Staged in Quebec, Canada, it was begun as a tribute to Louis Cyr and was notable for the quality of the strength athletes it attracted, which included a number of winners of the World's Strongest Man competition, including Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Bill Kazmaier and Magnús Ver Magnússon.

[1] In 1984 Jean-Claude Arsenault began to promote a competition named after the most famous of Quebec's strongmen of the past, Louis Cyr.

The Louis Cyr Tournament was quickly a success and gained the sponsorship of a cigarette company resulting in its change of name to Defi Mark Ten.

[1] A final contest was reportedly held two years later, with Raimundas Zenkevicius claiming that title although sources differ.

[2] In 2008 a competition called Fortissimus, founded by Paul Ohl, was staged in Canada which also claimed to be a tribute to the great Louis Cyr and was thus seen as the natural successor to the Defi Mark Ten International.