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William Peter Hjelte (born 16 October 1994), better known by his gamertag Leffen, is a Swedish professional
fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
player and streamer. Although mostly known as a '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' player, he has also competed in '' Dragon Ball FighterZ'', ''
Guilty Gear Strive (stylized as GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-) is a 2021 fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works. It is the seventh mainline installment in the ''Guilty Gear'' series, and the 25th overall. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlaySta ...
'', and ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ' ...
''. In ''Melee'', Hjelte plays the character
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
, and is considered one of the best players in the world, having been ranked as one of the top seven ''Melee'' players in the world every year since 2014. A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked Hjelte as the sixth greatest ''Melee'' player of all time. A ''Super Smash Bros.'' competitive player since 2009, he rose to international success in 2014, becoming the first player to beat each of the "Five Gods of ''Melee''" — Armada,
Mew2King Jason Sheldon Zimmerman (born February 5, 1989), known by his gamertag Mew2King, commonly shortened to M2K, is an American former professional '' Super Smash Bros.'' player from Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Zimmerman is one of the "Five Gods" of ...
,
Hungrybox Juan Manuel DeBiedma (; born June 21, 1993), better known by his alias Hungrybox, is an Argentine–American professional '' Super Smash Bros.'' player, streamer, tournament organizer and commentator. Recognized as one of the greatest and most ...
,
Mang0 Joseph Manuel Marquez, (born December 10, 1991) known by his gamertag Mango (stylized MaNg0 or Mang0), is an American professional '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' player and streamer from Norwalk, California. Known for his aggressive, high-risk pla ...
, and PPMD— in tournaments over the course of his career (a feat only accomplished since by Plup), earning him the nickname of "God Slayer". He has won many tournaments ranked as majors in his career, starting with the Swedish tournament B.E.A.S.T 4 in 2014, which saw him become the first person other than one of the Five Gods to win a major since 2008. Since then, some of his most notable tournament wins include the 2015 and 2019 editions of Super Smash Con, CEO 2015, and Evo 2018. Since Armada's retirement in 2018, Leffen has been considered the undisputed best ''Melee'' player in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Although recognized as one of the best players in ''Melee'' history and having a dedicated fan base, Leffen has also been considered one of the most controversial and polarizing players in ''Super Smash Bros.'' history, due in part to accusations of aggressive and anti-social behavior— which resulted in a temporary ban from the Swedish competitive ''Melee'' scene in 2013. As a result, he has been referred to as the "Villain of ''Super Smash Bros.''"


Career

Hjelte started playing ''Super Smash Bros.'' in 2009, when he was introduced to '' Super Smash Bros. Melee''. He initially started as a
Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in '' Super Mario World'' (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Throughout the mainline '' Super Mario'' series, Yoshi typically serves ...
and Falco player before switching to Fox. Leffen feels that he made the gradual switch from Falco to Fox because he views Falco as requiring more discipline and Fox being more suited to his play style. He placed 9th in the Swedish national tournament B.E.A.S.T 2 within his first year of playing ''Melee''. Throughout 2014 Leffen began placing highly in tournaments and defeating the top five ''Melee'' players regularly. Prior to
EVO 2014 The 2014 Evolution Championship Series (commonly referred to as Evo 2014 or EVO 2014) was a fighting game event held in at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, Westgate Las Vegas on July 11–13. The event featured a major tournament for eight figh ...
, Joe Cribari of ''Nintendo Enthusiast'' listed Leffen among the three "underdogs" with the greatest chance to win the tournament. He finished 9th at EVO 2014. In VGBootCamp's
Apex 2015 Apex is an annual esports tournament held in New Jersey that is focused on '' Super Smash Bros.'' The event's first incarnation was in 2009 with Jesus "Jman" Fernandez as the champion of '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' and Elliot "Ally" Carroza-Oy ...
Salty Suite, Hjelte defeated Kashan "Chillin" Khan in a first-to-five set without dropping a single game. Because of this, Hjelte has the "rights" to use Fox's default color.
Mang0 Joseph Manuel Marquez, (born December 10, 1991) known by his gamertag Mango (stylized MaNg0 or Mang0), is an American professional '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' player and streamer from Norwalk, California. Known for his aggressive, high-risk pla ...
subsequently challenged Hjelte to a 1,000 money match if they were to face-off in the Apex Singles bracket. Hjelte would in turn beat Mango when they played in Winners' Semifinals. After defeating
Mew2King Jason Sheldon Zimmerman (born February 5, 1989), known by his gamertag Mew2King, commonly shortened to M2K, is an American former professional '' Super Smash Bros.'' player from Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Zimmerman is one of the "Five Gods" of ...
at Apex 2015 in singles bracket, Hjelte has taken at least one set off each of the "five gods" of ''Melee''. Hjelte ultimately finished third in Apex 2015 ''Melee'' singles. On March 9, 2015, Hjelte was signed by
Team SoloMid TSM (initialism derived from the previous name Team SoloMid) is a professional esports organization based in the United States. It was founded in September 2009 by Andy Dinh, Andy "Reginald" Dinh. TSM currently fields players in ''Apex Legends' ...
as its first player on their ''Super Smash Bros.'' division, as well as their first fighting game player. At CEO 2015 in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
, Leffen won his first American major, defeating Armada. He placed 5th at EVO 2015 later that year, despite being a favorite to win. He was upset by Panda Global's Plup who played
Samus is the protagonist of the video game series ''Metroid'' by Nintendo. She was created by the Japanese video game designer Makoto Kano and introduced in the first ''Metroid'' (1986) for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Raised by the birdlike ...
. ''Melee it on Me'' ranked Leffen as the 2nd best player in the world in their summer 2015 mid-season rankings. Leffen was barred from entering the United States just before The Big House 5 tournament because he was travelling on an
Electronic System for Travel Authorization The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is an automated electronic travel authorization system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). ESTA was mandated by th ...
(ESTA) and employed by US-based
Team SoloMid TSM (initialism derived from the previous name Team SoloMid) is a professional esports organization based in the United States. It was founded in September 2009 by Andy Dinh, Andy "Reginald" Dinh. TSM currently fields players in ''Apex Legends' ...
. On February 16, 2016, Leffen became sponsored by
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
as an official Red Bull Athlete. As of 2018, he was no longer with Red Bull.


Visa issues and EVO 2018

On April 29, 2016, Leffen announced that his
Form I-129 Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker is a form submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services used by employers or prospective employers to obtain or amend the details of a worker on a nonimmigrant visa status. Form I- ...
petition to obtain a
visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
had been denied by
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and Immigration to the United States, immigration system. History ...
. On 4 May 2016 it was initially announced that
Team SoloMid TSM (initialism derived from the previous name Team SoloMid) is a professional esports organization based in the United States. It was founded in September 2009 by Andy Dinh, Andy "Reginald" Dinh. TSM currently fields players in ''Apex Legends' ...
was able to secure a P1 Visa for Leffen so he can be able to attend US-based tournaments throughout July which includes
EVO 2016 The 2016 Evolution Championship Series (commonly referred to as Evo 2016 or EVO 2016) was a fighting game event held in Las Vegas on July 15–17. Being hosted on the twentieth anniversary of the Evolution Championship Series, the event offered to ...
and that TSM was working on extending this visa for the long term. However, on July 14 Leffen announced that he had run into additional delays in the visa approval process and would miss EVO. Finally, on October 3, Leffen's visa was approved, allowing him to compete in US-based tournaments again, in time for The Big House 6. In August 2018, Leffen won Evo 2018, defeating Armada 3–0 in grand finals to claim the trophy.


Other games

Hjelte has competed in fighting games including '' Dragon Ball FighterZ'', ''
Ultra Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom. It was the first original main entry in the series since ''Street Fighter III'' in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years. Designed for the Taito Type X2 Arcade video game, a ...
'', ''
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a 2011 crossover fighting game developed by Capcom in collaboration with Eighting. It is an updated version of '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. The game features characters from both Capcom's video game franchises and comic book ...
'', and ''
The King of Fighters XIII is a 2010 fighting game developed and published by SNK Playmore. It is the thirteenth installment in the ''The King of Fighters'' series. Released on Japanese arcades, it was ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 globally in 2011, and an update ...
''. According to the PGRZ, Hjelte is considered the 28th best Dragon Ball FighterZ player of all time. In an interview with EventHubs prior to Apex 2015, he suggested he might play ''
Guilty Gear Xrd is a fighting video game sub-series by Arc System Works and part of the ''Guilty Gear'' series. ''Guilty Gear Xrd'' was developed using Unreal Engine 3, with cel-shaded graphics in place of the series traditional hand drawn sprites. Following ...
'' on his
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...
stream after
Apex 2015 Apex is an annual esports tournament held in New Jersey that is focused on '' Super Smash Bros.'' The event's first incarnation was in 2009 with Jesus "Jman" Fernandez as the champion of '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'' and Elliot "Ally" Carroza-Oy ...
concluded. As of the release of ''
Guilty Gear Strive (stylized as GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-) is a 2021 fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works. It is the seventh mainline installment in the ''Guilty Gear'' series, and the 25th overall. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlaySta ...
'', Hjelte has been hosting online tournaments for the game, hosting the title's first major, the Big LEVO. At
Evo 2022 The 2022 Evolution Championship Series (commonly referred to as Evo 2022 or EVO 2022) was a fighting game event held in Las Vegas from August 5 to 7, 2022 as part of the long-running Evolution Championship Series. The event offered tournaments ...
, Leffen placed 3rd out of 2,161 entrants in Guilty Gear Strive, making this the first time that a player has made Top 8 at EVO in both a Smash title as well as a traditional fighting game. The following year, Leffen would take 1st out of 2,474 entrants in the same game at Evo 2023, becoming the first person to hold victories in both Smash and a traditional fighting game in EVO.


Personal life

Hjelte is Korean-Swedish; his mother is a native Swede, while his father is a South Korean adoptee. Hjelte says his family does not regularly follow Korean cultural traditions. Leffen stated in 2015 his goal is not to just be the best Super Smash Bros player, but the best fighting game player.


Controversies

Leffen is a controversial figure in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' community, where he has been accused of aggressive and toxic behavior, bullying, and poor
sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, and with proper consideration for wikt:fairness, fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" r ...
, notably due to his tendency to target other players or figures of the community with insults or confrontational statements, both online and in real life; other accusations include spreading false rumors about other players, intimidating newcomers, and making fun of individuals' illnesses or disabilities. This earned him the nickname of "Villain of ''Super Smash Bros.''". Over the years, part of the scene has frequently requested for Leffen to be banned from the community due to his behavior, claiming that the perceived lack of punishment came from his popularity with part of the fanbase, and fears of being harassed by Leffen and said fanbase if someone spoke out against him. A 2015
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article noted that "Leffen likes to shit talk and make fun of his opponents." Leffen's behavior caused him to be banned from the entire Swedish tournament scene for much of 2013, as well as from the online forum
Smashboards Smashboards (originally known as Smash World Forums) is an online forum centered on games from the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, founded in 2002. The community hosts discussions of techniques, news, and professional competition of the ''Super Smas ...
, on which he was active. One of the officials behind the tournament ban stated that this was due to heavy bullying and overall poor treatment of fellow players, spreading false rumors about other players stealing or taking illegal drugs, making fun of others' diseases and disabilities, poor sportsmanship, trying to push people out of the community, and being "extremely mean" to his partners in Doubles if they made mistakes. Leffen, who openly admitted to hating ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ' ...
'' and competing and streaming the game purely for money, published tweets in September 2020 in which he stated he would "rather flip burgers at
han stream ''Ultimate'' Han may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Han", a fifth season episode of ''The West Wing'' * Han (musician), born Han Ji-sung, a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer, member of Stray Kids * Han Lue, a characte ...
if it paid the same amount," and that streaming ''Ultimate'' was harder than working a minimum wage job. His posts went viral on Twitter, drawing criticism regarding the struggles faced by minimum wage workers; he later apologized for his tweet, but reiterated that he would rather work a minimum wage job. In an April 2015 interview, Leffen justified his behavior by claiming he was trying to elevate the level of play on the ''Melee'' scene, stating "I actually do like the villain role. 'Melee''s very stagnant sometimes. Since everyone is friends, nobody is really pushing each other — you’re not going to try that hard to beat someone you're close with." Talking about Leffen's behavior in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' community,
GENESIS Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
owner Sheridan "Dr. Z" Zalewski stated in 2019 that "I hate to say it, but everyone who actually runs the community wants this ind of behaviorto happen" due to the interest it creates from fans.


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{Competitive Super Smash Bros. Living people Game players from Stockholm Marvel vs. Capcom players Super Smash Bros. Melee players Street Fighter players Fighting game players Swedish esports players Team SoloMid players Swedish people of South Korean descent 1994 births Red Bull people Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players