I think Eugene would've fared better. (But probably still not have won.
)
Glancing at the episode again, it seems as if, just like the illusion from the last episode, the most important thing it did was grant him an opening which allowed him to unbalance and quickly overwhelm.
I do have to wonder now why he didn't buy a backup weapon anyway, even if he wasn't planning on using it most of the time. Or maybe he did, and wanted Lyfa's sword because it was better? /shrug