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[[Image:Florent Lecoanet gold medal.jpg|thumb|Florent Lecoanet, by many considered to be the greatest Super Mario Kart player of all time]]

[[Image:Florent Lecoanet gold medal.jpg|thumb|Florent Lecoanet, by many considered to be the greatest Super Mario Kart player of all time]]

'''Florent Lecoanet''' (7/2/1984) is a French [[Mario Kart]] player and by many considered to be the greatest [[Super Mario Kart]] player in history. [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=profile&member=16 Florent] has excelled in various multiplayer [[SMK]] events; he won 1 French title ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2007 CDF 2007]), 1 European title ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2008 CDE 2008]) and 6 World titles ([http://nextlevelgaming.ogamewar.com/ NLG 2007], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2010 CDM 2010], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2011 CDM 2011], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2013 CDM 2013] and [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2014 CDM 2014]).  

'''Florent Lecoanet''' (7/2/1984) is a French [[Mario Kart]] player and by many considered to be the greatest [[Super Mario Kart]] player in history. [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=profile&member=16 Florent] has excelled in various multiplayer [[SMK]] events; he won 1 French title ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2007 CDF 2007]), 1 European title ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2008 CDE 2008]) and 5 World titles [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2009 CDM 2009], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2010 CDM 2010], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2011 CDM 2011], [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2013 CDM 2013] and [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2014 CDM 2014]).  

Furthermore, Florent has been GP 150cc Champion of the World on [[PAL]] since March 2006, only overtaken very briefly once by [[Sébastien Holmière]] in the summer of 2006. He extended his GP dominance to [[NTSC]] in January 2007 and has not really been threatened there since. Florent currently holds a staggering total of over 500 World Records accross the numerous categories that the official [http://www.smkgp150cc.com/SOAaffiche_records.php?syst=PAL&Ref_group=5&m=OPEN&pays=0 GP website] recognizes.  

Furthermore, Florent has been GP 150cc Champion of the World on [[PAL]] since March 2006, only overtaken very briefly once by [[Sébastien Holmière]] in the summer of 2006. He extended his GP dominance to [[NTSC]] in January 2007 and has not really been threatened there since. Florent currently holds a staggering total of over 500 World Records accross the numerous categories that the official [http://www.smkgp150cc.com/SOAaffiche_records.php?syst=PAL&Ref_group=5&m=OPEN&pays=0 GP website] recognizes.  

With his main rival [[Sami]] proving he could even go toe to toe with Florent in his strongest mode, GP150cc, Florent knew he had to reach top-4 in the Battle Mode tournament. On paper this was far from an easy task, with big names such as [[Julien Holmiere]], [[Geoffrey Label]], [[Drew Blumfield]] and [[Harold Christensen]] all having their eyes on the title. After a good qualification, Florent struggled to pull through versus an on fire [[Conor Wood]] in the quarter finals. However, a narrow 7-6 win was sufficient to reach the semifinals; a result all the more important as [[Sami]] was eliminated in the quarter finals by Battle Mode player extraordinaire, [[Geoffrey Label]]. Subsequently Florent was denied a spot in the final by a rampant [[Harold Christensen]]. [[Harold]] had taken an early 7-1 lead, but Florent still managed to fight back 9-6. While [[Harold]] went on to win the tournament in emphatic fashion, Florent fell a little short of a bronze medal after a 9-6 defeat at the hands of [[Geoffrey Label]]. The CDM of 2013 was finalized with the MR tournament. Florent needed to rank above [[Sami]] to reclaim the SMK World Championship title. Despite the fact that [[Sami]] had been dominant in MR for 4 years straight, Florent was feeling confident, as the new tricks up his sleave (such as finish-line feather tricks on [[GV2]], [[BC2]] and [[BC3]]) made him feel he had an extra edge against his adversary. [[Sami]] had won a small psychological battle by beating Florent in the group stages; this also implied Florent had to face one of his feared adversaries, [[Karel van Duijvenboden]], early on in the quarterfinals. Somehow this draw happens every year, and while it is normally very close, Florent crushed an underperforming [[Karel]] 7-0, sending out a strong signal to his competitors that he was ready for whatever was in store next. While [[Sami]] had succeeded in breaking Florent’s GP streak, Florent returned the favour by eliminating [[Sami]] (and effectively becoming World Champion and stopping Sami's 4 year streak on MR) in the semifinal after a tense battle. The two rivals went head to head for the first few points, both showcasing incredible driving and full mastery of the tactical component of this mode. Florent was boosted a bit by 2 lightnings, but that took nothing away from his eventual 9-6 victory, earned by an ever more aggressive and risky driving style, rather than the more calculated style of his opponent. The MR final versus surprise opponent [[Julien Holmiere]] was played with Florent already having the overall CDM victory secured. [[Julien]] gave it his all and impressed the world with his moves, but it was not enough to prevent the unchained Florent from claiming the win with an 11-7 scoreline.

With his main rival [[Sami]] proving he could even go toe to toe with Florent in his strongest mode, GP150cc, Florent knew he had to reach top-4 in the Battle Mode tournament. On paper this was far from an easy task, with big names such as [[Julien Holmiere]], [[Geoffrey Label]], [[Drew Blumfield]] and [[Harold Christensen]] all having their eyes on the title. After a good qualification, Florent struggled to pull through versus an on fire [[Conor Wood]] in the quarter finals. However, a narrow 7-6 win was sufficient to reach the semifinals; a result all the more important as [[Sami]] was eliminated in the quarter finals by Battle Mode player extraordinaire, [[Geoffrey Label]]. Subsequently Florent was denied a spot in the final by a rampant [[Harold Christensen]]. [[Harold]] had taken an early 7-1 lead, but Florent still managed to fight back 9-6. While [[Harold]] went on to win the tournament in emphatic fashion, Florent fell a little short of a bronze medal after a 9-6 defeat at the hands of [[Geoffrey Label]]. The CDM of 2013 was finalized with the MR tournament. Florent needed to rank above [[Sami]] to reclaim the SMK World Championship title. Despite the fact that [[Sami]] had been dominant in MR for 4 years straight, Florent was feeling confident, as the new tricks up his sleave (such as finish-line feather tricks on [[GV2]], [[BC2]] and [[BC3]]) made him feel he had an extra edge against his adversary. [[Sami]] had won a small psychological battle by beating Florent in the group stages; this also implied Florent had to face one of his feared adversaries, [[Karel van Duijvenboden]], early on in the quarterfinals. Somehow this draw happens every year, and while it is normally very close, Florent crushed an underperforming [[Karel]] 7-0, sending out a strong signal to his competitors that he was ready for whatever was in store next. While [[Sami]] had succeeded in breaking Florent’s GP streak, Florent returned the favour by eliminating [[Sami]] (and effectively becoming World Champion and stopping Sami's 4 year streak on MR) in the semifinal after a tense battle. The two rivals went head to head for the first few points, both showcasing incredible driving and full mastery of the tactical component of this mode. Florent was boosted a bit by 2 lightnings, but that took nothing away from his eventual 9-6 victory, earned by an ever more aggressive and risky driving style, rather than the more calculated style of his opponent. The MR final versus surprise opponent [[Julien Holmiere]] was played with Florent already having the overall CDM victory secured. [[Julien]] gave it his all and impressed the world with his moves, but it was not enough to prevent the unchained Florent from claiming the win with an 11-7 scoreline.

== Future ==

== Future ==

Florent Lecoanet has proven to be the most dominant force in SMK over the past years and is without a doubt the most succesful SMK player in history. However, in 2012 his all-time rival [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami Çetin] has managed to break Florent's SMK World Championship winning streak. Fans worldwide are awaiting to see if Florent can resume his reign again in the years that lie ahead of us, or if [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami's] CDM 2012 victory heralded the start of a new era in SMK's global competition.

Florent Lecoanet has proven to be the most dominant force in SMK over the past years and is without a doubt the most succesful SMK player in history. Throughout the years the CDM tournaments have received an increasing amount of media coverage. After the extensive media coverage of the CDM 2014, Florent became national news and is now recognized as one of the best competitive videogame players of France. It will be interesting to see how this trend will develop in the years to come. With Florent now recognized as a bonafide videogaming superstar, he could well become the first SMK player to receive a sponsoring deal, a possibility that would raise SMK competition to a whole new level. These are exciting times to be the World Champion of SMK.  

== External Links ==

== External Links ==