EU Player Primer
For the Americans out there, a lot of the Europeans at Dreamhack are relatively unknown. So we here at TeamLiquid threw together a little primer about some of the more powerful players that Europe has to offer!
ATBT | Tekk
Europe’s top Puff brings back flashbacks of Mango’s original flair on the Pokemon. The Frenchman is aggressive and assertive in game, and goofy and charming outside of it. Once Tekk identifies a potential opening with a hard read, he utilizes Roundoudou’s strengths to her fullest with long and relentless combos alongside a strong offstage game. Tekk is, in his own words, “mos def im yolo all the way.” With consistent top 5 finishes and wins on almost every notable EU player, Tekk is definitely someone to look out for.
HEIR | reaper
The bespectacled Marth main is, simply put, an enigma. In an age of multishines, TAS-like tech skill and ever quickening play, Reaper often seems like a nod to old school Melee. While he’s capable of speedy movement, Reaper instead often resorts to slower, more methodical play. His movement patterns are erratic and janky, mixing pure dashes, full hops, walking and wavedashes. His movement is indicative of Reaper’s overall mindset. The German plays with an obvious joy and energy, with exciting, creative combos and fantastic popoffs.
ATBT | Baxon
Baxon is one of the top Falcos in Europe and certainly one of the finest players in France. Like most Falcos, he plays with one direction: forward. Baxon’s Falco, however, isn’t suicidal and double-or-nothing like Mango’s or overly technical and all-in like Westballz. Instead, the Frenchman prefers a style of checked aggression. Despite his always attacking mentality, Baxon utilizes steady laser pressure to slow down the pace of the match and force his opponent to match his tempo. Once he has his prey within reach, Baxon strikes with strong combos, tossing in a Bombsoldier finish at any chance he can.
Amsah
Amsah plays a fairly textbook style of Sheik. Why? Because he wrote the textbook. The Dutchman is one of the most internationally experienced Europeans, and the years of honed tech show. Amsah’s play revolves around a steady push towards the win. He uses minor conversions off of grabs, combined with simple, but effective combos, to chip away at his opponents. His experience shows when faced with a stock deficit. Amsah faces challenging matches with a calm demeanor, often working his way back into a winning situation.
vWs | Prof Pro
England’s favorite son. After racing neck and neck to the top with Fuzzyness for years, Professor Pro has held the crown of England’s #1 spot for almost two years now. Prof is one of the defining modern Foxes, with strong techskill, solid fundamentals and excellent movement all being core elements to his play. The Brit’s platform movement and crisp techchases in particular allow for him to convert small openings into instant death combos.
OverTriForce
Spain's top player is yet another of Europe's notorious Sheiks. Though he isn't as active a traveler as some other Europeans, Over is still one of the best players in Europe. His record speaks for itself, with wins over every top players in the region (save Armada). Over's strength in the neutral allows him to seize every opportunity which presents itself and turn it into a deadly techchase. His strong combo game sets the Spaniard up for his strong edgeguards, where his ledge play is deadly and precise.
LLL.Jeapie
Falcon Punch.
Vanity Angel
Vanity Angel is one of England’s best players. Hailing from the southern end of the country, VA is in the top three of his region. Similar to his more well known neighbor in the northern end of the country, VA plays an aggressive style of Peach. With consistent reads on his opponents’ movement patterns, Vanity throws himself at his opponent and tries to destroy them as quickly as possible. With this aggression comes a certain stubbornness. It isn’t surprising to find VA trying the same approach several times in a row, even if his opponent deflects it.
mYi.Ice
The former Sheik player is only the 3rd European to ever crack the top 10 of an MIOM ranking. Despite his obvious talent, Ice is often overlooked due to his region and lack of appearances at American events. Taking elements of his former life as a Sheik main, Ice plays an incredibly combo heavy Fox. His intense technical play has led him to a role of complete dominance in the German scene. In European events, Ice is almost always a top 3 contender. However, since his switch from Sheik, he has performed worse than expected at American events, with his best placing being 9th at Big House 5. Sporting a new sponsor, Ice is looking to reclaim his top 10 spot with a strong performance this weekend.
(Photo order: Baxon - Jeapie - OverTriforce - Professor Pro - reaper - Tekk - Ice)
Writer: Peanuts
CSS: FO-nTTaX
Photos: Peanuts
Editing: Zentagon