Season 2025-2026 Epee Men In Photo: ELSAYED Mohamed Photo: Augusto Bizzi
The men’s individual epee field stands as an incredibly wide-open showcase at the Senior World Championships from 22 to 25 July (individual) and 28 July (team) at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, China.
Highlighting the extreme parity of this weapon, the last eight World Championship individual finals have featured 15 different fencers.
Egypt’s Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Mohamed Elsayed enters the competition on red-hot form, having secured multiple individual titles and more international medals than anyone else on the circuit this season, including gold at the Vancouver World Cup, the Bern World Cup, and the African Zonal Championships and bronze in Astana and Heidenheim.
Despite his five seasonal podium finishes, Elsayed has never stood on an individual World Championship podium and will look to make history as Egypt’s first-ever World Champion in any fencing discipline.
World No. 1 and reigning World Champion Kano Koki of Japan enjoys a healthy lead at the top of the standings, primarily buoyed by the individual World Championship title he won in 2025. While Kano took gold at the Medellín Grand Prix and a bronze at the Asian Championships, his overall seasonal consistency has fluctuated.
However, if Kano can capture gold in Hong Kong, he will achieve an unprecedented milestone by becoming the first fencer ever to win the gold medal in the men’s epee individual across three consecutive Olympic Games and World Championships combined.
A wave of rising talent and seasoned competitors are also in contention including Italian Matteo Galassi (154 pts) and Dutchman Tristan Tulen (149 pts): Both fencers have enjoyed major international breakthroughs this season.
Galassi claimed silver at the Medellín Grand Prix and the Fujairah World Cup, while Tulen took gold at the Doha Grand Prix. If they can navigate the high-stakes round of 64, both are heavily tipped as podium threats.
Denmark’s Conrad Seibaek Kongstad (111 pts), took a debut victory at the Fujairah World Cup and proved his championship pedigree by claiming a brilliant bronze medal at the highly competitive European Championships.
Ruslan Kurbanov (128 pts) of Kazakhstan and Japanese Masaru Yamada (128 pts) are two others in the dray with a chance. Kurbanov has displayed immense consistency with three podium finishes this season, including gold at the Heidenheim World Cup.
Yamada looms as a premier Asian threat after turning in a gold-medal performance at the Asian Championships, where he defeated compatriot Kano in the semi-finals.
Italian Simone Mencarelli (126.5 pts) is the newly crowned European individual champion and will be out to try to mirror Yannick Borel’s 2018 feat of capturing the European and World titles in the same calendar year.
Traditional powerhouses collide as Kazakhstan lurks
The men’s team epee event promises a fascinating clash of tactical philosophies, where European grinding strategies will face off against dynamic global challengers. World No. 1 France (344 points) has won a record 23 world titles in this event, including 10 of the last 16.
After an elite regular season featuring two World Cup golds and a silver medal at the European Championships, the French squad will look to return to the World Championship podium after finishing a frustrating fourth in 2025.
World No. 2 Switzerland (320 points) dominated the regular season circuit by matching France with three World Cup team victories. However, the Swiss failed to reach the podium at the European Championships and face major pressure to recapture their form.
World No. 3 Italy (312 points) enters as the newly crowned European Champions. The Italians took a low-scoring, highly patient approach towards the end of the regular season, content to grind out tight matches on the clock.
Reigning World Champions Japan and an in-form Kazakhstan represent the primary threats to a European-dominated podium. While Japan captured the 2025 world title, Kazakhstan enters with great momentum after upsetting the Japanese squad to win the gold medal at the Asian Championships in New Delhi.
As for Team Hong Kong, the statistics indicate that host nations traditionally struggle in this event. Since 2014, only Italy has managed to win a men’s team epee medal on home soil.
