I was 13 years old when the first Splatoon came out. Initially, the game didn’t appeal to me at all. I had seen the trailer, but coming mainly from Xbox and games like Call of Duty, the gyro controls completely put me off. Eventually, some teammates from my Smash Bros. team (lol) convinced me to buy it because they wanted to start a Splatoon division and it only cost "40€," so I gave it a shot.

When I started playing, I really struggled with the motion controls, so I made the mistake of playing with sticks at first because of my Xbox background. A teammate begged me to switch to gyro because I was playing Roller, and according to him, you had to use gyro with that weapon to land your splats. It was tough, but after a week or two, I managed to get used to it. Despite the control issues at the start, I was hooked on the mechanics immediately: the ink, the swimming, the different weapon classes… it was truly unique and fun. Back then, Ranked modes didn't even exist yet, so I only played Turf War, but we didn't need anything more at the time since it was the very beginning of the Splatoon franchise.

My start in competitive play is a bit blurry, but I remember that to join a team back then, you had to go through forums. You had to post a formal introduction and an application including your age, weapons, rank, etc. I was pretty wary of sharing info with strangers on the internet, especially since people were usually looking for 18-year-old players to avoid "immature kids." I was only 13, but I considered myself a bit more mature than others my age regarding the game; people didn't really want to hear it at the time, which was frustrating, though I understand their point of view now as a 24-year-old man lol. Then, if they found you interesting, there was often a 1v1 test (lol) with the captain to see if you had the skills, which seems pretty funny today since a 1v1 proves absolutely nothing about your ability to play well in a team game.

I remember a captain in one of my first teams in 2015 telling me I had great potential. Sometimes I wonder if those old teammates know I’ve become a European Champion since then. Back then, we mostly played Turf War competitions, and I remember getting absolutely crushed by Koopa Clan on the original version of Urchin Underpass…

Fortunately, it didn't discourage me or make me want to sell my console; on the contrary, I found it super intriguing to get soundly beaten like that, and it made me want to get better. I beat Koopa Clan about 7 months later during French Friday #3, and for me, that was a major milestone in my Splatoon journey. I had finally beaten the strongest guys in my region (which was limited just to France at the time) for the first time.

The strangest thing for me at the beginning was becoming friends with people I only knew from the internet. Especially at that age, I obviously didn't have the same interests as them. And in the beginning, you don't necessarily run into players who share the same ambitions, so it took time to find the right people and truly commit to competing. I got lucky in my journey when I joined a team around 2016 called Cooldown. There, I met Erza, who was the same age as me; despite having a very different temperament than mine, he wanted to become the best, and he already stood out clearly from other players through his mechanics, even back then.

I had quite a few doubts about my "career" during Splatoon 1. When I talk to players from the new generation today, they think I was always very strong from the start, but the truth is I was just a "good" player, nothing more. Collectively, I wasn't necessarily winning tournaments, and even individually, I felt that guys like Erza, Kronos, or Banana (to name a few) were WAY stronger than me. Where I stood out was mainly through my mentality: I accepted that they were better than me, and I simply wanted to help them win by putting them in the spotlight. So, I aimed to become the best support player possible. It sounds simple when put like that, but for a 14-year-old player at the time (and even today), it was a pretty unique mindset. I also think my competitive experience in other games like Call of Duty or Overwatch helped me develop that maturity of mind compared to most players who had Splatoon as their first competitive experience.

At the start of 2017, I was recognized by players like Sorin and fuzzy, who were among the best at the time, and I got to play with them. I was still in my team Cooldown back then, and I didn’t want to leave because I didn’t want to "betray" them. But Erza, who had left that same team and become European Champion, made me realize it was now or never to make a decision if I truly wanted to improve and win, especially with the arrival of Splatoon 2.

In late summer 2017, Nintendo announced they were bringing back the World Championship, along with French and European championships. To me, that was huge. At that point, I had a group of friends including Alex, Banana, Kronos, Erza, Sorin, and myself; the idea of representing our country or even our continent was mind-blowing to us. Most people in that group couldn't attend LANs because of parental restrictions due to their young age, and some lived quite far away, but with Kiver, who was friends with Erza and Sorin, we eventually managed to build the first version of Rogue. Most people know the rest of the story: Erza and I became four-time French champions and managed to become European Champions in 2019, which remains the accomplishment I am most proud of today. Despite some losses that still feel bitter today, like the European Championships in 2018 and 2023, I’m very happy with my journey. I never would have told myself back in 2015 that I’d accomplish all this. If I told my 2015 self that I’d still be playing and winning in 2026, I don’t know how he’d react.

My first LAN, if I remember correctly, was Japan Expo 2017. I think it was just before Splatoon 2 officially launched. I even remember my mom calling Sorin's mom to make sure I’d be safe going there... I was young and didn't live in Paris, so my parents wouldn't let me take the train to go, especially not for "damn video games." Looking back, I understand their position, but at the time, it was super frustrating to be stuck in my hometown while my friends from Discord (and Skype lol) were meeting up there.

I was lucky in the beginning to run into people like Erza, Sorin, and Kiver, who had the same motivations as me regarding the game; they were excellent at Splatoon, great people, and above all, already very experienced with LANs compared to me.

At the time, I was quite shy, so I think I missed out on a lot of moments with the community. I was also very stressed about the results of these LANs, so I wanted to be 100% focused on winning and think of nothing else. That’s something I regret today because, in hindsight, I wish I had interacted more with people. I’ve been in the community for a long time, yet I realize I don’t know that many people, just as not many people know me outside of my competitive results. I particularly regret this regarding events I did before COVID (2018-2019); many friends from that period have moved on from Splatoon, and I’ve lost contact with them. It’s something that makes me sad when I think about it. Specifically during the 2019 European Championship, the audience and the people there were all so cool, but I was so focused on winning that I was in my own bubble. I think it’s possible to combine the two, but at the time, I didn't have enough self-confidence.

Today, I’m trying to make up for that and open up more to others.

Playing in front of an audience stresses everyone out if you’re human, but the intensity of that stress depends on the individual and their ability to manage it. Personally, I had a hard time dealing with that stress. Compared to my teammates at the time, I wasn't as accomplished as they were, and we were already among the favorites to win the event, which added even more pressure. Combined with my shyness and a crowd shouting in front of you, it was quite difficult to experience. Fortunately, I had a very good team to support me.

I remember the loss at the 2018 European Championship, where I made mistakes I never usually make because of the stress. That was the one and only time a defeat made me want to quit the game; I felt so bad, like I had betrayed my team. However, I still didn't give up, and I think that loss was a turning point because after that, I was much less tense. I had already hit rock bottom in 2018, and that clearly helped me win the 2019 European Championship. Granted, the crowd was fantastic toward us because it was literally in France, but I remember feeling right at home while playing, it felt so simple and fluid.

In a LAN setting, it’s almost a different game, especially with a game as fast-paced as Splatoon, where there is virtually no downtime during a match. You get the impression that time moves much faster, and since you absolutely don't want to make a mistake, everyone often plays more cautiously and slowly, which creates a rather funny contrast when you watch the game back. In-game communication changes a lot, too. At a LAN, players shout because of the stress, but also to be heard over all the noise from the crowd, which adds a crazy amount of intensity compared to playing online.

I remember having completely dominated teams and players online, only to have much closer matches against them offline, or even losing, because everyone’s skill level drops at a LAN due to the stress.

There is also a real difference in the meta between online and offline play. Since there’s no latency, certain weapons or specials really start to shine, like the Zookas, Burst Bombs, Brellas, and many others; they become better because everything works exactly as intended. Conversely, weapons like Snipers or Rollers become a bit less impactful at a LAN because of how people play under stress and the fact that some people are literally shaking.

It’s not necessarily something you think about when preparing for a LAN, but it’s always funny to see just how different the game can be offline, even though it’s literally the same game.

We generally start playing together about two weeks before the LAN. We look at the map list, we scrim, and we focus primarily on the maps for the final bracket. We identify the maps where we objectively struggle, then we work on those more than the ones we’re already comfortable with. For this edition of Fullwipe, it was a bit unique because our team comp is objectively quite poor since we don't have much paint output. Volty plays Roller and I play Blaster, two weapons that don't paint much, so that requires both of us to be very consistent. We really don't have room for error because our weapons are very weak when we're at a disadvantage.

On top of that, the other two members of the team, Promano and Yeti, have to be very solid in their backline and support roles to allow us to stabilize the match. Fortunately, I know everyone on the team is capable of fulfilling their role, but that doesn't stop you from being surprised on the day of the LAN, because as I said before, anything can happen offline.

We had a Plan B in case things didn't work out on game day, with the idea of changing certain weapons for Volty or myself. But it wasn't necessarily based on our opponents, because we didn't really know who we were going to face or what they would be playing. Our semi-final opponents had a comp designed to counter Yeti and his Crab Tank by using Trizooka and Object Shredder, which was quite well thought out since our composition relied heavily on Crab timings. If you removed this factor, it made the game much more volatile and difficult for Volty and me. It caught us off guard and we lost the first game, but I was still convinced we would manage to adapt, and we did, winning three consecutive games after that. In the final, we played a team with a "no long-range" composition, so we just had to play slowly and exploit the fact that we had a Snipewriter and they didn't; it was fairly straightforward.

The recent updates haven't had a huge impact. The changes were too insignificant on weapons or specials that were already unpopular. However, there were two important things. First, my weapon, the S-BLAST, was nerfed while the Range Blaster was buffed. Truth be told, S-BLAST was already a pretty complicated weapon to play, especially with a Roller as a teammate, so this nerf made my job even harder. I wanted to try the Range Blaster, it’s a very good weapon and much simpler than the S-BLAST, but we felt it was too difficult to pair with a Roller, so I stuck with S-BLAST, telling myself I’d just have to put in more effort and get better. Second, there was the new "Aura" mechanic (Flow Aura). Honestly, it’s nice when you have it, but it doesn't change the game that much. It’s an interesting bonus, but you don't really build your strategy around it, especially when the Tacticooler is so prevalent in the meta and provides similar, if not better, advantages.

From a personal standpoint, I’ve never really enjoyed big conventions like Japan Expo or PGW; there are way too many people and too much noise, and since I’m only there for the Splatoon event, it feels more like a nuisance than anything else. I had really appreciated the cozy, friendly vibe of Fullwipe at La Source and Epitech, so I was a bit skeptical about this new version at Gones Games. But in the end, I thought it was great! Yes, it’s in Lyon and not Paris, so the overall event is smaller than PGW or JE, but there is a genuinely dedicated Splatoon space where you aren't constantly bumping into people. You can actually sit in chairs between matches and talk to people without shouting. On the player side, it was perfect; the setups were good. Equipment has really improved over time, whether it's the headsets, the monitors, or even the chairs. It’s particularly important to have good headsets to block out the crowd noise while still hearing the game audio and your teammates' calls perfectly.

Whether it was during the group stages or on stage, there wasn't much waiting around between games, and from a spectator perspective, it seemed top-tier too. I’d definitely do it again! 🙂

I had a great time with my teammates and other community members. I drove there with the team, I was the driver. I left my place on Saturday around 5:00 AM, picked them up in Paris around 7:00 AM, and then headed to Lyon to arrive just in time for the group matches at 2:00 PM. Despite current prices, splitting gas and tolls between four people is much more cost-effective than four train tickets.

After the group stages, I was exhausted from the drive, so we just grabbed a bite and chilled at the hotel. When I used to come by train, I had more energy to go out on Saturday night, but this time I was just too dead. However, on Sunday night after the tournament, we went to a restaurant with a bunch of people from the community. Then Volty, Promano, Yeti, and I hit the road again that evening so I could drop them each off at their homes during the night. Honestly, even the drive passes pretty quickly since you're talking with them; it’s a good vibe because everyone is happy to be at the LAN.

Competition is great, but at the end of the day, the real essence of LANs is also about having a good time with the community, whether you win or lose.

As a final word, honestly, just a huge thank you to everyone in the community for the support and energy you put into Splatoon! Whether you are a player, a spectator, an organizer, or anything else. I’ve played quite a few video games, and the Splatoon community, even though it’s smaller than others, is truly tight-knit and friendly.