The European Championships serves as the jumping-off point for the latest gi season and always contains a bevy of interesting storylines and matchups that set the tone for the rest of the year.

We'll see the return of the legendary competitors and black belt debuts of some of the most promising talents on the globe. No longer a group of scrappy upstarts, there is a shot of European competitors of the black belt ranks that are legitimate contenders for gold.  

Watch The 2020 IBJJF European Championships Live On Demand On FloGrappling

All match times approximate and subject to change. Check the IBJJF tournament page for info.

Don't Call It A Comeback: Malfacine, Musumeci & Cornelius Return To Euros

Mikey Musumeci (BRASA CTA) is heading back to the European Championships for the first time since 2017.

The three-time world champion will have to fight through the Cicero Costha contingent that dominated this division in his absence, the group lacking his longtime rival Joao Miyao. There are still three top-10 athletes from Cicero registered, though, in third-ranked Diego “Pato” Oliveira, Pans and Brasileiro champ Hiago George, and Jonas Andrade.

Keenan Cornelius (Legion) returns after running wild at the 2018 Euros, submitting all his opponents en route to winning heavyweight and closing out the open class with then-teammate Lucas Barbosa. The funk master promises to have some new lapel tricks up his sleeve for the 2020 season; he has stiff competition at heavyweight and will be put to the test.

Keenan will likely face former teammate Dominique Bell in the quarter-final, which will be the first Atos opponent for Keenan since he created his own team Legion American Jiu-Jitsu.

Bruno Malfacine (Alliance) will be competing in Lisbon for the first time since 2011! The ten-time world champion had this to say about his return to Lisbon:

"I never thought I would compete at Europeans again, but here I am. I stopped competing after 2011 because I was teaching in the U.S. and I could not travel too much because of my students. But a lot of things changed in my life, and I'm now I'm able to train properly this year. " - Bruno Malfacine

Malfacine is set to meet rookie black belt Thalison Soares in the quarter-finals, easily one of the most intriguing matchups of the entire event that pits the roosterweight GOAT against the next generation.

Rookie Black Belts Ready To Shake Things Up 

We’ve identified no less than six rookie back black belts who we believe are set to make a major impact at the 2020 European Championships. Most of them cleaned up on the 2019 season in the brown belt circuit and are ready to cut their teeth at the highest level of competition. 

• Thalison Soares 
• Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira
• Jonnatas Gracie
• Ronaldo Junior
• Thamara Ferreira
• Israel Sousa

Five European Athletes Looking To Take Over

The European contingency at the back belt level is not just here to participate – these five black belt European competitors have a strong shot at securing gold this weekend in Lisbon.

Adam Wardzinski - Poland

Adam Wardzinski is a polish athlete who has been on the cusp of a major title since earning his black belt in 2016 from Leo Vieira.

Wardzinski has finished third in Lisbon two times before but had a great year in 2019, highlighted by submitting six-time Worlds champ Leandro Lo at Pans and earning a silver medal in the process.

Could Euros 2020 be his year? If he makes it past  Dimitrius Souza and Rafael Vasconcelos on his side of the bracket, Wardzinski could face anyone from Keenan Cornelius to Jackson Sousa or Pedro Henrique in the final.

Tommy Langaker & Espen Mathiesen - Norway

Two of the scrappiest fighters in the game today; the fearsome Viking duo has been a global force at the black belt level for the past two years.  

Both are experts at taking the back, each with their own patented systems — and are heat-sinking missiles when it concerns earning the submission — and their game will need to be perfectly honed if they are to make their way through their stacked visions.

Tommy is in for middleweight, setting up a potential match of the tournament with Ronaldo Junior in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Espen as jumped up to middle heavyweight and drawn surging Manuel Ribamar for the very first round — another must-see bout.

Ffion Davies - Wales 

A Welsh athlete currently based in Ireland while training with Darragh O'Conaill, Ffion Davies left an indelible mark on the women's featherweight division in 2019 when she took home gold at Euros, Pans, and Brazilian Nationals. 

Davies has moved up to lightweight for the first time and is set to take on division leaders Nathalie Ribeiro and Charlotte Von Baumgarten in her efforts to claim a second European Championship title.