Changes

The 2010 edition had without a doubt the strongest line-up of participants that the [[SMK]] playing world had ever witnessed thus far: in addition to the presence of all the top ranked players of the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009], triple [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] winner [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre L'Hoëst] and multi-medal winner [[Matthias Boucher]] (known as Gatchan on the boards) also returned to the competition for this event. As could be expected after the events that transpired during the previous year ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009]), Florent’s biggest opposition once again came from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom UK] Champion [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami], who announced his ambitions in the days prior to the event by an inspirational [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxitvoVlXQ trailer], heralding the now famous words: “The Time is Coming”. To underline this, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] took the #3 spot from Florent in the [[PAL]] [[Time Trial]] rankings at around the same moment. The intense rivalry between Florent and [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] was really starting to resemble the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federer Roger Federer] vs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Nadal Rafael Nadal] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis tennis] rivalry in an increasing number of ways and in reference to this, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] now called himself 'the Rafael Nadal of SMK', wearing a sleeveless top to match.  

The 2010 edition had without a doubt the strongest line-up of participants that the [[SMK]] playing world had ever witnessed thus far: in addition to the presence of all the top ranked players of the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009], triple [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] winner [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre L'Hoëst] and multi-medal winner [[Matthias Boucher]] (known as Gatchan on the boards) also returned to the competition for this event. As could be expected after the events that transpired during the previous year ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009]), Florent’s biggest opposition once again came from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom UK] Champion [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami], who announced his ambitions in the days prior to the event by an inspirational [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxitvoVlXQ trailer], heralding the now famous words: “The Time is Coming”. To underline this, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] took the #3 spot from Florent in the [[PAL]] [[Time Trial]] rankings at around the same moment. The intense rivalry between Florent and [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] was really starting to resemble the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federer Roger Federer] vs [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Nadal Rafael Nadal] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis tennis] rivalry in an increasing number of ways and in reference to this, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] now called himself 'the Rafael Nadal of SMK', wearing a sleeveless top to match.  

Therefore, Florent started the [[Time Trial]] one-try competition as a warned man. The top 4 of the [http://www.mariokart64.com/smk/afp.php PAL Time Trial rankings] at the time ([http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel], [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre], [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] and Florent) found themselves facing each other in the semi final. Florent and [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] came out victorious and had to battle for gold, in a repeat of the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/TT2008.php 2008 Time Trial final]. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] crashed once during his BC1 race, Florent did not, which meant he bagged the first gold medal of the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2010 CDM 2010]. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] lost his bronze medal play-off to [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] in the little final on [[KB1]], giving Florent a nice margin in the lead before Match Race started. In the aftermath of last year’s historical Match Race final, Florent had expressed on various occasions that alongside winning the overall title, regaining the Match Race gold medal would be his main goal during [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2010 the CDM 2010]. However, Florent faced the threath of early elimination in the quarter final against [[Time Trial]] World Champion [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel van Duijvenboden]. Being one of the outsiders for the gold medal in this mode, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] proved to be a very tough opponent for Florent; in fact [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_people the Dutchman] even received two match-points  at a score of 6-5. After a thrilling final lap on [[GV2]] with a last ditch mushroom platform-jump effort, Florent subverted the first of those matchpoints miraculously. The decisive match had an even more surprising climax; when it looked like [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] was cruising for the win in the final lap of [[MC1]],  faith decided otherwise as Florent received a lightning from his very last item pick-up. After last year’s drama in the big final, lady luck was finally smiling Florent in the face; this escape was of monumental value for him, as a Match Race quarter final exit might have meant losing the overall title, when considering [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami's] prowess accross all modes. Instead, Florent progressed to the Match Race final to once again meet with his big rival [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami]; a chance for revenge. However, Florent was facing a big defecit early on in the match, not appearing as sharp as usual. When [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] was closing in on match-point, Florent gathered all his strength to mount a huge comeback and provide a close match, but it proved just too late to prevent [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] from winning 11-9.  

Therefore, Florent started the [[Time Trial]] one-try competition as a warned man. The top 4 of the [http://www.mariokart64.com/smk/afp.php PAL Time Trial rankings] at the time ([http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel], [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre], [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] and Florent) found themselves facing each other in the semi final. Florent and [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] came out victorious and had to battle for gold, in a repeat of the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2008&show=tt 2008 Time Trial final]. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] crashed once during his BC1 race, Florent did not, which meant he bagged the first gold medal of the [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2010 CDM 2010]. [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] lost his bronze medal play-off to [http://speedrunwiki.com/Pierre_L%27Hoest Pierre] in the little final on [[KB1]], giving Florent a nice margin in the lead before Match Race started. In the aftermath of last year’s historical Match Race final, Florent had expressed on various occasions that alongside winning the overall title, regaining the Match Race gold medal would be his main goal during [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2010 the CDM 2010]. However, Florent faced the threath of early elimination in the quarter final against [[Time Trial]] World Champion [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel van Duijvenboden]. Being one of the outsiders for the gold medal in this mode, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] proved to be a very tough opponent for Florent; in fact [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_people the Dutchman] even received two match-points  at a score of 6-5. After a thrilling final lap on [[GV2]] with a last ditch mushroom platform-jump effort, Florent subverted the first of those matchpoints miraculously. The decisive match had an even more surprising climax; when it looked like [http://speedrunwiki.com/Karel_van_Duijvenboden Karel] was cruising for the win in the final lap of [[MC1]],  faith decided otherwise as Florent received a lightning from his very last item pick-up. After last year’s drama in the big final, lady luck was finally smiling Florent in the face; this escape was of monumental value for him, as a Match Race quarter final exit might have meant losing the overall title, when considering [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami's] prowess accross all modes. Instead, Florent progressed to the Match Race final to once again meet with his big rival [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami]; a chance for revenge. However, Florent was facing a big defecit early on in the match, not appearing as sharp as usual. When [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] was closing in on match-point, Florent gathered all his strength to mount a huge comeback and provide a close match, but it proved just too late to prevent [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] from winning 11-9.  

For the third year running, Florent got eliminated by [http://speedrunwiki.com/Drew_Blumfield Drew Blumfield] in the semi final of Battle Mode, though he put up a good fight with a 9-6 score. Furthermore, Florent obtained the bronze medal in a battle with [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] that had direct consequences for the overall rankings. This result meant that reaching the GP finals would be sufficient for Florent to propagate his World Champion title. Being the absolute favourite in the GP tournament, this proved to be no problem for him. With the overall result decided, the final  against [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] still proved to be one of the biggest fights in the history of the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ Championships], with both players determined to show the world who was best. Florent started out winning the first cups by utilizing some techniques adopted from Match Race, to give him the extra edge. On the other end of the spectrum in this clash of styles, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] managed to take the match back to 4-4 with very impressive [[Time Trial]] like driving. Eventually, Florent came through as the victor in the final and ninth cup by driving a very solid Flower Cup; for the first time in [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] history a ninth cup was needed to decide the GP final. In his victory speech Florent had some encouraging words for his rival [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami], when he expressed that [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] was too strong a karter to not win a CDM one day, signaling a sentiment perhaps shared by many. Future speculations aside, Florent could now boast about becoming the first back-to-back World Champion of [[Super Mario Kart]].

For the third year running, Florent got eliminated by [http://speedrunwiki.com/Drew_Blumfield Drew Blumfield] in the semi final of Battle Mode, though he put up a good fight with a 9-6 score. Furthermore, Florent obtained the bronze medal in a battle with [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] that had direct consequences for the overall rankings. This result meant that reaching the GP finals would be sufficient for Florent to propagate his World Champion title. Being the absolute favourite in the GP tournament, this proved to be no problem for him. With the overall result decided, the final  against [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] still proved to be one of the biggest fights in the history of the [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ Championships], with both players determined to show the world who was best. Florent started out winning the first cups by utilizing some techniques adopted from Match Race, to give him the extra edge. On the other end of the spectrum in this clash of styles, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] managed to take the match back to 4-4 with very impressive [[Time Trial]] like driving. Eventually, Florent came through as the victor in the final and ninth cup by driving a very solid Flower Cup; for the first time in [http://www.championnat-smk.org/ CDF] history a ninth cup was needed to decide the GP final. In his victory speech Florent had some encouraging words for his rival [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami], when he expressed that [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami] was too strong a karter to not win a CDM one day, signaling a sentiment perhaps shared by many. Future speculations aside, Florent could now boast about becoming the first back-to-back World Champion of [[Super Mario Kart]].