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As [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] was still in retirement, Florent was expecting the most fierce competition to come from SMK’s Godfather [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami], who had been training on-line through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_emulator emulators] for months. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] himself had high expectations of this rivalry as well, judging by a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbT16aFfFvI&fmt=18 trailer] he published in the week prior to the event. It turned out both of them were right, as this year’s tournament essentially was a historically thrilling race between the two, starting right from the beginning and lasting all the way until the very last match. In the [[Time Trial]] event Florent and his opponent [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] both reached the final with some strong performances. This year the final was raced on three tracks and a wall crash on the final one, [[BC2]], meant that Florent could not take the gold medal home this time. He was especially focused on Match Race this time around though and much like in previous years he reached the final with relative ease. As expected, he had to face [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] in the final again, in what would become one of the most memorable matches in [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] history. To most onlookers it appeared that Florent was in control of the proceedings, albeit very slightly at most. However, thanks to a somewhat lucky 5 lightning streak (Florent only had 1 to compensate) [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] managed to bring the match all the way to the wire. With both players tied on 10-10, the final race on [[VL1]] had to bring the decision. With both players under immense pressure, it was Florent who missed his vital zoomstart and [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] won the gold medal as a result. This was undoubtedly one of the most emotional moments in the careers of both karters; Florent broke down in tears afterwards. He later came back on what had happened stating that this had been his way to handle this sensitive moment of extreme disappointment; of course his reaction was also driven by the unlikely circumstances that had contributed to the final score.

As [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] was still in retirement, Florent was expecting the most fierce competition to come from SMK’s Godfather [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami], who had been training on-line through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Console_emulator emulators] for months. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] himself had high expectations of this rivalry as well, judging by a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbT16aFfFvI&fmt=18 trailer] he published in the week prior to the event. It turned out both of them were right, as this year’s tournament essentially was a historically thrilling race between the two, starting right from the beginning and lasting all the way until the very last match. In the [[Time Trial]] event Florent and his opponent [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] both reached the final with some strong performances. This year the final was raced on three tracks and a wall crash on the final one, [[BC2]], meant that Florent could not take the gold medal home this time. He was especially focused on Match Race this time around though and much like in previous years he reached the final with relative ease. As expected, he had to face [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] in the final again, in what would become one of the most memorable matches in [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] history. To most onlookers it appeared that Florent was in control of the proceedings, albeit very slightly at most. However, thanks to a somewhat lucky 5 lightning streak (Florent only had 1 to compensate) [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] managed to bring the match all the way to the wire. With both players tied on 10-10, the final race on [[VL1]] had to bring the decision. With both players under immense pressure, it was Florent who missed his vital zoomstart and [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] won the gold medal as a result. This was undoubtedly one of the most emotional moments in the careers of both karters; Florent broke down in tears afterwards. He later came back on what had happened stating that this had been his way to handle this sensitive moment of extreme disappointment; of course his reaction was also driven by the unlikely circumstances that had contributed to the final score.

To still have a shot at winning the overall title, Florent had to rank above [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] in both of the remaining events. After having been eliminated by an unleashed [http://speedrunwiki.com/Drew_Blumfield Drew Blumfield] in the Battle Mode semi final, Florent cruised to a 9-6 victory against [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] in the bronze medal play-off. This meant that with only GP left, he still had a clean shot at gaining the World title. With GP being his strongest mode, he made short work of all of his opponents and reached the final, suffering only 2 cup losses during the entire tournament. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] followed a similar path to the final, losing only a single cup and drawing one. For the first time in history the Championship was decided by the very last match; absolutely everything was on the stakes. During the final Florent reached out for his maximum level once more and crushed [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] 5-1, in what could only be described as a devastating tour-de-force. This meant he was crowned the [[Super Mario Kart]] World Champion of 2009 [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009]. He later claimed this to be the most important victory of his career, as he really had to earn it through a hard and lasting battle.

To still have a shot at winning the overall title, Florent had to rank above [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] in both of the remaining events. After having been eliminated by an unleashed [http://speedrunwiki.com/Drew_Blumfield Drew Blumfield] in the Battle Mode semi final, Florent cruised to a 9-6 victory against [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] in the bronze medal play-off. This meant that with only GP left, he still had a clean shot at gaining the World title. With GP being his strongest mode, he made short work of all of his opponents and reached the final, suffering only 2 cup losses during the entire tournament. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] followed a similar path to the final, losing only a single cup and drawing one. For the first time in history the Championship was decided by the very last match; absolutely everything was on the stakes. During the final Florent reached out for his maximum level once more and crushed [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] 5-1, in what could only be described as a devastating tour-de-force. This meant he was crowned the [[Super Mario Kart]] World Champion of 2009 (results:[http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009]). He later claimed this to be the most important victory of his career, as he really had to earn it through a hard and lasting battle.

Moreover, Florent was interviewed for a french TV documentary about the SMK World Championship 2009. It is available to watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlfWwCcrYY

Moreover, Florent was interviewed for a french TV documentary about the SMK World Championship 2009. It is available to watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlfWwCcrYY