Changes

In 2012, the SMK World Championship was organized in Thil and used as a stage to celebrate the 20th anniversary of SMK (it was released back in August 1992) and the 10th year of SMK Championnat competition (it has been held every year, without exceptions, since 2002). To accompany the celebrations, the organisation staged an elaborate SMK quiz for everyone present, as well as tournaments played on the side of all game modes of the original [[NTSC]] version of the game. All the hype generated by the celebrations was enough to propel the participation rates to a record breaking 51! Like every year, participants came from across Europe, with the majority being from the host nation, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France France]. For the first time the Team [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA USA] equipe was expanded to 2, with [http://speedrunwiki.com/Drew_Blumfield Drew Blumfield] bringing [[Christophe Charignon]]. Except for [[Pierre]], all the big names in SMK multiplayer were accounted for. [[Pierre]] actually participated in the NTSC Time trial tournament, but left the proceedings after this. Aditionally, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami's] Team UK included female World Champion [[Leyla Hasso]] as a surprise guest.  

In 2012, the SMK World Championship was organized in Thil and used as a stage to celebrate the 20th anniversary of SMK (it was released back in August 1992) and the 10th year of SMK Championnat competition (it has been held every year, without exceptions, since 2002). To accompany the celebrations, the organisation staged an elaborate SMK quiz for everyone present, as well as tournaments played on the side of all game modes of the original [[NTSC]] version of the game. All the hype generated by the celebrations was enough to propel the participation rates to a record breaking 51! Like every year, participants came from across Europe, with the majority being from the host nation, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France France]. For the first time the Team [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA USA] equipe was expanded to 2, with [http://speedrunwiki.com/Drew_Blumfield Drew Blumfield] bringing [[Christophe Charignon]]. Except for [[Pierre]], all the big names in SMK multiplayer were accounted for. [[Pierre]] actually participated in the NTSC Time trial tournament, but left the proceedings after this. Aditionally, [http://speedrunwiki.com/Sami Sami's] Team UK included female World Champion [[Leyla Hasso]] as a surprise guest.  

2012 was a monumental year for another reason, as Florent’s SMK World Championship winning streak was finally put to a halt. After a rocky start with an early elimination in the [[Time Trial]] tournament, Florent was unable to close the gap towards his all-time SMK rival, UK Champion [[Sami]], who became World Champion for the first time at the event [http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2012&show=maininfo CDM 2012 Results]. Although this was a huge disappointment for Florent, there were also personal accompishments worth celebrating, most notably his success in sustaining the GP gold medal streak he started 6 years ago, leading to his 7th consecutive gold medal for that mode.

2012 was a monumental year for another reason, as Florent’s SMK World Championship winning streak was finally put to a halt. After a rocky start with an early elimination in the [[Time Trial]] tournament, Florent was unable to close the gap towards his all-time SMK rival, UK Champion [[Sami]], who became World Champion for the first time at the event ([http://www.ffsmk.org/?task=results&year=2012&show=maininfo CDM 2012 Results]). Although this was a huge disappointment for Florent, there were also personal accompishments worth celebrating, most notably his success in sustaining the GP gold medal streak he started 6 years ago, leading to his 7th consecutive gold medal for that mode.

Unlike his main rival [[Sami]], Florent participated in the warm-up [[NTSC]] [[Time Trial]] tournament, organized one day prior to the start of the [[PAL]] competition. He got eliminated before the final, after bravely attempting several LB's on [[MC2]] and failing one of them. Florent enjoyed a promising start of the [[PAL]] [[Time Trial]] tournament, delivering one of the finest times ever driven at a Championship 1-try event, with a stunning sub 56" time on [[CI1]]. Shortly after, desaster struck, as Florent was eliminated in the quarter finals due to two crashes on [[GV3]]. With [[Sami]] going on to obtain the gold medal, there was immediately a substantial gap to cross for Florent. Luck for Florent was not picking up, as in the knock-out stage of the MR tournament he got drawn into the toughest bracket possible, with both [[Karel]] and [[Sami]] crossing his road to the final. Just like in the two previous years, his match with  [[Karel]], this time in the quarter final, went all the way to the wire. In the deciding match on MC4, Florent pulled off a cunning backwards red in the first hairpin, stopping the Dutchman from progressing any further. Florent was struggling to find form in his semi final clash with [[Sami]] and suffered a 9-4 loss against the rampant UK Champion. Florent did claim the bronze medal in the little final of MR, cruising to a 9-1 win versus the the surprise package of the CDM, the young prodigy [[Conor Wood]].

Unlike his main rival [[Sami]], Florent participated in the warm-up [[NTSC]] [[Time Trial]] tournament, organized one day prior to the start of the [[PAL]] competition. He got eliminated before the final, after bravely attempting several LB's on [[MC2]] and failing one of them. Florent enjoyed a promising start of the [[PAL]] [[Time Trial]] tournament, delivering one of the finest times ever driven at a Championship 1-try event, with a stunning sub 56" time on [[CI1]]. Shortly after, desaster struck, as Florent was eliminated in the quarter finals due to two crashes on [[GV3]]. With [[Sami]] going on to obtain the gold medal, there was immediately a substantial gap to cross for Florent. Luck for Florent was not picking up, as in the knock-out stage of the MR tournament he got drawn into the toughest bracket possible, with both [[Karel]] and [[Sami]] crossing his road to the final. Just like in the two previous years, his match with  [[Karel]], this time in the quarter final, went all the way to the wire. In the deciding match on MC4, Florent pulled off a cunning backwards red in the first hairpin, stopping the Dutchman from progressing any further. Florent was struggling to find form in his semi final clash with [[Sami]] and suffered a 9-4 loss against the rampant UK Champion. Florent did claim the bronze medal in the little final of MR, cruising to a 9-1 win versus the the surprise package of the CDM, the young prodigy [[Conor Wood]].