I am about 100 years into my Gascogne game and have annexed the southern half of france and most of Iberia, and because I'm me I feel the need to culture convert EVERYTHING. So because of that there is only one Portuguese province remaining in the world. I also have a colonial empire, meaning I have colonial states in Brazil, Guyana, La Plata, Eastern North America and the Caribbean, but the only place in which I have any form of contest is the Caribbean. Ireland formed from Leinster, England formed from Norfolk (yet Yorkshire is the greater power in Britain right now).
Finistere formed France, and as soon as they formed France and got all the claims on the French region I lost my alliance with them. The dominant power in Italy is Ferrara, despite for some reason having extended north into Germany rather than south into Italy. The north Black Sea is constantly switching between Kaffa and other nations, right now it is Kaffa.
Anatolia is relatively evenly divided between Kastamonu and Konya, and Kastamonu briefly had significant land in Europe. Szepes is dominating Hungary, Marienburg currently owns every Polish province, and Germany is relatively evenly divided between Berg, Ostmarch and Altmark.

...Sorry for the wall of text.

Best game I've done thus far I started as Constantinople. I then moved to reform the Byzantine empire, then pushed south to gain access to the Red Sea through Sinai. From there, I colonised the Indian and Pacific oceans quicker than the Western powers could get to them, including South Africa. After I reformed the Pentarchy I got bored.