There’s no denying it: Europe is producing some of the very best competitors. 

We’ve seen athletes from Sweden, the UK, Finland, Norway, and more medal at competitions all around the globe, and this weekend, they have a chance to claim one of the most important titles in jiu-jitsu in their own backyard at the 2019 IBJJF European Championships.  

There are candidates in every division at black belt that stand a solid shot at placing, but we noticed something interesting: there are no less than SIX elite European black belts in the middleweight division, making it the old continent's best shot at taking home black belt gold. 

But it won’t be easy.

Max Lindblad – CheckMat 

First match: Manuel Ribamar 

Max Lindblad – nicknamed ‘Cenoura’, or Carrot– is a Checkmat representative and the owner of a wicked spider guard. Lindblad is on the frontlines of surging Swedish athletes, including 2018 purple belt champion Cemil Karahan (who will be competing as a brown belt on Sunday) and 2019 purple belt champion Elina Moestam. 

Lindblad drew a monster in his first match with Manuel Ribamar, and it’s one of our most hotly-anticipated matches of the entire event. 

Sebastian Brosche – Frontline Academy

First Match: Pedro Monteiro

Famous for his Yoga for BJJ program, Sebastian Brosche is another European athlete that flies under the radar, but don’t sleep on this guy or he’ll put you out. A former judoka, Brosche has solid stand-up skills and as someone with a yoga program tailored for jiu-jitsu, his guard is excellent as well.  

Sebastian.

Espen Mathiesen – KMR Kimura

First Match: Darragh O’Conaill

If you’ve been following us for the past few years you will already be well aware of Espen Mathiesen– the Norwegian viking is one of best talents in the world and had an absolutely phenomenal year in 2018, taking home gold at World Pro and bronze after losing by advantage to the great Lucas Lepri at Worlds. 

He recently breimbolo-ed his way to one of the most exciting matches of King of Mats Abu Dhabi and is a front-runner of the division. 

Espen Mathiesen after winning world Pro.

Tommy Langaker – KMR Kimura

First match: Winner of Kenji Sette vs Christian Dellevag

Espen’s deranged counter-part, Tommy Langaker brings a brutal pace and ruthless attitude to the gentle art. He kicked off his black belt debut in 2018 by submitting Erberth Santos in the absolute division at Europeans and went on to take second place at Worlds to Isaque Bahiense. Tommy's got a tough run to the final this weekend, and his second match could be with Atos rising star Leo Lara.

Tommy on the Back at Worlds.

Thomas Mietz – Carpe Diem

First Match: Andris Brunoskivis

Another dark horse in the division, Thomas Mietz is a French athlete currently living in Tokyo and teaching at the famed Carpe Diem academy. Mietz has quietly been building his resume throughout Asia and holds wins at the at the Mariana Qualifier as well as a bronze medal at this years ADGS Tokyo. 

Mietz has arguably one of the toughest routes to the final as he faces Atos standout Andris Brunoskivis in the first round, with the next match being the winner of Darragh O'Connail and Espen Mathiesen.

Darragh O’Conaill - ECJJA

First match: Espen Mathiesen

Darragh O’Conaill is one of the leading figures of Irish jiu-jitsu. A longtime competitor, O’Connaill has captured important titles such as European No-Gi champion and gold at the London Open. Considering that O'Connail's first match is against the DLR and matrix guard kingpin Espen, we'll likely see him apply his passing excellent passing game that makes use of all weapons avaiable.

A broken Cheekbone doesn't stop Darragh.