Sébastien Berard, undoubtedly the greatest LED Saber fencer Europe has known to date, a powerhouse of the system he has only ever lost two matches in as many years. Of course, his left-handed approach to combat makes him all the harder to defeat.

From the inaugural Saber Tour tournament to the present day, Berard has won practically every Challenger and Major tier tournament there was to win – losing only one of the twelve he’s challenged so far. With a 96.49% win rate since records began (110 wins from 114 matches), Sébastien’s spot as the #1 fighter worldwide cannot be challenged.

But Berard’s influence extends beyond numbers. With a background in Olympic Fencing, Sébastien is known for his precise technique, lightning fast strikes and incredible distance management, his style has become revered as the gold standard for one-handed LED Saber fighting.

Across his entire legendary career in the sport, Berard has only ever suffered one defeat and even then it was only by a single point. That defeat was also – in my opinion – one of the greatest performances in the history of Saber Tour. This was his Quarter-Final match against Italian multi-Martial Artist and Head Instructor of Eclipse Combat Academy (SSL London), Marco Cuomo. Marco went on to be the only fighter other than Sebastien to ever win a Challenger or Major tournament.

Sébastien is also active as a referee, arbitrating many matches across pool stages of many events.

For these myriad reasons, here at Saber Talk I would like to induct Sébastien Berard into the Saber Talk Hall of Fame, a gallery of the key figures behind European LED Saber combat, within Saber Tour and beyond. As the first inductee, Sébastien will fill the first spot on the new Hall Of Fame page here on the blog.