Smasher:Leffen
| Leffen | |
|---|---|
| leffen.jpg | |
| Character info | |
| Melee main | Fox |
| Other Melee characters | Falco, Yoshi, Marth |
| Smash 4 (3DS) main | Diddy Kong |
| Project M main | Mewtwo |
| Other Project M characters | Fox, Zero Suit Samus |
| Personal and other info | |
| Real name | William Hjelte |
| Birth date | |
| Location | Stockholm 
|
| Miscellaneous info | |
| Skill |  Top professional  |
Leffen is a professional Smasher from Stockholm, Sweden. He started off as a Falco and Yoshi main, but later switched to Fox, and is now known as one of the most technical and powerful Fox mains in Sweden, and even in the world. He has managed to place very well in tournaments, consistently finishing within the top 8 or just outside of it, even in the largest tournaments in the world. He is currently considered to be among the best European Melee players, along with Armada and Ice, and is commonly cited as the sixth best player in the world behind Armada and the four top players in the United States: PPMD, Mango, Mew2King, and Hungrybox.
Tournament history
2014: Emergence as a top player
At Apex 2014, Leffen defeated Hungrybox 2-1 in winners' finals of round 2 pools, 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, OkamiBW, 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 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.
Notable tournament placings
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 |
Project M
| Tournament | Date | 1v1 Placement | 2v2 Placement | Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | — |
Controversy
Despite being considered one of the best professional smashers in Melee, Leffen has led a controversial career as a smasher, stemming from his reportedly rude conduct during and outside of tournaments. Several players, including lower-leveled smashers new to the scene (who were usually the victims of his bullying), accused him of:
- deliberately sandbagging in tournaments by playing low tier characters against less-experienced players, insulting and berating their skill throughout and after the match.
- spreading exaggerated rumors about other players.
- making rude and acerbic comments on friendly discussions in 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.
This behavior became noticed by Swedish tournament organizers and Melee professionals, both of whom gave him repeated warnings concerning his behavior; in August 2012, he was eventually threatened with a ban from tournaments if he did not improve his attitude. Leffen did not take the claim seriously, claiming that it was "bullshit" that "would never go through in a million years." On February 9th, 2013, after a lengthy online discussion about his poor behavior within the Melee community, Leffen was nationally banned from Swedish tournaments, and was later internationally banned in Finland. Several members of the community compiled many pieces of evidence concerning his behavior into a downloadable archive. They also stated that the only way Leffen's ban would be lifted was for him to create a lengthy apology stating everything he has done wrong in the past and how he would change his behavior in the future.
On March 21st, 2013, shortly before B.E.A.S.T 3 (the first major tournament he was banned from), Leffen made a public statement asking for forgiveness; despite this, he was not immediately unbanned, and he ended up missing both B.E.A.S.T 3 and almost one year's worth of tournaments. On January 24th, 2014, it was announced by Armada that the Swedish ban on Leffen was no longer in place [1]. However, Leffen still remains a relatively controversial figure in the community, especially on social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
