Favourites
- Koki Kano (JPN) won the Olympic gold medal in the men’s individual epee individual at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after defeating Yannick Borel (FRA) in the final. Kano could become the first man to win a world title for Japan in the men’s individual epee event. Kazuyasu Minobe won Japan’s first medal in this event in 2022 (silver). Kano also won gold in the this event at the Asian Games in 2023.
- Mate Tamas Koch (HUN) won the men’s individual epee at the world championships in 2023. The last man to win this event at successive world championships was Eric Srecki (FRA) in 1995 and 1997.
Gergely Siklosi (HUN) became the men’s epee world champion in 2019. No Hungarian man has won multiple world titles in this event yet.
- Mohamed Elsayed (EGY) hopes to win the first world title for Egypt in any fencing event. He won this event at the African championships in Lagos in June 2025, and he claimed Olympic bronze in this event at Paris 2024. Until 2025, Egypt claimed eight medals in all fencing events at world championships, all bronze medals.
- Roman Svichkar (UKR) won this event at the European championships in Genova on 15 June. He can win the first world title for Ukraine in the men’s epee individual. Svichkar claimed bronze in this event at the world championships in 2018.
- Zijie Wang (CHN) defeated Masaru Yamada (JPN) in the final of the men’s individual epee at the Asian championships in Bali in June. Wang could become the second fencer to win a world title for China in a men’s individual event, after Lei Wang (CHN) won epee gold in Turin in 2006.
- Davide Di Veroli (ITA) took silver in the men’s epee at the world championships in 2023. The last man to reach the final of this event at successive world championships was Fabrice Jeannet (FRA) in 2002 (silver), 2003 (gold) and 2005 (silver). The last Italian man to win gold in this event at the world championships was Paolo Pizzo (ITA) in 2011 and 2017.
- Ruslan Kurbanov (KAZ) claimed Kazakhstan’s only medal in fencing at the world championships, when he took bronze in the men’s epee individual in 2023.
- Neisser Loyola (BEL) took bronze in this event in 2022 to claim Belgium’s first medal at the fencing world championships since 1951. Loyola reached the final of the men’s epee at the World Cup in Tbilisi in March 2024.
- Samuel Imrek (USA) could win the first medal for United States in the men’s epee event at the world championships. Imrek has already claimed medals as a cadet (gold in 2022) and as a junior (bronze in 2023 and 2024).
- Ruben Limardo (VEN) claimed silver in this event in 2013 and 2018. His brothers Francisco Limardo (VEN) and Jesus Limardo (VEN) are also competing in the men’s epee in Tbilisi. The three brothers have never faced each other at the world championships.
Various
- France has won 22 world titles in this event. Hungary is next on 10 gold medals.
- The last seven finals of this event at the world championships (2014-2023) were contested by 14 different fencers.
- Géza Imre (HUN, 2015) is the last left-handed fencer who won the world title in this event.
- No fencer born after 1 January 2000 has won the world title in the men’s individual epee event. The only man born in this century to have won a medal in this event is Italy’s Davide Di Veroli (born 18 Aug 2001), who took silver in 2023