Rance tops crowded HEMA sword and buckler rankings, global field follows

Patrick Rance stood atop a crowded HEMA sword and buckler table, but the bigger story was the shape of the chase behind him. The June 2026 mixed and men’s steel rankings showed a stable, recognizable elite at the top and a tightly packed pack underneath, with Rance of Smart HEMA Clubs on 1980.2 points, Konrad Kramarz of Mordschlag on 1928.8, Ondřej Malina of Rožnovsky šermirsky klub on 1926.4, Michael Roth of Heartland HEMA Historical Fencing Club on 1923.4, and Zdeněk Brýdl of Brněnští Fechteři on 1904.2. In a field that stretched to 1,630 entries, the top five were separated by only 76.0 points, a narrow margin for a category that now looks mature, deep, and unforgiving.

That density was what made the table feel more like a live competitive ecosystem than a static ranking. Derek Wise, Kristofer Stanson, Jim Campbell, Miro Lahtela, and Massimiliano Cappello completed the top ten, and the names were familiar for good reason: they came from clubs with proven tournament pedigrees and from regions that have helped define modern sword and buckler competition. North America, Central Europe, Scandinavia, and Italy all had a presence in the upper tier, which underlined how international the discipline has become. The leading ten did not read like a local circuit or a single-country hierarchy; it read like a cross-border benchmark list.

That spread matters because sword and buckler is no longer in a phase where one result can only alter the margins. The top names still set the standard, but the depth below them means a strong weekend can quickly move a fencer from the edge of the front pack into serious contention, or push a rival down several places before the next major bout arrives. Rance, Roth, Lahtela, and Cappello sat close enough together that the next tournament run could change club bragging rights and redraw rating-based matchups in short order. The June table captured a weapon set with veteran leaders, international reach, and a chase pack crowded tightly enough that the summer season could reorder the middle almost as fast as it confirmed the summit.