World Power Index & Cross-Border Metagame
Empirical talent density, soil conversion, and head-to-head records across international tournament sets.
France has
1/5th the players
of the United States.
Across 6,948 direct sets —
they play to a draw.
vs 
Active Player Pool
8.86x
217,005 (US) vs 24,496 (FR) active players
vs Direct H2H
48.7%
3,384W (FR) - 3,564W (US) across 6,948 sets
US Soil Conversion
64.8%
French winrate when competing in the US
Neutral Ground (Japan)
47.3% vs 44.0%
FR winrate in JP > US winrate in JP
Active Player Bases & Talent Efficiency Profiles
Competitive player base scale, tournament volume, and talent efficiency relative to the US (baseline 1.00x):
Comprehensive Cross-Border H2H Matrix (2018–2026 All-Time)
Winrate of row nation versus column nation across all recorded tournament sets:
Same-Tier Face-Offs (Pool-Weighted & Bias-Free)
Direct match records and pool-weighted power indices between competitors within verified empirical tiers (normalizing for player base scale to eliminate population advantage):
Talent Density & Competitor Ratios by Nation
Talent concentration and player pool conversion ratios for each national competitive scene:
| Nation & Total Player Pool | Elite Talent Ratio (Top Players) | Competitive Depth Ratio (Elite + High) | 0-2 Drowners Rate (0 Wins) | Overall Winrate |
|---|
Host Soil Performance (Home Advantage & Invasions)
Win rates and match conversion of traveling foreign competitors against the host nation's local pool:
| Visiting Nation | Sets Played | Record (W - L) | Visitor Winrate | 95% CI (Wilson) | Unique Travelers | Sets / Player |
|---|
Neutral Ground Clashes (Third-Party Soil)
Direct face-offs between two visiting foreign nations competing on neutral foreign ground (eliminating host crowd and pool scale distortions):
Statistical Reality Checks & Community Debates
Empirical match data and deep-dives across 66,938 international tournament sets.
TAKE #01
"A random US state PR player would easily be Top 50 in France"
REFUTED
Direct Parity: Across all 6,948 matches between France and the US, the head-to-head is virtually a dead tie (3,384 French wins vs 3,564 US wins).
The Traveling Elite Effect: When French players travel to the US, they win 64.8% of their sets. In reverse, when American players visit French events, they win 63.7% of their sets. In both directions, travelers represent the top 1% elite of their country facing the local tournament pool.
TAKE #02
"France outperforms the US on neutral ground"
CONFIRMED
Neutral Ground Conversion: When competing outside both home countries, French players consistently convert higher winrates against third-party regions and lead direct face-offs against US travelers.
The Japan Benchmark: In Japanese tournaments, French entrants maintain a 47.3% winrate against Japanese locals, outperforming American travelers who record only a 44.0% winrate (+3.3% advantage for France).
TAKE #03
"Japan is the undisputed global standard in competitive Smash"
CONFIRMED
Crushing Dominance: Japanese players boast an overall 6,371 wins to 3,722 losses against the US worldwide (63.1% global winrate).
Fortress Defense: When Japanese players travel to US majors, they win 70.6% of their matches. In contrast, among 1,035 US competitors who visited Japan, their collective winrate fell to 44.0%.
TAKE #04
"France carries the European competitive scene"
CONFIRMED
Scene Scale & Momentum: France boasts more active tournament entrants (24,496) than the UK and Germany combined, operating as the undisputed commercial and competitive epicenter of European Smash.
TAKE #05
"Player pool scale: Volume depth (US) vs Talent density (FR)"
NUANCED PARITY
Scale vs Density: The US playerbase (217,005) provides massive regional depth across 50 states, but dilutes early-round open brackets. In contrast, France (24,496) operates with concentrated weekly circuits, yielding a higher conversion rate per competitor against top international benchmarks.