The European Rivals of Aether Championship Series ranking is back, and this time it’s bigger than ever. Over the past season, the scene has experienced a renaissance of new and highly motivated players replacing many of the retiring veterans of Europe. These up and coming talents have increased the character diversity of the continent by bringing many of the less represented rivals to the top level. To celebrate and bring these players to the spotlight, the top 25 will be released all at once with an additional combo video as the cherry on top.
This season’s ranking was formed by the hard work of multiple European tournament organizers, top players and community figures. Since this list is the biggest European ranking yet, a more statistical approach was taken with a combination of expert opinion and tournament result analysis. The method involved nine panelists assigning performance values to each player then averaging out the performance of each player. The exact process won’t be released since it will likely be reused for future rankings, and it works better if the players don’t know the details.
EU RCS S3 #25 – Slap
Slap is a very straightforward player. You’ll see him play a wide cast of characters in friendlies, but in tournament you’re guaranteed to see the Orcane come out. He plays a very balanced rushdown Orcane, not relying on any one tool too much. The one thing you have to look out for when fighting Slap would be his consistency in killing off down-tilt. Whether it be up-air or up-strong, if you find yourself getting hit by down-tilt at high percents, you’re probably done for.
Throughout the season Slap has actively entered both local and online tournaments. He built up numerous impressive wins, most notably beating FullMetal on multiple occasions and even beating Slime Mage at Traction 4. We’re excited to see him continue his way up the rankings, and grow as a player.
EU RCS S3 #24 – Biri
Biri could be described as “polished”. His Etalus is not something you would call “groundbreaking”. He does not attempt to go for new combo-extenders, he does not go for risky down-specials or up-special spikes, one could argue that he plays a safe Etalus.That being said, his consistency in his combos and techskill in general is what makes him so scary. Biri wouldn’t drop a nair to upair combo if his life depended on it. Due to this, and his generally safe yet quick approaches with Dash Attack Wavedashes, and his zoning with side-special, Biri has picked up wins versus Oily, Hukon and Fireicey.
At his peak, he was gunning for the 2nd best Etalus in EU (with the #1 being Kaos himself), competing with and sometimes surpassing the other top Etalus looking for the spot, Swordsplay. Unfortunately, Biri has taken a break from Rivals, and it is uncertain if he will return to the European Rivals scene.
EU RCS S3 #23 – Age
The man who, despite being rated near the bottom on the RCS PR, might be top 3 in the list of most popular players in Europe. Age has made a name for himself within the European Rivals community with his quick, technical, but most of all unyielding Kragg. Whenever he sees fit, he will go for a forward-strong, and he does not care for the consequences. “The AGE” as it’s called has become a popular meme within the European Rivals community, as Age has made himself truly stand out with his usage of forward-strong. With that said, Age has more to offer than just forward-strongs. His ability to mimic and implement most of the rock-play and edgeguarding that top Kraggs use in his own gameplay, while still retaining his aggression with his strongs and fairs, is what truly sets him apart from most Kraggs.
This is the first time Age makes an RCS PR, but this is not the first time you might have heard of him. Not only is he famous for his Kragg, he has also made some of the finest montages the Rivals scene has ever witnessed, with Crash Bomber and EYE being his most famous ones. As he continues to improve his gameplay and learn from the best Kraggs in EU, we can only hope to see Age take himself to the next level.
EU RCS S3 #22 – Readek
Whenever beginners ask for advice on how to play Rivals, one recurring piece of advice is to “Play more”. If you just play, with time your strength as a player will develop due to you understanding the game more and expanding your knowledge of matchups and such. There is not a single player that embodies this idea of improvement as hard as Readek, as he is the man who has entered the most tournaments out of the top 25. With 42 tournaments under his belt for this season alone, Readek continues to polish his two mains, Maypul and Ori. If you asked anyone who plays Readek frequently or watched him play on his stream, they would most likely describe his playstyle as “reckless aggression”. His playstyle is standard rushdown, he goes in and rarely, if ever, gives his opponent time to breath whenever he has started a combo. While this benefits Readek in the sense that he controls the game and can easily rack up percent if needed, the downside is that Readek sometimes goes too far in for his own good. It has gotten to the point where he is able to zero-to-death his opponent twice in a game, but still lose it due to him SD-ing three times.
Despite this, Readek has been able to beat Kerus, Junkyards and Hukon in bracket, a feat that only few outside and inside of the top 25 have achieved. Even if the set-count is against him vs these players, it still shows that Readek, regardless of the mistakes he makes ingame, has the potential to give EU’s finest a hard time.
EU RCS S3 #21 – Redskorpion
While most of the players on this list are well established community members, Redskorpion’s Clairen seems to have appeared from the future. This rising star was immediately able to tear through amateur brackets and started competing at the top level within months. Redskorpion has a fast, movement-based neutral and makes use of every little hit box with his unorthodox combo game.
Since his arrival last October, he has been grinding out online tournaments and been able to get upset wins on top players such as Hukon and Colaw. Now that the RCS season is over, Redskorpion has improved immensely and is well established as a top player and Europe’s best solo Clairen.
EU RCS S3 #20 – Blark
Sheriff Blark, leader of Blarks Bully Brigade, is as hard boiled as his custom skins. Known for his interesting choice of colour and deceptive smoke-based gameplay, you never know what will happen next when fighting Blark. Blark likes to keep you on edge with great smoke and combust usage. He’s also known for his active usage of up-strong, both poking with the cape and using the second hit as his most used kill option, despite his claim that it’s “entirely RNG”.
Throughout the season Blark has been a constant threat, attending most major local events and actively entering our online tournaments. With wins over Oily, FullMetalEU, and Ludi, Blark has shown us that he has what it takes to compete with the the top. For the next season, we hope to see him place more consistently as he continues to smoke the competition.
EU RCS S3 #19 – Swordsplay
To some, Swordsplay is a player who often flies under the radar when thinking of Europe’s best. But to anyone who has had the misfortune of meeting him in bracket, his Etalus and Wrastor are a force to be reckoned with. Swordsplay is as much as an enthusiast of neutral as he is a competitor. You can see this by the fact that he is happy to apply his strong fundamentals and thoughtful positioning in the form of both aggressive and defensive play. His flexibility and intelligent neutral have allowed him to win over top players such as Hidde, Slime Mage and even Fireicey.
As one of the players with the most tournament appearances this season, his dedication was rewarded with a 1st place at Ignition #10 and several other top placings at various online tournaments. More recently, he has started to show more consistency in his tournament placings and is starting to establish himself as a top player within the region.
EU RCS S3 #18 – M4rwan
M4rwan likes his neutral like he likes his wine: bubbly. Known for his bubble heavy Orcane playstyle, M4rwan is not to be underestimated. His ability to wall out opponents as he builds up percentage is impeccable. It’s not uncommon to be left feeling completely helpless when fighting M4rwan. However, bubbles are not all he can do. His hydroplanes are incredibly slick, and will often catch his opponent off-guard.
Throughout the season, M4rwan entered only few tournaments, but managed to get solid placings at all of them. Most notably, he managed to score an outstanding 9th place at Traction 4. We’re excited to see what comes next as he slips and slides his way up the rankings.
EU RCS S3 #17 – Zeloxory
Zeloxory is a multi-game threat with success in both Brawlhalla and Rivals of Aether. Famously, he refuses to use sein in any form when playing his signature Ori. To bring his Ori to this level, he has had to rely on his strong fundamentals and keen eye for openings. Zeloxory has notable 2nd place finishes at Ignition weeklies and impressive wins over Pat, Fullmetal and Kerus. His strongest result is his miracle run at the Scottish Esports League qualifiers where he had to go through Colaw and Sir Frogzy to gain a 2nd place and qualify for the SEL finals.
Zeloxory seems to show no sign of stopping his frequent tournament attendance and motivation to travel. He has great potential and we are excited to see how far he can push his seinless Ori and his other characters.
EU RCS S3 #16 – Kerus!
The number one player from Spain, and the only player that can face CoLaw in the Ranno ditto and come out on top, Kerus gets 16th place in this years RCS PR. One of the youngest players on the PR, being only 16 years old, Kerus uses an efficient Ranno to pressure his opponents to approach, and then punishes their approach accordingly. As he rarely makes mistakes when it comes to techskill and execution, any opponent picking a stage that has multiple platforms that Kerus can edge-cancel his up-special with, will find a tough hill to climb. With wins over Pat, Ludi and the previously mentioned CoLaw, Kerus makes a strong case for entering the highest ranks of EU players.
EU RCS S3 #15 – Pat
Pat can be described as a Rivals of Aether fundamentalist. He doesn’t need modern tech or hyper optimised punishes, his Kragg will launch you into orbit anyway. Pat’s old school style makes great use of positioning, edgeguards and, of course, fair. With some of the best DI in Europe, he will find a way to Houdini his way out of any combo.
As a competitor with an impressive legacy, Pat has shown less interest in competing this season having entered only 4 tournaments. When he does enter, he still gives more active top players a run for their money (including wins over Oily and Fullmetal) and will often stop newer player’s tournament runs in their tracks. With very few upsets against him, Pat can be considered the gatekeeper of the top level in Europe.
EU RCS S3 #14 – FullMetalEU
This season we saw FullMetalEU’s return to Wrastor, becoming a frightening Wrastor-Kragg duo-main. You can never truly have a lead versus FullMetal, as he has shown on multiple occasions by switching character to get a clean reverse 3-0. He has as little trouble juggling two characters as he does juggling his opponents. His combogame on Wrastor is nothing short of impressive, and can often feel overwhelming. His Kragg on the other hand, revolves mostly around d-special. He’ll use it a lot both on-stage, and for stylish off-stage spikes. It’s as they say, “Give FullMetal a fish and he’ll eat for a day, give FullMetal a keyboard and he’ll down-b spike you at 40.”
FullMetalEU has been one of our most active tournament players, having attended 5 local tournaments, and countless online tournaments. Look at any Ignition or Aethernity bracket, and you’ll probably see FullMetal sitting comfortably in top 4.
EU RCS S3 #13 – Ludi
With a new entry into the European power ranking Ludi brings his high speed, precision-based playstyle on Maypul to the online battle arena. Ludi is a Maypul engineer, one could say. His precise combo game and complete lack of neutral make him a very fun player to play against and watch. This precise combo game was on full display during Traction 4 where he was able to 3-1 Hukon with some crazy plays and high octane movement.
Taking huge wins off of players like Frogzy, CoLaw, and Hukon shows his incredible skill and proficiency on his character. With a low total amount of tournaments played, and a lack of consistent results of the highest level, which he’s certainly capable of, it’s hard to truly know what this guy is capable of doing. Don’t be surprised to see Ludi on the next power ranking, maybe even breaching the top ten, and singlehandedly raising the skill ceiling for European Maypul play.
EU RCS S3 #12 – Frogzy
If it wasn’t for long periods of inactivity, Frogzy would no doubt be way higher up on this list. At the peak of his performance only the very best were able to compete with his Zetterburn. He accomplished this form through a fundamental understanding of Zetterburn’s kit. The pressure he is able to generate whilst still remaining safe himself can sometimes be impossible to deal with. With smart decisions in neutral, and not being afraid to pull out an aggressive string of moves, Frogzy has been able to beat multiple noteworthy opponents such as CoLaw, Junkyards and Hukon.
For now he’s focused on playing melee and studying, but if he were to return to the competitive rivals scene, you should not be surprised to see him at the top of the next power ranking
EU RCS S3 #11 – Oily
Oily soars his way to the 11th spot as one of the highest ranked newcomers to the European Rivals of Aether ranking. For a long time, this Wrastor was seemingly harmless as he flew under the radar with a lack of results. Then, as the season began, he exploded in skill and began clapping top players at the Traction locals. Oily’s history as a player is a metaphor for how he plays in game. He waits patiently with slick platform movement and stylish moonwalks, then, when the opportunity arises, the opponent is suddenly barraged by aerials and finished off with an accurate aerial strong attack. This is what Oily has become notorious for; his pinpoint accuracy with the clap, whether it be in neutral or to finish a zero to death combo.
Oily has had an extremely successful season with a 2nd place finish at Traction 3 and multiple wins over Bert, Fireicey and Fullmetal. We hope to see Oily have another spike in improvement and push into the top 10 for next season.
EU RCS S3 #10 – Bert in Cyberspace
Bert in Cyberspace breaks into the top 10 with a patient but deadly Zetterburn. He prefers a careful neutral, baiting out mistakes and punishing hard. When fighting Bert, one mistake can be all it takes, as he keeps you in disadvantage with excellent tech chasing and great edgeguards. You can’t talk about Bert without mentioning down-strong. It is said that he down-strongs at least 1000 times a day, and is always ready to scoop you up and send you on a one way trip into the blast zone.
During this season, Bert has consistently placed top 8 at every major local, while only dropping outside of the top 3 once. For the next season, we hope to see Bert return to online tournaments, and continue his rise to the top.
EU RCS S3 #9 – Hidde
After taking a hiatus to study the classics, Hidde a.k.a. Wisetom has returned to competing at the top of EU and is now armed with a better understanding of Zetterburn neutral and nuclear physics. His aggressive Zetterburn makes use of disorientating mind games while mixing up precise approaches from both the air and the ground. Hidde claims to have won as many tournaments as he has debates and, while we cannot confirm the accuracy of his claim, we do know that he has had 1st and 2nd placings at Ignition and Aethernity weeklies as well as multiple wins over Fullmetal, Hukon and Slime.
Since the end of season 3, Hidde has shown more interest in tournaments and has already accumulated additional wins against Junkyards and other top EU players. We hope to see him regain his motivation to compete and see if the self-proclaimed genius will return to the top 5.
EU RCS S3 #8 – Slime Mage
Slime Mage is probably the best Clairen, Absa, Forsburn, Shovel Knight in Europe. His Ranno, Maypul, Orcane, Zetterburn and Kragg are decent too. Slime Mage is able to successfully use this insane roster of characters because of his universal understanding of platform fighting games and mechanics. In battle he seems to effortlessly maneuver his way around the stage and picking just the right timings and moves to dismantle the opponent’s gameplan. He has won tournaments on multiple different characters, taken a set off of Kaos on LAN with his Clairen, and he’s been doing it since the start of the European Rivals scene.
Slime Mage is an admin and the owner of the European discord server. He’s been around since its inception, making many friends along the way both in Europe as well as in the other regions, and not being afraid to swing the banhammer when necessary. Slime Mage truly is the complete package, from his Rivals of Aether proficiency, to ultimate weeb overlord, to streamer, and to beloved admin.
EU RCS S3 #7 – Hukon
As a member in the European Rivals community since 2015, Hukon has consistently proven that he is one of the best Orcanes Europe will ever produce. With this appearance, Hukon has made every RCS PR in EU, and he has stayed in the top ten for all of them. Making his third appearance at 7th place, Hukon continues to utilize his standard yet optimized Orcane, with long extensions to his combos thanks to his usage of down-tilt, neutral-b and back-air. Hukon enters tournaments irregularly, but similar to a force of nature; whenever Hukon decides to enter one, only a handful of people can stop him. With wins over most of the top 10, including Fireicey, Slime Mage and Junkyards, he continues to give even the best of Europe a run for their money.
EU RCS S3 #6 – CoLaw
The most divisive player Europe has ever had; the sheer mention of his name strikes fear into the hearts of many. CoLaw’s Ranno is a textbook example on what happens when you decide to follow your mind and strategy ingame, compared to following your instincts. Being a defensive player, CoLaw’s punish-game with tongue and his edge-guarding with his signature Ranno truly defined what the character could do at the highest level. It doesn’t matter if you decided to mix up your recovery, CoLaw already figured out three different ways of punishing every option you go for.
With wins over every single top ten member, with the exceptions of Kaos, Transco and Bert, CoLaw makes a clear case that solidifies his spot in the top 10. However, his reign as the best Ranno in EU came to an end as he announced his retirement in Rivals during the same day as RCS December. It is uncertain on whether CoLaw will make a comeback, but from what he has posted on social media (Twitter primarily), it’s clear that it won’t be in the near future. While some players might find joy in the fact that they no longer have to play CoLaw in bracket, people who find enjoyment through improvement and playing based on mind-games and strategy will unfortunately miss out on playing against one of the best Rannos, and one of the best players, Europe has ever developed.
EU RCS S3 #5 – Junkyards
Junkyards once again proves that his unique playstyle is here to stay. He has consistently put in the work to integrate cutting edge kragg tech and cleaner movement into his arsenal. The hard work paid off with wins over Fireicey, Colaw and Hukon throughout the season. Rarely getting upset, Junkyards has established himself as one of the elite of Europe with an impressive jump into the top 5.
Although Junkyards has multiple wins in online weeklies such as Ignition and Aethernity, he has yet to appear at an offline event. In 2019 we hope to see him travel more and prove that his impenetrable defense will remain unbroken at local tournaments.
EU RCS S3 #4 – Lzgpom
Having defended his #4 spot, Lzgpom manages to retain his ranking against an increasingly competitive European scene. Using safe shines and lightning fast movement, Lzgpom pressures his victims into making mistakes, then punishes them with a surgically precise combo game. Throughout 2018, Lzgpom has been working towards optimising and fine tuning Zetterburn into a fiery killing machine with an increasingly technical punish and neutral.
His hard work and technical skill was rewarded with a 4th place at Traction 4 where he gave even MSB a run for his money with an incredibly close 3 – 2 set loss. Not only that but he has multiple top placings in the RCS monthlies and other online tournaments. With more showings, there is no reason Lzgpom couldn’t overtake Fireicey and maybe even break into the seemingly untouchable top 2 ranks.
EU RCS S3 #3 – Fireicey
Fireicey has been taking the scene by storm ever since his first appearance. Having already climbed all the way up to top 3, he shows no signs of stopping. His Zetterburn has one of the most precise, and technical playstyles EU has ever seen. His combogame is fast and clean, leaving little room for the opponent to escape. Alongside his combogame, he displays incredible accuracy in finishing off stocks with tight shine up-strongs, and deadly edgeguards.
Keeping Fireicey in disadvantage always proves to be quite a difficult task. His proficiency at consistently shining out of combos is exceptional. Recovery too, is something Fireicey excels at, making expert use of Zetterburns lion flip to push his recovery to new heights.
Throughout the last part of the season Fireicey has shown us that he is not limited to just Zetterburn. His other characters are nothing to sneeze at, and are able to compete with top 10 players. In the next season, we’re hoping to see more of other characters, and whether he can continue his race to the top.
EU RCS S3 #2 – Transco
What can one say about Transco’s playstyle? Just playing a few games against his Kragg expands your consciousness to a truly interstellar plane of existence. Transco is the kind of player who knows what you’re gonna do before you do it. The most unorthodox options make perfect sense when you see his Kragg pulling them off, and it’s hard not to be impressed when you just got double (or triple) dair spiked off stage for the third time this game.
Apart from being an extremely skilled player, Transco is loved by everyone in the community. He’s been around since the dawn of European Rivals of Aether play, playing an active role in the community as a moderator of the European discord and as a streamer. The second place on this power ranking is deservedly his, and he’s number one in many of our hearts.
EU RCS S3 #1 – Kaos
The king of Europe does it again. Even with this being Kaos’s least active season yet, there still seems to be nobody who can step up to him as he still dominates any tournament he graces with his presence. In terms of Europe, out of the 11 tournaments he entered, Kaos has only ever failed to win a tournament on two occasions; only missing out to Transco and MSB (in both cases Kaos still placed 2nd). He has great matchup coverage with his now signature combination of Maypul and Etalus. Either of them are able to apply immense pressure or become an unapproachable wall with his adaptive playstyle.
Kaos has shown less interest in playing in online tournaments but continues to show a willingness to travel to local tournaments. He has accumulated wins at Andromeda, Traction 3 and placed highest out of all Europeans at Traction 4 (the largest European tournament of all time). Even with less practice compared to previous seasons, Kaos still finds international success with a 9th place at Genesis 6 including wins over Randle and Lord Bagel. With new netcode on the horizon, there is nothing to stop this sleeping giant from terrorising online tournament brackets once again.
