to Winners Semis with a win over Ramses, falling only to Loading… and Space. The 5th place finish was his best finish at a European regional since the pre-lockdown era, dating back to his 5th place finish at Lightning: The New Spark in June 2019. If Patrino can maintain this level when he travels out of country, he can easily make his way into Europe’s Top 5.
Rinor
Written by Alexandre “DrPuppet” Weber
Many know Rinor “Rinor” Hajdaraj as the best Chroy main in Europe, many know him for his MinMin from the SWT: European finals or many know him as the guy that seeds every European tournament out there. While he ended up 2021 on a high with good performances at Dokomi 2021, Temple,  SWT, and finishing 2nd at Rcadia as his last major event of the year. His 2022 has been rather slow as he took a step back from competing only attending his local regional Virtuasmash and a few other regional tournaments, not finishing below 3rd any time he attended and as his only major so far this year Dokomi 2022 where he finish 9th as last year, losing only to Drybie and Sirjon.
Rinor has struggled with motivation to compete since the lockdown era began, losing motivation to practice and build on the rising performance he was showing before. However, when he showed up, he showed up. Rinor announced recently that he plans to quit competing for good after this year as he plans on moving out from Germany to his home country to follow other goals. Especially in Germany Rinor has been a pillar for the community. The guy that seeds, the guy that coaches, and especially the one to always push the local community to try a bit harder at the next event. His impact on the community is unparalleled. May we join him on his last dance as plans to attend a couple more major events in Europe this year. Danke Brudi!
Sintro 
Written by Maurice "yung aegi" Schweers
After Johannes “Sintro” Teufl made a name for himself internationally at the Smash World Tour Championships in 2021, his first full offline season in 2022 ultimately resulted in an Area 51 finish for the Austrian R.O.B. player.
With stellar performances in his home country, like third place finishes at two Coca-Cola Breakpoint tournaments in Vienna, Sintro picked up wins over every other notable Austrian player. However, a lack of out of region performances leaves him just short of the PGRU EU this season. It will be exciting to see if Sintro can repeat the magical moments like his Smash World Tour European Finals run in the second half of 2022.
And now, on to the Top 50!
By Aimé ''Allen'' Kombo
Benjamin “Gogesta” S. is one of the players who made the best transition from online to offline in Ultimate. He made the most out of the lockdown period and has emerged from the online era with honor.
A real pillar of the online community and considered the best Bowser player of the French online scene, he was able to translate the fundamentals he built online to the world of offline. Gogesta is a prime example of a player who can show newcomers the value of online play: it serves as a gateway to offline through training against other strong players in tournaments, experience that would be hard to come by elsewhere. 
Gogesta shows the value of that experience perfectly with his recent results, including a 4th place at WANTED: All Star over NaetorU, Tropped, Mezcal and Momon, or his 4th place at Dojo #30, in which he outpaced AlTek, Lemonke and Gin. He is yet another example that the transition from online to offline can be a quick one, and there’s nothing stopping him from taking the next step and joining France’s top echelon soon.
by Maurice "yung aegi" Schweers
If you have followed the online scene of Smash Ultimate ever since its release, Clement “SuperStriker” Madison will not be a surprise pick for you on this ranking. Not even a year after his first Ultimate offline tournament (“Temple: Hermés Edition” in September 2021), the Belgian Sonic main has reached the top level of Europe with impressive wins under his belt like Nibodax, BeJay !, Azrael and Honk
While being ranked the only “S+ Tier” player of his country in April, he also won the biggest Belgian tournament of the year at “Vulcan #2,” where he only dropped three games during the entire tournament. As this is only the start of SuperStriker’s offline career, the future for this young prodigy is looking bright. Belgium is already under his reign, and he will aim for even higher spots in the future rankings. SuperStriker is the future of Belgian and European Ultimate, and it will be exciting to see how the future of his career unfolds. 
By Tom "G-P" Scott
Once upon a time in a tweet far, far away, Brandon "DarkStalker" Rochester proclaimed ‘Watch when offline returns and I travel to your region. Y’all are going to bow down to me’. Whilst he has not yet competed outside of his home country of England, he most certainly is making a mark as one of the strongest Terry players on the planet.
As one of finest players in London, Darkstalker makes his home at the many enormous weeklies where he regularly trades sets with titans such as eMass. Whilst the APM machine is much more of a weekly warrior, his performances at larger events are nothing to scoff at either. He started off this PGR season by finishing 5th at Big LAB #4, securing wins over Skaws and Selkie. He also finished 2nd at Smash Mania after a hard fought set against OwlBBS, even beating him in Winners Final. Despite this, expect to see him reach new heights in the future, as he attempts to spread his special brand of gameplay overseas.
By Alexandre “DrPuppet” Weber
Every region has its version of the Steve that came out of the quarantine beating everybody in the bracket. Pietro “Ente” Caligaris is the German edition, a Wifi Warrior that has established himself as one of the new talents in the post-quarantine era.
Ente started entering tournaments in late 2019 without great placements. He was an Olimar player early on, but switched to Banjo shortly into the online era, where he really started to make his name. Starting with participation in tournaments hosted by German influencer Unge, Ente was on the grind, entering nearly 150 online brackets. However, he really stood out from the crowd once he swapped and committed to Steve. 
He started stacking up wins after his first strong showing in July of 2021, making it to the Grand finals of DATEV Ultimate Series - Prelude #5, only losing twice to DarkThunder. Since that tournament, he only placed outside of Top 8 three times out of 29 offline tournaments. With such consistent placings, Ente was able to earn the title of best Steve in Germany in no time. 
He also created a local rivalry between himself, Darkthunder and Pacslash in the Hive tournaments in Bavaria Germany. Most notable performances of the season would be his win in the Tru4’s Spotlight 3 - newcomers; his 9th place finish at RCADIA Smash 2 only losing to Longo and Darkthunder; his 2nd place finish at TGM Brawl Mini only losing to quiK twice; his win only a month later with the runbacks against quiK at DATEV Ultimate Series #3 and a respectable 5th place finish at Dokomi 2022 losing to Tarik and Darkthunder gathering wins against MaLi, Longo and Peppa. For a relatively new player, that’s an incredible list of wins, a good omen for his future in the German scene.
By Aimé ''Allen'' Kombo
A player revealed over the lockdown period via his 13th place finish at the massive 1,800-player Smash World Tour European Online Qualifier, Noxumbra is one of the many players to take advantage of the online era, improving and gaining valuable experience though the many online sessions and tournaments to take place throughout 2021. 
His Richter is impeccably precise, taking advantage of every tool at his disposal to keep his opponent from gaining any position on the stage. Noxumbra’s results and notable wins have made him a contender for the title of best Belmont in France with his colleague Leodagant. His performance at Ultimate Wanted 3 was a revelation for the French scene, as he beat Homika, Mezcaul, Emass and Tony Clackos as part of a fourth place finish, proving he could perform both online and offline. 
Noxumbra was originally a Wifi Warrior, but he has continued to gradually improve in his transition to offline. In addition to his Wanted run, Noxumbra has notched wins over Emass and PeW at KRBanger #2 and Longo at RCADIA Smash, the resume of a strong player with potential to go even further.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
Noah “RyuKai” Bataille had a season with high peaks and some lows. As a part of a crew of French players traveling all around Europe and even to the US, he was able to test his skills against players from all around the globe.
His international performances were probably not what the highly motivated Fox and Wolf player had hoped for. Instead, he surpassed expectations in France and was able to go even further beyond at the DOSE2SEL tournament series, where he finished both 2nd and 4th. In both runs combined he managed to beat NaetorU, MoDzai, Neeroz, and Bluesky and also had very close games against Raflow.
Considering his upward trajectory over the last few months, RyuKai is certainly no hidden boss anymore, but a player everyone should be aware of. Having gathered some international experience, he only needs to work a bit on his consistency to become widely recognized as one of France’s best players.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
After a long break, Herman “Loading…” Schröer decided to return from Valorant to Smash competition for the PGRU v3 season. And what a return it was for the Dutch Megaman player.
Loading… only competed in two of the largest events in the Netherlands and showed that he is still a force to be reckoned with. After a 5th place at Heroes of Dutch Comic Con – Spring edition, he was warmed up and ready for the nation’s most prestigious event, The Ultimate Performance 3.5. Seeded to not even make it into the Top16, Loading… charged straight to Winners Finals, beating eMass and Patrino on the way. After losing game 5 to SupahSemmie he also had to concede to Space and finished in 3rd place.
With such an explosive return to competition, we can only hope that Loading… is here to stay, because if he continues performing on this level, the European Smash scene might have a new top-level threat to look out for.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
Many Dutch players are known for not traveling abroad too often. Jaime “BeJay !” Rodriguez does not fall into that category. The most patient Snake player in Europe, also known for his fashion sense, is frequently attending tournaments throughout Europe to demonstrate his skills.
Abroad is also where BeJay ! was able to get some of his best results, like his 2nd place at Vulcan #2. His best run was at Smash Contest: DoKomi 2022 where he beat players like DarkThunder, Jaka, and Longo to finish in 3rd place, while also leaving a memorable pop-off moment for the community. His results in the Netherlands were solid, but he was unable to secure some wins against the top talent of the country at larger events, often falling to Space and iStudying.
BeJay ! has shown his improvement over time, reflected by him rising the ranks of the Dutch PR and beating some of his bracket demons in DarkThunder and Jaka. Whenever he is able to convert some of his weekly wins over the Dutch top level to larger events, he is guaranteed to make even bigger waves for himself.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
You may know “Ramses” Decrees from his world-class coaching or commentary, but he is also one of the best players in the Netherlands. This should not surprise you as he is playing the best character in the game, Shulk, at least according to himself, and a highly ambitious player striving to be Top 10 in Europe.
His only out of country tournament resulted in a 2nd place at Coca-Cola Breakpoint 2022.4, where he beat Austrian R.O.B. Sintro. In the Netherlands he finished 2nd at Tax Deluxe 3, beating Azrael and losing two close sets against SupahSemmie. A similar scenario unfolded at On Reaction, where he finished 5th after losing two game 5 sets against SupahSemmie and iStudying.
These results show how close he is to win against some of Europe’s strongest players and might also explain some of his dissatisfaction with himself falling short ever so slightly. Once Ramses is able to bridge the gap between the gameplay in his head and what unfolds on screen and gets those crucial wins, he is bound to rise the ranks quickly. Europe might soon miss out on some Top 8 Ramses commentary at a major, with the man still playing in bracket himself.
By Tom "G-P" Scott
As one of the many ‘Wifi kids’ to gain attention during the online era, ‘Shaneak’ makes his way onto this list as one of the youngest players on this PGR, if not the youngest. Shaneak offers a wide repertoire of characters in his arsenal, but is most well known for his excellent Inkling gameplay.
Shaneak racked up some impressive performances this season including 9th at ReUnion securing a 3-0 victory over RAMBOSS, but he truly earned a spot on this list with the greatest losers run in UK Smash history at Tea Party in March. Despite getting knocked into losers early, he proceeded to win a total of 9 sets straight - including OwlBBS, Peli, eMass, Luugi and Bloom4Eva TWICE - in order to take first at the UK National. Whilst this is a singular standout performance at this point in time, there’s no doubt that Shaneak could become one of the best players in Europe, should he be able to recapture that incredible ability.
By Tom “G-P” Scott
As someone who has known Steffan ‘Streakz’ Noel for his entire competitive career, I can tell you that we knew he was something special from day 1. Over 6 years later Streakz continues to be one of the most stylish, suffocating players in Europe, piloting the high octane Fox whilst maintaining his ice cold demeanour.
Streakz' appearances at larger events are few and far between this season, but the few times he has appeared are ones worth witnessing. He fought to 9th place at the insanely top-heavy BOSS BATTLES: For Glory, taking out Whoopee, THE SCHMIXTAPE and even Raflow in an incredible 3-2 victory after going down 2 games. With even more performances under his belt this season and a very busy competitive calendar coming up, keep an eye out for more incredible play from Streakz in the UK and beyond.
By Coral "Coral" Garcia
David "Vidad" Álvarez finally guaranteed himself a spot in the European rankings at the young age of 16. This year, Spain’s best ROB player has finally been able to travel and earn the placements to land in the top 50 of Europe with outstanding performances.
Vidad made his name in the scene after playing a lot of Wifi tournaments starting in 2020. His first offline season in 2021 included some strong results, but 2022 definitely is his best year so far thanks to placements like 7th at Glory 2.0, 25th at 95 King of Fields 2 and 17th at COLOSSEL 2022. Along the way, he has beaten strong players like Oryon, Leon, Noxumbra and VinS
He is considered one of the top European prodigies, and this is only the beginning for him, with more experience to come in the next seasons in order to compete at the highest level in the continent.
By Tom "G-P" Scott
Hailing from the proud, loud region of North East England, Germaine ‘CurryGovernor’ Hatton has been a fan favourite player since his rise to the top of the UK ranks. Since the beginning of Smash Ultimate,  Curry has been one of the most prominent Cloud mains in the world, and that didn’t change this season with a slew of impressive results.
At Tea Party 1, CurryGovernor was the sole person to defeat Shaneak before finishing 7th. He also managed to collect an impressive 3rd place finish at Manchester Conquest 8 with a winners bracket run defeating Marisa, Honey O and Achilles on the way. Whilst Curry’s attendance in this season was lower than usual, the manager of the Verge Inn has come flying out of the gate in the new season with not only impressive tournament wins but also a brand new character to pilot, quickly cementing himself as an incredible Chrom to rival the best. Be sure to keep an eye out for future performances as he cuts a path in the European scene.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
With some amazing performances in 2022, Soner “Azrael” Morina managed to secure himself #4 on the Dutch PR as well as a spot on the European PGRU. Azrael is back on his Smash 4 main, Cloud, after primarily using Wolf in the first half of Ultimate. To complement his roster, he has picked up Sephiroth and Joker, who is recently making more frequent appearances in tournaments, making him a player with one of the largest character rosters in tournament play in Europe.
Azrael never traveled abroad throughout the season and so The Ultimate Performance 3.5, where he finished 9th, was one of the rare occasions where he faced international competition and managed to get a win over French Ness PeW. With few opportunities to face international foes, he primarily made this list thanks to improved play against his Dutch rivals. Most notably he was able to win twice against Space to finish 2nd at Rotation @ Dynamo and 3rd at On Reaction. Other than that, he also holds a winning record over iStudying and BeJay !.
Considering his rise in the ranks throughout the last few months, we look forward to his first international Major attendance. Meanwhile, it will be worth watching how he continues to fare in the Netherlands, and whether he will be able to take sets off of demons like SupahSemmie and Mr.R.
By Aimé ''Allen'' Kombo
Yavuz “MoDzai” Demirciler is part of the up-and-coming generation of Ultimate players on the scene who have stood out as tournaments have gone by. Taken under the wing of Glutonny in the Glutonny Academy, he was able to improve exponentially thanks to this experience and come very close to top 8 at Parisian weeklies, considered as the weeklies with the highest level in the country.
Recognized as the best French Pac-Man player, ahead of his counterparts Traceur and Pilex, he consolidates his mastery of the character through significant wins on players like Homika, his colleague from team Izi Dream VinS, as well as Ogey, Sisqui, NaetorU, Mezcaul, PeW , Mr.E, Neeroz, and Nitox among others, an impressive collection of names for this young player!
Knowing him through Nass, a Pac-Man player from my community, MoDzai is an admirable, promising young player and, despite being a little airheaded at times, he has the concentration and maturity necessary to succeed in his tournaments. Results like 3rd at Dose2Sel, 4th place at KRBanger, and 9th place at WANTED All-Star are all the proof you need.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
Some of the older members of the community might still remember Destan “Destany” Huynh from his Smash 4 days and placements on the European PR. With the release of Ultimate Destany stopped traveling abroad and only competed in Switzerland, aside from a singular trip to the US as an invitee. The Terry main was able to defend his throne in Switzerland for the longest time until Isabelle player Jaka challenged him in 2021 and took the crown. Maybe it was also him who sparked Destany’s interest in traveling abroad again.
In the current PGRU season Destany only competed abroad once, at Thonon Gaming Fest, where he finished with a 9th place. Disappointed about this performance he studied up and managed to bring his work into fruition at the E-Caribana Qualifier where he defeated NaetorU, Jaka, Neeroz, and Tropped to win the tournament. Later into the season he was also able to take a set off of Lancelot, the eventual winner of Exodus 3, and finished 2nd.
And so, a new chapter in Destany’s life as a Smash competitor is about to begin. After retaking his crown as number 1 in Switzerland in 2022 and a renewed interest in international competition his journey to the European top starts anew.
By Coral “Coral” Garcia
Sergio "Tropped" Barril made his way through the European rankings as one of the players with the best evolution this season with his great Steve. Everyone remembers him for achievements like beating Glutonny at Vienna Challengers Arena 2021, but that was prior to the PGRU v3 ranking period. In order to make Europe’s top 50, he needed to travel and be more consistent in results in 2022, and so far, he has done exactly that.
Tropped finished 49th at Glory 2.0, but performed better at other European tournaments outside of Spain, like the E-Caribana Qualifier and main events, placing 2nd and 17th respectively, Moreover, he placed 5th at WANTED: All Star, 9th at 95 King of Fields 2 and 25th at COLOSSEL 2022, with wins over really strong players like Homika, Chag, Nibodax, Lancelot and Leon in the process, very solid results that guarantee Tropped’s position as one of the best players in Europe.
As for his character, he could be more technical with Steve, but one of Tropped’s strongest qualities is that he easily and accurately counters his opponent's gameplay and makes the most of his advantage state. He is very motivated with Steve, a character that finally fits his playstyle after going through a character crisis. With 2022 being the best year in his Smash career thus far, he wants to improve and become even better for next season.
By Aimé ''Allen'' Kombo
Morgan “Momon” R. is certainly one of the surprises of this post-lockdown year. Mainly known from the Bordeaux scene as the king of his city with his Luigi, Momon was originally a Fox main, and now uses both characters in tandem. Want to know how dedicated Momon is to this new Luigi? Sometimes you’ll see him using an in-game tag that is simply a few numbers in a row; for example, “4 16 80 95” as he did against one Captain Falcon player. These are the ranges where Luigi’s KO combos are true, an easy way to know when to go for it all.
The best compliment to give Momon’s Luigi, the best in France, is that he makes the character look hype even if we expect the same characteristic combo over and over again. His results do all the talking: 1st at HFLAN SSBU x SC2 with wins over Flow, NaetorU and Oryon; 13th at WANTED Free Agent eliminating Glutonny from losers; 25th at Glory 2.0 with wins over Marcbri and WTFox.
His recent sponsorship with French esport organization F9 will allow us to see him travel a bit more to European tournaments going forward, which should only help his case to return to these rankings next season, if not rise even further.
By Thomas "Lyamarth" Kammerlander
Considering the high expectations placed on him, Jean-Paul “Neeroz” Nagbo had a quiet season. The French Pikachu player was able to consistently place well at most events he entered, resulting in few upsets and also rarely lost to opponents he was supposed to beat. His participation at large events in five different countries (France, Spain, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the US) makes him one of the most well-traveled European players this season.
His best performance was at one of these out of country Majors, at Glory 2.0, where he managed to defeat NaetorU and finished in 9th place. Throughout the season Neeroz also was able to take a set off of MoDzai and RyuKai, both players he faced multiple times in bracket. RyuKai turned out to be his bracket demon with an overall record of 1-3.
Neeroz has shown in the past that he is capable of adapting and beating many of the players that stopped his bracket runs this season. With great consistency overall it is only a question of time until he gets one of these good wins that he is known for. The question is whether he will be able to accumulate them more frequently and establish himself as one of the biggest threats from France.
By Tom “G-P” Scott
In a game with over 80 playable characters, a gigantic pool of players and tournaments seemingly every weekend, it can be difficult to maintain a high level of play. But Sam ‘SBF’ Brooks-Franklin laughs in the face of that sentiment, being one of the most rock solid consistent players in the UK. Despite dancing between a few characters in this game, SBF is most known for his Wario gameplay, in which he utilises the character’s high mobility and his opponents’ fear of the game-ending waft expertly.
As a player who attends as many events as possible, you know he’s wracked up plenty of 1st place finishes. These include SmashDash XXXII, taking grand finals from the winners side over CurryGovernor. He also defeated Achilles and eMass on his way to taking KnockOut 8’s top spot. Armed with an incredible understanding of the game - which he also articulates better than nearly any other competitor - and an unmatched list of personalised chants from supporters, SBF will continue to be a European threat for many years to come.
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The PGRU rollout continues later this afternoon with the reveal of North America's Area 51 and 50-31. The PGRU v3 EU rollout continues tomorrow with the reveal of 30-11, and Thursday with the full video and release of the Top 10. Follow @PGstats on Twitter to keep up with the full PGRU and MPGR release.
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