Zoom on the Porthos Tournament

One minute. One single touch.

You gear up. You adjust your mask. You tighten your grip on the handle.

Around you, people are warming up, watching each other, half-joking.But deep down, everyone is thinking the same thing: here, there is no room for error.

At the Porthos Tournament, you don’t ease into the match. You are thrown straight into it.

Before the first salute, a random draw already designates who would be declared the winner if time runs out without a touch. A detail — but one that matters.

There is no longer any waiting strategy, no match to “manage”.

The minute becomes a countdown, and the mind immediately shifts into a strange mix: the desire to win, the urgency to act…and that quiet, very human fear of being eliminated straight away.

A Simple Mechanism, Maximum Pressure

The tone is set from the start. Fencers are randomly assigned to 16 pistes. On each one, in less than fifteen minutes, only one will remain.

There is no second chance here.Each mini-bracket is a door you must push through — and it can slam shut quickly. You’d better get into the game fast.

In this first phase, you advance with a feeling that is both light and heavy:light, because with a single touch you can overturn anyone;heavy, because one unfortunate action can also send you out.

Every time you step onto the piste, the same inner work must be done again:quiet the noise, silence the rush, return to the simple gesture.

Breathe. Observe. Decide.

First Objective: Become a Finalist

At the end of each mini-bracket, only one name remains. Sixteen finalists emerge. A second random draw then determines the matchups in the round of 16.

The rules do not change. But the pressure rises another notch.

From that moment on, everyone knows that each touch could be the last — and that the only possible option is to hold on until the end.

“Sudden Death”: Fencing Reduced to Its Essence

This is where the DNA of the Porthos Tournament becomes clear. This is not a “fast” format — it is a demanding one.

It requires the ability to step into intensity immediately, to make the right choice without a safety net, and not to freeze at the decisive moment.

Above all, it demands rare mental discipline: transforming stress into focus, turning fear into desire.

Here, stress is not an accident. It is fully part of the game. Winning means continuing; losing means exiting.

The True Spirit of the Duel

A face-off. A moment. A decision. One touch is enough. This is the original spirit of the duel that the tournament seeks to revive.

Each victory is built on reading the situation, controlling tempo, forming an intention, making a decision.

The format is strongly inspired by the fencing event in modern pentathlon, where competition takes the form of a single pool fought in one touch. If adaptability is second nature to pentathletes, should it not be the same for fencers?

Where more traditional formats give you time to adjust, to build a story over the course of a bout, the Porthos Tournament demands that you be right immediately — and then right again in the next match.

Like a test of mental endurance.

The Role of Chance… and the Role of Mastery

Yes, a one-touch bout inevitably contains an element of uncertainty. A start, a counter-time, a centimeter — and everything can change.

That said, the vast majority of Porthos winners attribute very little of their success to luck. The structure of the tournament strongly limits the “lottery effect”.

To win Porthos, you must string together many victories.One duel may surprise; the tournament itself is demanding.

The qualities highlighted are durable ones: the ability to repeat excellence, to remain clear-headed as the minute ticks away, to re-engage immediately, to accept pressure… without being overwhelmed by it.

Winning Porthos is not about “slipping through the cracks”. It is about passing through successive doors, under a rule of repetition that offers no mercy.

A Format Where Mixed Competition Becomes Natural

In such a short format, physical differences are not necessarily decisive. What truly matters are other skills: information gathering, timing, tactical reading, emotional control, and the courage to act at the right moment.

This is also why girls and boys can express themselves on equal footing.And the numbers confirm it:

• In 2025, seven girls were among the sixteen finalists.

• In 2024, Grace Donzalla lost in the final to Xavier Cuadrado after two double touches.

Here, the challenge is not to “hold” a long match. The challenge is to produce the right action with determination, in a very short time, under tension — and then do it again.

Beyond Emotion, a Deeper Stake

At the end of the Porthos Tournament, there is not only a winner left standing. There is something else — almost physical: the feeling of having lived a different experience, of having crossed a challenge where you learn as much about yourself as about your technique.

This tournament seeks to remind us that fencing is not only about accumulating touches, but about intention, decision-making, self-control, and mastering the moment.

On May 23 and 24 in Lyon, Porthos once again promises this rare intensity: a brief, clear, demanding competition, where no one can cheat the moment.

An event to be lived — quite simply.

And always the same truth, echoing at every step onto the piste: above all, win…and, first and foremost, do not lose.

Only one will succeed ...

Are You ready to be the next ?