Smasher:Poilon
| Poilon | |
|---|---|
| Character info | |
| Melee mains | Falco, Fox |
| Other Melee character | Jigglypuff, Captain Falcon, Marth, Sheik |
| Team info | |
| Former sponsor(s) | Poilon Software |
| Former crews | Dream Team |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | Paul-Armand Assus |
| Birth date | |
| Location | Châlons-en-Champagne, France 
|
Poilon is a smasher and former tournament organizer from Paris, currently living in Châlons-en-Champagne, France. He was mainly a Falco main but was famous locally for playing every character in the game at a high level. He usually teamed in doubles with Iñf, with both of them playing Jigglypuff. Formerly a top Melee player, Poilon is also known for founding Poilon Software, a now-defunct esports team part of his web development startup Poilon. He is also the brother of Charlon. His longevity as a high-tier player in France and Europe and his contributions to European Melee with Poilon Software make him one of the most recognizable names from the French Melee scene.
Rankings[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
French Melee Power Rankings[edit]
| Ranking | Time period | Rank | Character(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July - December 2019 | July - December 2019 | 13th |  |
— |
| January - September 2021 (online) | January - September 2021 | 4th |  |
— |
History[edit]
2002 - 2006: Rise in the French scene[edit]
Poilon started playing Smash when it was released, but only began playing at an advanced level in 2003. He had high scores in 1-Player mode: over 91,900 feet in HRC, under 3'18" in Target Test. His Event mode scores were good as well, especially for Event 51, which he beat with every character. For two years, he played a lot in 1-Player mode, then started playing Versus mode more than he did, for he was only a decent player, even though he was already able to play with every character.
His level increased dramatically in late 2005, as he came in Paris to enter a Computer Science School: he was able to play against Joanna Dark quite often, and became one of the best French Falco players, beating Joanna Dark during FireFox Tournament II to claim fourth place, two months after he began training with Joanna Dark. He remained in the top 5 French smashers since this day, but often changed his main. After Falco, he became the best Captain Falcon player in France. He then mained various characters, each one of them for a few months: Fox, Falco, Captain Falcon. He also trained his Jigglypuff, Marth and Sheik as secondaries.
2007 - 2009: Epita Smash Arena and ascending to top player status[edit]
Poilon began organizing the Epita Smash Arena series of tournaments in 2007, which became a staple of competitive Melee in France and Europe in the late 2000s; Epita Smash Arena 2, by far its most notable iteration, would sit as the only European Melee major tournament until 2015, and briefly held the title of third-largest Melee tournament ever held. The late 2000s also marked a period of career-high results for Poilon, including 3rd at Tournoi du Super Lion 4; 5th at Epita Smash Arena and SMASH ATTACK; as well as 7th at Epita Smash Arena 2 and Epita Smash Arena 3 - outplacing most, if not all, other French players in attendance in the process. This streak of results in large-scale tournaments would propel him into top player status on a European scale.
2010 - 2018: Decline and initial retirement[edit]
Poilon's attendance and results would both enter a period of decline in 2010, as he would take a step back from competition to focus on his professional life and settle in with his wife. His Top 8 spree in Epita Smash Arena tournaments would break with his 17th place finish at Epita Smash Arena 4, losing to Zgetto and Remen in bracket, and while he would secure respectable 4th and 5th placements in both regional tournaments he entered in 2011, his time in the highest echelon of competitive Melee in Europe was over. He experienced a slight return to form in 2017 with a Top 32 finish at HFLAN Melee Edition 2017.
2019 - 2021: Poilon Software and brief resurgence during the online era[edit]
Starting in 2019, Poilon Software, Poilon's esports team, would begin signing with top-level Melee competitors in France and Europe (with the notable exception of Fiction), turning it into one of the most recognizable teams, especially in Europe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Poilon hosted the online Poilon Arena series, which consisted of four qualifying tournaments in October and November 2020 and a championship, Poilon Colosseum, in May 2021. He also held The Upset as part of the S.A.M.E 2021 circuit in February 2021, which still sits as one of the largest online Melee tournaments ever hosted in Europe. Poilon Software would disband in 2021, with Poilon citing financial issues, stress, and shift of priorities in his life.
Poilon also briefly returned to competition during the online era and went on deep runs in several S.A.M.E tournaments, including 13th at The Upset and 17th at Smash Sauna Online, earning him a career-best placement of 4th on the 2021 online French Power Rankings, though his tournament attendance would wane again in the second half of 2021.
Tournament placings[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 placement | 2v2 placement | Partner | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smash à Saint-Cloud | October 31st, 2003 | 9th / 32 | — | — | — |
| Tournoi à Châlons | June 27th, 2004 | 2nd / 13 | — | — | €23 |
| Royal Treatment | November 1st, 2004 | 17th / 56 | — | — | — |
| FireFox Tournament II | October 29th, 2005 | 4th / 75 | — | — | — |
| Royal Destination Tournament | June 30th-July 1st, 2006 | 7th / 30 | 4th / ? | — | |
| Epita Smash Arena | April 7th-8th, 2007 | 5th / 96 | — | — | — |
| Dirty South Tournament 8 | September 15th, 2007 | 5th / 30 | 1st / ? | Iñf | — |
| Epita Smash Arena 2 | February 23rd-24th, 2008 | 7th / 231 | 4th / 97 | Iñf | €99 |
| Tournoi du Super Lion 3 | August 9th-10th, 2008 | 2nd / 35 | 1st / ? | Iñf | — |
| SMASH ATTACK | April 3rd-5th, 2009 | 5th / 127 | 9th / 55 | PST | — |
| Epita Smash Arena 3 | April 11th-12th, 2009 | 7th / 108 | 5th / 50 | Iñf | €23 |
| South Challenge 3 | July 31st-August 2nd, 2009 | 1st / 26 | 4th / ? | Charlon | — |
| Tournoi du Super Lion 4 | August 7th-9th, 2009 | 3rd / 113 | 4th / 58 | Iñf | — |
| Epita Smash Arena 4 | June 26th-27th, 2010 | 17th / 73 | 7th / 32 | Makenshi | — |
| Alpha Tournament 2 | March 20th, 2011 | 4th / 45 | 1st / 22 | Benoit | — |
| Epita Smash Arena: Junior | November 12th-13th, 2011 | 5th / 43 | 2nd / 13 | Benoit | — |
| Republic of Fighters 3 | May 17th-18th, 2014 | 65th / 192 | 9th / 64 | Benoit | — |
| HFLAN Melee Edition 2017 | April 15th-16th, 2017 | 25th / 233 | 25th / 64 (DQ) | Makenshi | — |
| Arcamelee 3 | November 9th-10th, 2019 | 25th / 115 | — | — | — |
| SuperMeleePression #7 | November 17th, 2019 | 5th / 45 | — | — | — |
The Upset |
February 27th-28th, 2021 | 13th / 269 | — | — | — |
| Phoenix Blue Online |
March 26th-28th, 2021 | 25th / 237 | — | — | — |
| Regen Online |
April 24th-25th, 2021 | 33rd / 200 | — | — | — |
| Smash Sauna Online |
May 21st-23rd, 2021 | 17th / 165 | — | — | — |
| HFLAN 2022: Golden Melee Edition | November 11th-13th, 2022 | — | 7th / 48 | Charlon | — |
| Pépite Stadium S4 E2 - L'héritage | December 5th, 2024 | 5th / 20 | — | — | — |
Trivia[edit]
- SSBPD, a defunct ranking system and the indirect predecessor to SSBMRank, lists Poilon as the 25th best player in the world as of August 14th, 2012.
- This technically makes Poilon the highest-placing French player on a worldwide ranking for Melee, outdoing Tekk's 43rd place in the SSBMRank 2015, though SSBPD is generally not considered as a viable ranking system when compared to panel-based rankings.
- Poilon is tied with Makenshi for highest placement at a major Melee tournament from a French player (7th, at Epita Smash Arena 2).
