Changes

[[Image:Kart Meet London 2006.JPG|thumb|Worlwide Kart Meet, London, July 2006]]

[[Image:Kart Meet London 2006.JPG|thumb|Worlwide Kart Meet, London, July 2006]]

Florent’s first GP WR came right before the start of the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/CDF2005.php CDF 2005] (which was the first CDF he participated in). Because his name was on the list of participants, many people were wondering who this new kid on the block was: the newcomer who beat one of Don Camillo’s most prolific WR’s. This created a fuzz amongst the karters present and they could soon observe a new star in the making. Outside of [[Mushroom Cup]] GP and some Battle Mode practice, Florent was relatively unexperienced playing against other players, but he still performed quite well, ending on an 11th position in the overall ranking of the tournament. He almost caused an upset by beating [[Harold Christensen]] in the Battle Mode quarter final. At this point in time Harold was already an accomplished Battle Mode player and well known for his skills in this mode; in other words a clear favourite to win that tournament. In his match against Harold however, Florent was leading 5-3, much to the shock of the karter’s watching. In the end Harold’s experience proved a little too much as he came back to proceed to the semi final with a 7-5 win.

Florent’s first GP WR came right before the start of the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2005 CDF 2005] (which was the first CDF he participated in). Because his name was on the list of participants, many people were wondering who this new kid on the block was: the newcomer who beat one of Don Camillo’s most prolific WR’s. This created a fuzz amongst the karters present and they could soon observe a new star in the making. Outside of [[Mushroom Cup]] GP and some Battle Mode practice, Florent was relatively unexperienced playing against other players, but he still performed quite well, ending on an 11th position in the overall ranking of the tournament. He almost caused an upset by beating [[Harold Christensen]] in the Battle Mode quarter final. At this point in time Harold was already an accomplished Battle Mode player and well known for his skills in this mode; in other words a clear favourite to win that tournament. In his match against Harold however, Florent was leading 5-3, much to the shock of the karter’s watching. In the end Harold’s experience proved a little too much as he came back to proceed to the semi final with a 7-5 win.

[[Image:Flo and Pierre.jpg|thumb|NLG World Championship 2007]]

[[Image:Flo and Pierre.jpg|thumb|NLG World Championship 2007]]

The [http://www.championnat-smk.org/CDF2006.php CDF 2006] saw Florent step up as a great ambassador of [[SMK]] as he literally saved the event that year. The organisation did not succeed in finding a venue for the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] of 2006 and it looked like it would get cancelled. However, as a last resort, Florent offered the final solution by actually letting the players use his appartment as the venue. As the host, he surpassed the expectations of many by winning both the GP and Match Race tournaments. This was against the odds, as prior to this CDF it was [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre L’Hoëst] who singlehandedly ruled the three previous [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] events with an iron fist. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] still managed to win the overall classement of the CDF 2006 version, but it was very close, with Florent finishing just behind in 2nd position. His amazing skill and talent was becoming increasingly more evident and most karters agreed that it would only be a question of time now before he would win some major prizes.

The [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2006 CDF 2006] saw Florent step up as a great ambassador of [[SMK]] as he literally saved the event that year. The organisation did not succeed in finding a venue for the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] of 2006 and it looked like it would get cancelled. However, as a last resort, Florent offered the final solution by actually letting the players use his appartment as the venue. As the host, he surpassed the expectations of many by winning both the GP and Match Race tournaments. This was against the odds, as prior to this CDF it was [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre L’Hoëst] who singlehandedly ruled the three previous [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] events with an iron fist. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] still managed to win the overall classement of the CDF 2006 version, but it was very close, with Florent finishing just behind in 2nd position. His amazing skill and talent was becoming increasingly more evident and most karters agreed that it would only be a question of time now before he would win some major prizes.

== SMK Championship of France 2007 ==

== SMK Championship of France 2007 ==

Two months later in Paris, Florent signed off on another momentous year with a winning performance at the French Championship. Because of his success in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway Norway], Florent entered the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/CDF2007.php CDF of 2007] as one of the two clear favourites to win. It was expected that the overall win would either go to [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre L'Hoëst] or him. The rivalry between the two became clear from the very start as they faced eachother in the final of the first event, which was the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/TT2007.php TT tournament]. This final took place on one of his favourite tracks, [[KB1]], but the pressure got to him as he hit some weed and ended in 2nd place with [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] grabbing the first gold medal of that [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] with a clean race. Florent made his candidacy for the overall win clear early on though. In the Match Race tournament he faced [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] in the final again, but this time the gold medal went to Florent after a convincing 11-7 in his favour. The Battle Mode tournament saw another [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] versus Florent final. The level on display was extremely high and Florent claimed afterwards that the level he reached in this match was the highest he had ever reached as an [[SMK]] player thus far. Despite Pierre’s strong resistance and fine form, Florent proved to be an unstoppable force from now on, winning the tournament in style with a 11-4 victory. Florent was comfortably in the lead in the overall rankings now, with his best mode (GP) still ahead. Only a miracle could stop him from winning his first CDF from that point onwards. When Florent reached the final of the GP tournament ([http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] was knocked out at this point), he was already certain of the overall victory. But as a true champion he gave it his best once more to also claim the title in the GP final in a thrilling early morning match against [[Nicolas Haufmann]] (also known as El Nico on the boards). Nicolas could not prevent Florent from reaching a landslide 5-1 victory, meaning that Florent succesfully crowned his [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] with another gold medal. Rarely had the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] seen such a display of dominance from one karter, winning all the multiplayer modes with big scorelines plus reaching the final of the TT event as well.

Two months later in Paris, Florent confirmed his newly acquired SMK dominance with a winning performance at the French Championship. Because of his success in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway Norway], Florent entered the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2007 CDF of 2007] as one of the two clear favourites to win. It was expected that the overall win would either go to [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre L'Hoëst] or him. The rivalry between the two became clear from the very start as they faced eachother in the final of the first event, which was the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/TT2007.php TT tournament]. This final took place on one of his favourite tracks, [[KB1]], but the pressure got to him as he hit some weed and ended in 2nd place with [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] grabbing the first gold medal of that [http://www.ffsmk.org/ CDF] with a clean race. Florent made his candidacy for the overall win clear early on though. In the Match Race tournament he faced [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] in the final again, but this time the gold medal went to Florent after a convincing 11-7 in his favour. The Battle Mode tournament saw another [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] versus Florent final. The level on display was extremely high and Florent claimed afterwards that the level he reached in this match was the highest he had ever reached as an [[SMK]] player thus far. Despite Pierre’s strong resistance and fine form, Florent proved to be an unstoppable force from now on, winning the tournament in style with a 11-4 victory. Florent was comfortably in the lead in the overall rankings now, with his best mode (GP) still ahead. Only a miracle could stop him from winning his first [http://www.ffsmk.org/ CDF] from that point onwards. When Florent reached the final of the GP tournament ([http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] was knocked out at this point), he was already certain of the overall victory. But as a true champion he gave it his best once more to also claim the title in the GP final in a thrilling early morning match against [[Nicolas Haufmann]] (also known as El Nico on the boards). Nicolas could not prevent Florent from reaching a landslide 5-1 victory, meaning that Florent succesfully crowned his [http://www.ffsmk.org/ CDF] with another gold medal. Rarely had the [http://www.ffsmk.org/ CDF] seen such a display of dominance from one karter, winning all the multiplayer modes with big scorelines plus reaching the final of the TT event as well. Currently this is still the closest Florent has ever gotten at winning the Grand Chelem (the holy grail of winning every mode at a single Championship, named after ''the'' Grand-Slam in tennis, which refers to winning all four Grand Slam singles tournaments in the same calendar year).

== Belgian Open 2011==

== Belgian Open 2011==

In 2011, Florent continued to reach milestones and achievements. He started off the year by winning the [http://smkbelgium.monforum.com/viewforum.php?f=36 ODB] (abbreviation of Open de Belgique in French, which means Belgian Open in English). It was the first time he participated in a Belgian Open. The ODB 2011 took place in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%C3%A8ge Liège] on the 19th of March 2011. The ODB consists of a one-day tournament covering all the multiplayer modes of [[Super Mario Kart]]. Florent enjoyed a mini [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grand+slam Grand-Slam] performance, as he sweeped up all the modes, despite some strong opposition, in the form of [[Geoffrey Label]], [[Harold Christensen]] and [[Guillaume Leviach]], being present as well. As there was no Time Trial tournament and the ODB is not the official [[Super Mario Kart]] World Championship, Florent's performance can be referred to as a mini Grand-Slam, which still represents a phenomenal feat.  

In 2011, Florent continued to reach milestones and achievements. He started off the year by winning the [http://smkbelgium.monforum.com/viewforum.php?f=36 ODB] (abbreviation of Open de Belgique in French, which means Belgian Open in English). It was the first time he participated in a Belgian Open. The ODB 2011 took place in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%C3%A8ge Liège] on the 19th of March 2011. The ODB consists of a one-day tournament covering all the multiplayer modes of [[Super Mario Kart]]. Florent enjoyed a mini [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/grand+slam Grand-Slam] performance, as he swept up all the modes, despite some strong opposition, in the form of [[Geoffrey Label]], [[Harold Christensen]] and [[Guillaume Leviach]], being present as well. As there was no Time Trial tournament and the ODB is not the official [[Super Mario Kart]] World Championship, Florent's performance can be referred to as a mini Grand-Slam, which still represents a phenomenal feat.  

After a brief group stage with an unorthodox set-up, the equally condensed finals were played. The surprise of the tournament was Florent's confident 5-2 (in a first to 5 format) victory versus Battle Mode vice-World Champion (according to [http://www.championnat-smk.org/BM2010.php CDM 2010]) [[Geoffrey Label]], as [[Geo]] was considered the best player of France by some margin in the past two years. In Match Race (6-3 win) and GP (3-1 win) Florent managed to dispose of his main rival [[Geo]] as well. The full results can be viewed here: http://smkbelgium.monforum.com/resultats-de-lopen-de-be-image-vp6683496.html#6683496. His very succesful ODB campaign left Florent fuelled with confidence for the upcoming [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDM].

After a brief group stage with an unorthodox set-up, the equally condensed finals were played. The surprise of the tournament was Florent's confident 5-2 (in a first to 5 format) victory versus Battle Mode vice-World Champion (according to [http://www.championnat-smk.org/BM2010.php CDM 2010]) [[Geoffrey Label]], as [[Geo]] was considered the best player of France by some margin in the past two years. In Match Race (6-3 win) and GP (3-1 win) Florent managed to dispose of his main rival [[Geo]] as well. The full results can be viewed here: http://smkbelgium.monforum.com/resultats-de-lopen-de-be-image-vp6683496.html#6683496. His very succesful ODB campaign left Florent fuelled with confidence for the upcoming [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDM].