Smasher:Leffen

Leffen
RB TSM Leffen.jpg
Character info
Melee main	Fox
Other Melee characters	Marth, Yoshi, Falco
Smash 4 mains	Diddy Kong, Pikachu
Project M mains	Captain Falcon, Fox, Zero Suit Samus
Other Project M character	Mewtwo
Team info
Sponsor(s)	Red Bull, Team SoloMid
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking	2015 SSBMRank: 3rd
Winnings	~$47,943.28
Personal and other info
Real name	William Hjelte
Birth date	October 16, 1994
Location	Stockholm
Miscellaneous info
Skill	Top professional Professional Top professional

Leffen is a professional smasher from Stockholm, Sweden. He started off as a Falco main, but later switched to Fox, and is now known as one of the most technical and powerful Fox mains in the world. He places very well in tournaments, consistently placing within the top 3 at even the largest tournaments in the world. He is currently ranked 2nd on the European Melee Power Rankings, and is considered to be one of the six best players in the world along with Armada and the four top players in the United States: PPMD, Mango, Mew2King, and Hungrybox (the five latter are known as The Five Gods), with the 2015 SSBMRank ranking him the 3rd best. He is also the only player in competitive Melee history to have taken sets off of each of the Five Gods. Leffen says that his goal is to end the "five gods" and ascend even higher than them, becoming the only "god".

Leffen challenged SFAT to a $1,000 money match on November 15th, 2015, which took place at DreamHack Winter 2015, where Leffen won 5-1. He also challenged Westballz, but Leffen eventually canceled it.

Tournament history

Emergence as a top 6 player

At Apex 2014, Leffen defeated Hungrybox 2-1 in winners' quarters, before losing to Mew2King 1-3 in winners' semis. He eliminated Colbol 2-0 in losers' quarters, and then had a close and intense set with Mango in losers' semis, but was ultimately eliminated 2-3.

Leffen won his first national at B.E.A.S.T 4. He lost to Ice 2-3 in winners' semis, but then eliminated Fuzzyness 3-0 in losers' quarters, Overtriforce 3-1 in losers' semis, and Ice 3-2 in a rematch in losers' finals. In grand finals, he managed to win two sets against Armada, 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. Later, Leffen won Republic of Fighters 3, qualifying for the MLG Anaheim 2014 championship bracket. He defeated Ice 3-1 in winners' semis, but lost to Armada 0-3 in winners' finals. After eliminating aMSa 3-2 in losers' finals, he came back and won 6-0 against Armada in two best of 5 sets.

In his pool at MLG Anaheim 2014, Leffen defeated PPMD 3-2, Axe 3-1, Colbol 3-1, s0ft 3-0, and Remen 3-0, but lost to Mew2King 1-3 and Hax 2-3. Seeded in losers' bracket in the championship bracket, he defeated both Westballz and Hax 3-2, before losing to PPMD 1-3 in losers' quarters, placing 5th overall. At EVO 2014, Leffen defeated Lambchops 2-1, OkamiBW 2-0, and S2J 2-0 in the winners' quarters pools, but lost to Mew2King 0-2. In losers' bracket, he was eliminated by Silent Wolf 1-2, finishing off at an underwhelming 9th place overall.

At COMEBACK I, Leffen defeated Android 3-0 in winners' semis to make it to winners' finals against Armada, in which he lost 1-3. After defeating Android 3-1 in losers' finals, he lost again to Armada in grand finals, this time 2-3, placing 2nd in Melee singles. Leffen also won Melee doubles with Beat, defeating Dev and Kuja 3-1 in winners' semis, Android and Zoler 3-1 in winners' finals, and Armada and C 3-1 in grand finals.

At The Big House 4, Leffen defeated Hungrybox 3-2 in winners' quarters to advance to winners' semis. He then faced off against Armada in another close set, ultimately managing to clench out a victory 3-2 and advance to winners finals for the first time at an American national. However, he lost 0-3 to Mew2King in winners finals and 1-3 to Mango in losers finals, with a 4 stock to close out the set.

At B.E.A.S.T 5, Leffen managed to solidly defeat Armada 3-1 in winners semis to advance to winners' finals. He managed to take his first victory over Mango in a 3-2 set to advance to grand finals, where he would once again face Armada. Despite a closely fought set from both players (with Armada notably 4-stocking Leffen Game 4), Leffen managed to win grand finals 3-2, earning his first national victory with at least 2 of the "gods" present.

At CEO 2015, Leffen earned 1st in singles, making it his first American national victory. He had a close set with Plup in winners quarters but ultimately won 2-1, and proceeded to sweep the rest of the tournament, beating Shroomed 3-0 and Armada twice in winners finals and grand finals; each set was 3-0 and 3-1, respectively, in Leffen's favor. In doubles, Leffen teamed with Hungrybox, placing 2nd; they had managed to trade sets with PewPewU and SFAT and take a set off of Armada and Shroomed, but they ultimately lost a close second set 2-3.

At FC Smash 15XR: Return, Leffen once again earned 1st in singles. He defeated Swedish Delight 3-0 in winners quarters, he then beat Hungrybox 3-1 in winners semis and Armada 3-1 in winners finals, including a 4-stock in game 1 on Final Destination. In grand finals; he met Hungrybox once again and beat him 3-1.

Leffen once again got first place at WTFox singles, including an impressive 3-0 victory over Mang0's Falco in Grand Finals, making three consecutive first place finishes in singles.

However, he failed to repeat this success at EVO 2015, being sent into losers by Hungrybox, and was then eliminated at 5th place by Plup's Samus.

At Super Smash Con, Leffen took first place once again in singles, beating Mew2King 6-1 in Winners Finals and Grand Finals.

However, an "upset" occured at PAX Prime 2015, where Mew2King avenged his loss at Smash Con in a 6-0 victory over Leffen.

Leffen once again failed to capture first place at Paragon Los Angeles 2015, being sent to loser's by Mew2King, and being eliminated by Hungrybox, ending another tournament run at 5th place.

At HTC Throwdown, Leffen made it to Grand Finals from the Winner's side, defeating Hungrybox in Grand Finals 3-0.

Leffen was unable to enter The Big House 5, Smash Summit, GENESIS 3, Battle of the Five Gods, and Smash Summit 2 due to international visa issues. Furthermore, he was denied a worker's visa from the United States, primarily for reasons that question Melee's legitimacy as a sport. The video showing the rejection letter has started a movement to reverse the decision. Eventually, Leffen came to be temporarily allowed into the USA up until and throughout July 2016, letting him attend EVO 2016.[1]

He notably won Melee singles at Get On My Level 2016, after beating Mew2King 3-2, Armada 3-1, Hungrybox 3-2, and Mango 3-1 without losing a set.

Playing Style

Leffen is one of the top Melee Fox players in the world. He has solid fundamentals in all aspects of the game, and uses a methodical and efficient approach, making him a very well-rounded player. Leffen has a solid neutral game, as he rarely overextends or overreaches in games, and has solid movement. He is also known for his heavy combo game, especially on fast fallers, and has one of the most potent Foxes in the Fox ditto and the Falco matchup. Leffen is also very consistent, and rarely drops tech skill inputs. While Leffen is well-rounded, he undoubtedly focuses on the mental game and adaptation more than technical play. Leffen has once stated in an interview that he believes many high-level players are held back by "flowchart" behavior that he is able to exploit. This is clearly exemplified by his ability to clutch out sets; Leffen has made many match-winning reversals from 0-2 deficits. Thus, while he may not be as technical as other players, he is very adept at using all of the tools available to him in any given situation.

However, Leffen is known to have slight trouble against punish-heavy players, although this has been dramatically improved over time. Despite his strong fundamentals, he struggles if his opponent can consistently put him in a punish, as his ability to negate the effectiveness of opponents' punish games is not as strong as that of players such as Mango and Hungrybox. Because of this, he has dropped sets to punish-heavy players, such as Silent Wolf, Westballz, and Ice, and for a long time, was unable to defeat Mew2King. Leffen is also noted to be notoriously poor at the Samus matchup, having a 1-1 record with HugS and a 0-2 record with Duck, both of whom are considered far below his skill level. He also has a 0-2 record with Plup in solo Samus sets, despite being able to decisively defeat his higher-tiered Sheik.

Tournament placings

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Tournament	Date	1v1 Placement	2v2 Placement	Partner
STIIG	July 13th-20th, 2010	—	4th	AJP
SKN2	October 8th-10th, 2010	7th	7th	AJP
B.E.A.S.T	January 7th-9th, 2011	9th	13th	AJP
SKN3	February 11th-13th, 2011	3rd	3rd	AJP
Tampora 2	April 29th-May 1st, 2011	2nd	3rd	AJP
GENESIS 2	July 15th-17th, 2011	17th	13th	AJP
B.E.A.S.T II	August 10th-14th, 2011	4th	5th	AJP
Tampora 3	November 25th-27th, 2011	4th	3rd	Zoler
Beauty 3	December 2nd-4th, 2011	2nd	2nd	Zoler
Apex 2012	January 6th-8th, 2012	33rd	25th	Zoler
Gamers Meetup STHLM	February 18th-19th, 2012	2nd	1st	Fuzzyness
Epita Smash Arena 5	April 20th-23rd, 2012	5th	2nd	Fuzzyness
Haags Kwartiertje 6	June 16th, 2012	4th	4th	Beat
Smashers' Reunion: Melee Grande	July 13th-15th, 2012	3rd	2nd	Dr. PeePee
King Funk's Castle II: Måske	October 4th-7th, 2012	3rd	2nd	Ice
hf.lan 4	December 1st-2nd, 2012	2nd	3rd	NMW
Apex 2013	January 11th-13th, 2013	17th	5th	Ice
EVO 2013	July 12th-14th, 2013	9th	5th	Ice
hf.lan 6	December 14th-15th, 2013	2nd	1st	Ice
Apex 2014	January 17th-19th, 2014	4th	9th	Dr. PeePee
B.E.A.S.T 4	February 12th-16th, 2014	1st	2nd	Ice
Republic of Fighters 3	May 17th-18th, 2014	1st	2nd	Fuzzyness
MLG Anaheim 2014	June 20th-22nd, 2014	5th	5th	Hax
EVO 2014	July 11th-13th, 2014	9th	3rd	Ice
COMEBACK I	August 1st-3rd, 2014	2nd	1st	Beat
Hit & Stun Tournament 2	September 6th-7th, 2014	3rd	2nd	Ice
Beauty 8	September 12th-14th, 2014	2nd	1st	Professor Pro
The Big House 4	October 4th-5th, 2014	3rd	3rd	Hax
Smashsätra	October 11th, 2014	1st	—	—
DrømmeLAN 4.0	November 7th-9th, 2014	2nd	2nd	Ice
hf.lan 8	November 22nd-23rd, 2014	1st	1st	Ice
Beauty 9	December 5th-7th, 2014	2nd	2nd	Pop
B.E.A.S.T 5	January 9th-11th, 2015	1st	2nd	Ice
Paragon Orlando 2015	January 17th-18th, 2015	3rd	3rd	MacD
Apex 2015	January 30th-February 1st, 2015	3rd	3rd	Ice
Cannes Winter Clash	February 27th-March 1st, 2015	1st	—	—
NeoNebulous 7	March 28th, 2015	1st	1st	G$
Beauty 10	April 2nd-6th, 2015	2nd	2nd	Professor Pro
I'm Not Yelling!	April 11th-12th, 2015	3rd	1st	MacD
MVG Sandstorm	April 18th-19th, 2015	5th	1st	MacD
DrømmeLAN 4.5	April 24th-26th, 2015	2nd	2nd	Fuzzyness
Press Start	May 9th-10th, 2015	9th	2nd	MacD
Headstomper '15	May 16th, 2015	1st	1st	King Funk
Battle Arena Melbourne 7	May 22th-24th, 2015	2nd	1st	Blue2ez
CEO 2015	June 26th-28th, 2015	1st	2nd	Hungrybox
FC Smash 15XR: Return	July 4th-5th, 2015	1st	—	—
WTFox	July 10th-11th, 2015	1st	2nd	Mango
EVO 2015	July 17th-19th, 2015	5th	—	—
Super Smash Con	August 6th-9th, 2015	1st	1st	MacD
Heir II the Throne	August 14th-16th, 2015	5th	2nd	Ice
PAX Prime 2015	August 28th-30th, 2015	2nd	1st	MacD
Paragon Los Angeles 2015	September 5th-6th, 2015	5th	—	—
HTC Throwdown	September 19th, 2015	1st	2nd	MacD
The Call of Ragnarok	September 26th-27th, 2015	1st	—	—
Eclipse	November 14th-15th, 2015	2nd	2nd	Ice
DreamHack Winter 2015	November 26th-29th, 2015	9th	5th	Ice
Kickstart 5	January 24th, 2016	1st	2nd	Professor Pro
B.E.A.S.T 6	February 19th-21st, 2016	2nd	1st	Ice
Kickstart 7	March 13th, 2016	1st	1st	Lamp
HFLAN 12	April 9th-10th, 2016	1st	2nd	BrTarolg
The Come Up 2016	April 23rd-24th, 2016	1st	—	—
Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo	April 29th-May 1st, 2016	7th	2nd	Hungrybox
Battle of BC	May 14th, 2016	1st	—	—
Get On My Level 2016	May 20th-22nd, 2016	1st	3rd	Hungrybox

Project M

Tournament	Date	1v1 Placement	2v2 Placement	Partner
GENESIS 2	July 15th-17th, 2011	3rd	—	—
King Funk's Castle II: Måske	October 4th-7th, 2012	2nd	1st	Fuzzyness
Apex 2014	January 17th-19th, 2014	9th	—	—
B.E.A.S.T 4	February 12th-16th, 2014	3rd	—	—
COMEBACK I	August 1st-3rd, 2014	2nd	—	—
Hit & Stun Tournament 2	September 6th-7th, 2014	2nd	—	—
Beauty 8	September 12th-14th, 2014	3rd	—	—
The Big House 4	October 4th-5th, 2014	33rd	—	—
DrømmeLAN 4.0	November 7th-9th, 2014	2nd	—	—
hf.lan 8	November 22nd-23rd, 2014	1st	—	—
B.E.A.S.T 5	January 9th-11th, 2015	4th	—	—
Beauty 10	April 2nd-6th, 2015	1st	—	—
DrømmeLAN 4.5 All-Star	April 24th-26th, 2015	1st	—	—

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
DrømmeLAN 4.0	November 7th-9th, 2014	1st	—	—

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Beauty 9	December 5th-7th, 2014	1st	—	—
B.E.A.S.T 5	January 9th-11th, 2015	3rd	—	—
Paragon Orlando 2015	January 17th-18th, 2015	9th	—	—
DrømmeLAN 4.5	April 24th-26th, 2015	1st	—	—

Controversy

Despite being considered one of the best professional smashers in Melee, Leffen has led a controversial career as a smasher, due to his previously rude conduct during and outside of tournaments. Several players, most of which were new smashers to the scene, accused him of:

• deliberately sandbagging in pools by playing low tier characters while insulting his opponent's skill throughout and after the match.
• spreading exaggerated rumors about others.
• making rude and provocative comments on SmashBoards and deliberately starting arguments with users.
• further blaming other people when confronted about his actions, using his status as a top professional player to decrease his punishments.

After noticing his poor behavior, Swedish tournament organizers and other Melee professionals of his caliber gave him repeated warnings concerning his attitude. In August 2012, Leffen was eventually threatened with a ban from tournaments if he did not improve his attitude, but he did not take the claim seriously. This led to further lengthy online discussions among the European Smash community that culminated in his national ban from Swedish tournaments, effective February 9th, 2013.

The discussion group announcing his ban compiled a significant amount of evidence of his poor behavior into a downloadable archive, and demanded that Leffen create a lengthy apology about all of his wrongdoings and how he would change his behavior in the future, should he return to the community. On March 21st, 2013, Leffen made his public statement asking for forgiveness; despite this, he was not immediately unbanned, and ended up missing almost one year's worth of local tournaments. On January 24th, 2014, it was announced by Armada that the Swedish ban on Leffen was no longer in place [2]. However, Leffen still remains a relatively controversial figure in the community, especially on social media such as Twitter and Facebook due to his blunt comments.

At European tournament Heir II the Throne, Leffen was banned from commentary on all future European Smash Circuit events for saying that it wasn't a 'serious' tournament and players were playing their secondaries and not trying.

Trivia

• At Apex 2015, Leffen defeated Mew2King in tournament for the first time in his career, which marked Leffen as the first, and currently only player, to have won at least one tournament set against each of The Five Gods.
  • Also at Apex 2015's Salty Suite exhibition, Leffen won a $100 money match against Chillin in Fox dittos; after winning all five games of the set, Leffen won both $100 USD and a bet stating that Chillin will not use Fox's default costume in any future tournament.
• Leffen is commonly considered a villain in the Smash community due to his reportedly rude conduct and his skill equaling that of the Five Gods. He reports that he enjoys his given title due to the community's occasional stagnation in games, although there is common controversy over whether he should embrace his title or not.
  • Ironically, his surname is Swedish for "hero".
• At FC Smash 15XR: Return, Leffen became the first player to four stock Armada in bracket, in game 1 of winners finals on Final Destination.
• Leffen, along with Tafokints, holds the title of the most money won in a single money match, a title which he earned at Apex 2015 when he defeated Mango in a $1,000 money match, and again at DreamHack Winter 2015 when he defeated SFAT in another $1,000 money match.
• Leffen is the first Smash player to be sponsored by Red Bull.

External links

• AllisBrawl profile
• Twitter account
• Twitch