Smasher:Leffen

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Leffen "MewTwoMan"
LeffenEVO.jpg
Leffen atEVO 2018.
Character info
MeleemainFox
OtherMeleecharacterSheik,Mewtwo
RetiredMeleecharactersFalco,Yoshi,Marth
BrawlmainDiddy Kong
Smash 4mainsDiddy Kong,Pikachu
UltimatemainPokémon Trainer
OtherUltimatecharacterTerry
RetiredUltimatecharactersPichu,Roy
Project MmainsFox,Zero Suit Samus
OtherProject McharacterCaptain Falcon
Team info
Sponsor(s)Team SoloMid
Former sponsor(s)Red Bull
Rankings and results info
Most recent rankingSuper Smash Bros. MeleeSSBMRank 2023: HM
Best historical rankingSuper Smash Bros. MeleeMPGR 2019: 2nd
Best tournament resultSuper Smash Bros. Melee 1st / 1353 atEVO 2018
Super Smash Bros. 4 9th / 203 atParagon Orlando 2015
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 17th / 2105 atGENESIS 6
Project M 9th / 382 atApex 2014
WinningsSuper Smash Bros. Melee ~$137,640.87
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ~$4,215.17
Personal and other info
Real nameWilliam Hjelte
Birth date(age 31)
LocationStockholm, Stockholms Län Sweden
WikipediaSymbol.svgWikipedia has an article onLeffen.

Leffen is a professional smasher from Stockholm,Sweden. He is considered to be one of the greatestSuper Smash Bros. Melee players of all time and the second-greatestMelee player from Europe, afterArmada. He intially began as aFalco main, but later switched toFox, and is now known as one of the greatest Fox players of all time. He is also a notableSheik player, using Sheik as a counterpick toMarth. He is the first of only two players in competitiveMelee history to have taken a set off of each of the "Five Gods" (the other beingPlup), and has often been called a god himself since his ascent in 2014. Leffen was formerly ranked 1st on theSwedishMelee Power Rankings. He is also an honorable mention on theSSBMRank 2023 andEURank 2023.

Although Leffen did not playBrawl competitively and only went to a fewSmash 4 tournaments, he was active inUltimate for the game's first year, mainingPokémon Trainer and briefly touchingPichu andRoy. During this period, he was considered one of the best Pokémon Trainer players in the world along withTweek,moxi, andNed. Leffen has defeated players such as Tweek,Salem,WaDi,Puppeh,Mr.R,Maister,ZD, and8BitMan. He was listed as an Honorable Mention on both theSwedishUltimate Power Rankings and theEuropean Smash Rankings, and was formerly ranked in the Area 51 position on theFall 2019 PGRU.

Leffen's competitiveSmash career has been mired by several controversies. Noted for his abrasive personality and penchant for confrontational behavior, he is considered one of the more polarizing figures across the community.[1] Over the years, he has been accused of aggressive and toxic behavior, bullying, and poor sportsmanship.[2] Early into his career, he was banned for a year by Swedish community representatives and tournament organizers from all Swedish tournaments for poor behavior during tournaments, with supporting evidence for his ban compiled into a zip file titled "Evidence.zip" in February 2013.[3] This series of events would become the basis for his feud withHax$ after June 2021, following Hax's upload of several videos with accusations of additional misconduct.

Contents

Tournament history[edit]

2010-2013: Early career[edit]

Leffen's introduction toSmash was throughBrawl, which he played online in 2009.

In 2010, he started attending tournaments forMelee. He mained Falco and also trained a Yoshi secondary, which he used to great success at Stockholm locals and at Danish events.

Throughout the course of 2012, Leffen established himself as Europe's second-strongest player behindArmada, with key results atSmashers' Reunion: Melee Grande and athf.lan 4. He sparred often with Armada, making headway but never taking a set. He came closest atBeauty 6 in January 2013, where he was leading winners' finals 3-2 (in a best-of-7) and brought the sixth game to last stock before Armada clutched out the victory, going on to win the set 4-3.

Leffen also began traveling to North American supermajors during this time, and was noted as one of Armada's frequent travel companions from Europe. He displayed many respectable performances vs. the world's best players, but ultimately failed to make any top eight placings in North America from 2011 to 2013.GENESIS 2 was his first tournament in the United States, where he placed 17th, defeatingSFAT in pools, but losing to SFAT andS2J in bracket. AtApex 2012, his first serious event as a Fox main, Leffen placed 33rd, and lost a last-hit set toMew2King in winners. AtApex 2013, Leffen defeatedMacD andCactuar in winners to meetHungrybox. He made a splash by bringing Hungrybox to last hit but lost this set as well; this close loss would go on to inspire aSalty Suite rematch the following year. In losers, Leffen lost another last-hit set toJAVI, placing 17th.

In February 2013, a group of prominent TOs and community members (led by Armada) announced thatLeffen was banned was from many European tournaments due to his conduct. As a result, he only attended three tournaments for the rest of year. His most significant result was atEVO 2013, where he defeatedPewPewU before losing to Hungrybox andShroomed in losers to place 9th, his strongest placing at an American tournament to date. He andIce scored an upset victory in doubles against eventual victorsMew2King andHungrybox; the European team went on to place 5th.

Leffen also attended aNew York City local in September called CFST: Warzone 2, where he suffered unusual losses toMattDotZeb andG$, perhaps due to lack of practice. He finished out the year athf.lan 6 where he placed second, defeatingBaxon andSalepate convincingly before losing two close sets toIce. Given his powerful play despite his scarce results, Leffen was ranked 14th on the2013 SSBMRank.

Leffen's ban ended in early 2014, allowing him to compete in Europe again.

2014: Emergence as a top six player[edit]

2014 marked Leffen's emergence into the highest level of competitiveMelee, establishing himself as one of the six best players in the world. He had a breakout performance atApex 2014, where he earned his first set victory over one of theFive Gods, defeatingHungrybox 2-1 in winners' quarters (despite losing 1-3 in a Salty Suite the previous day). He then lost toMew2King 1-3 in winners' semis; in losers' he beatColbol 2-0 and then had a close and intense set withMang0 in losers' semis, but ultimately lost 2-3, getting 4-stocked to close out the set. This 4th place showing immediately confirmed Leffen as a player to watch for the rest of the year and presaged his ascent as a top player.

Back in Europe, Leffen won his first European national and defeated his second God atB.E.A.S.T 4, winning two sets against Armada from losers, 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. Leffen then wonRepublic of Fighters 3, qualifying for theMLG Anaheim 2014 championship bracket. After losing to Armada 0-3 in winners' finals, he returned to grand finals and defeated him 6-0 across two sets.

Leffen competed in two American supermajors in the summer of 2014: MLG Anaheim 2014 andEVO 2014. In his pool at MLG Anaheim 2014, Leffen earned his third God victory by defeating PPMD 3-2. He also defeatedAxe, Colbol 3-1,s0ft, andRemen, but lost to Mew2King andHax. Seeded in losers' for the championship bracket, he defeated bothWestballz and Hax, before losing to PPMD 1-3 in losers' quarters, placing 5th overall. At EVO 2014, Leffen lost to Mew2King 0-2 in winners' quarters. In the losers' bracket, he was eliminated bySilent Wolf 1-2, finishing off at an underwhelming 9th place overall.

Leffen's last big event of the year wasThe Big House 4, where he defeated Hungrybox 3-2 in winners' quarters and Armada 3-2 in winners' semis; this marked the first time Leffen made winners' finals at an American major. However, he lost 0-3 to Mew2King in winners' finals and 1-3 to Mang0 in losers' finals, with a 4-stock by Mang0 to close out the set, finishing 3rd, his best major placement so far.

Leffen ended the year ranked 6th on theSSBMRank 2014, only behind the Five Gods. Many players now viewed Leffen in the same tier as the Gods (as part of a new "big six,"), as he was the first non-God who had proven the ability to consistently beat several of them in tournament, and rarely losing sets to non-God players. He was popularly nicknamed "The Godslayer" as a result.

2015: Rise to the top[edit]

2015 marked Leffen's final push to the very top of competitiveMelee, defeating all five Gods and competing for the title of best player in the world. He started the year atB.E.A.S.T 5, where he defeated Armada 3-1 in winners' semis, earned his first victory over Mang0 3-2 in winners' finals, and faced Armada again in grand finals. Despite a closely fought set from both players (with Armada notably 4-stocking Leffen in game 4), Leffen managed to win grand finals 3-2; Leffen had now defeated four of the Five Gods, and became the first non-God to win a major with at least two of the Gods present since the start of the Five Gods era. Mew2King was now the only God he had yet to beat.

Apex 2015 was a highly anticipated tournament for Leffen. He first foughta Salty Suite exhibition match vs.Chillin; Leffen easily won 5-0, and as punishment for losing, Chillin was unable to use the defaultFox color in tournament ever again. Following the match, Mang0 went on stage and challenged Leffen to place $1000 on their match if they played each other in bracket, which Leffen accepted.

In the main bracket, Leffen easily made it to winners' quarterfinals to face Mew2King, his last undefeated God. In a momentous 2-1 victory, including a dominant 3-stock in game 3, Leffen defeated Mew2King, becoming the first player to take a tournament set from all of the Five Gods ofMelee. He then went on to defeat Mang0 3-1, winning the set and earning an additional $1000. Looking poised to take the tournament, Leffen ultimately fell to PPMD 2-3 in winners' finals and Armada 1-3 in losers' finals, earning 3rd place. Having defeated all Five Gods in tournament, and having outplaced three of them, Leffen cemented his title as the "Godslayer" ofMelee. (While Leffen was considered at the same level as the Gods, theMelee community has reserved "God" as a historical title to mark an era of the game's competitive history.)Soon after, Leffen was signed byTeam SoloMid, one of the largest and most famous eSports organizations.[4]

In the spring of 2015, Leffen placed 3rd atI'm Not Yelling!, 5th atSandstorm, and 9th atPress Start (where he was upset 2-3 bySFAT in winners' quarters and lost 0-3 to Mang0 in losers' bracket); this was now considered a relative underperformance for Leffen.

Leffen's dominance continued to grow throughout the summer of 2015, and following a series of first place finishes, he developed a claim as the best player in the world. AtCEO 2015, Leffen won his first American major, defeating Armada twice in winners' finals 3-0 and grand finals 3-1. He then placed first atFC Smash 15XR: Return, where he beat Hungrybox 3-1 in winners' semis and Armada 3-1 in winners' finals, including a 4-stock in game 1 onFinal Destination. In grand finals, he met Hungrybox once again and beat him 3-1. Leffen earned another major victory atWTFox, including an impressive 3-0 victory over Mang0's Falco in grand finals, marking three consecutive first place finishes in singles.

Following his three major wins, Leffen was seen as the favorite to winEVO 2015, the biggest event of the summer. However, he failed to repeat this success at EVO, as he was sent into losers by Hungrybox and then upset by Plup's Samus for 5th place.

AtSuper Smash Con 2015, Leffen bounced back and took first place once again in singles, beating Mew2King 6-1 collectively in winners' finals and grand finals. Mew2King answered back in their next meeting atPAX Prime 2015, where Mew2King famously took the tournament with a collective 6-0 victory over Leffen.

Due to his performances, Leffen was ranked 2nd on theSummer 2015 SSBMRank (only behind Armada); by now, Leffen had firmly established himself as a clear tournament favorite.

Leffen entered more American events in fall 2015. AtParagon Los Angeles 2015 he was sent to losers by Mew2King, and eliminated by Hungrybox, ending at 5th place. AtHTC Throwdown, Leffen made it to grand finals from the winners' side, where he defeated Hungrybox 3-0.

2015-2016: Visa issues[edit]

Leffen's reign of dominance was cut short, however. While traveling toThe Big House 5, he was denied entry into the United States and deported due to his lack of a workers' visa (as required due to his sponsorship by Team SoloMid). Leffen was unable to enter the Big House 5, and his visa issues continued to affect him for over a year, preventing him from entering many large tournaments, includingSmash Summit,GENESIS 3,Battle of the Five Gods, andSmash Summit 2. Furthermore, he was denied a worker's visa from the United States, primarily for reasons that questionedMelee's legitimacy as a sport.The video showing the rejection letter started a movement to reverse the decision, including a petition on the White House's official website.[5][6] Eventually, Leffen was temporarily allowed into the United States up until and throughout July 2016, tentatively letting him attendEVO 2016.[7] However, due to his visa going through additional processing resulting from his previous deportation from the US, Leffen was ultimately unable to attend EVO 2016.[8]

Despite being unable to travel to the United States, Leffen was still able to compete inCanada, and entered majors in the spring of 2016. AtEnthusiast Gaming Live Expo, Leffen lost toAxe andDuck to finish an underwhelming 7th. However, he rebounded atGet On My Level 2016, where he defeated Mew2King 3-2, Armada 3-1, Hungrybox 3-2, and Mang0 3-1 to take 1st place without losing a set. Leffen's GOML run is often regarded as one of the most difficult and impressive tournament runs inMelee history, as he defeated all four active Gods in succession.

Leffen's visa was finally accepted on October 3rd, 2016, allowing him to compete in the US again.[9] Leffen's first tournament back in the US wasThe Big House 6, where he elected tosandbag with secondaries, placing 17th. He ended the year ranked 5th on theSSBMRank 2016, largely due to his lack of attendance compared to the other top players.

2017-2020: EVO 2018 victory[edit]

After finally returning to full-time competition, Leffen was unable to replicate his dominance of 2015. While still regarded as a tournament threat, he failed to win a major throughout 2017 and the first half of 2018, ending 2017 ranked 6th on theSSBMRank 2017. Leffen additionally began competing in other fighting games at this time, includingDragonBall FighterZ.

Leffen's biggest tournament win to date came atEVO 2018, where he finally won the coveted title after many years of coming short. After going down 0-1 vs. Hungrybox in winners' semis, he didn't drop a single game for the rest of the tournament; he made the comeback against Hungrybox to win 2-1, and then easily defeated Plup 3-0 in winners' finals, followed by a 3-0 over Armada in grand finals to win one of the largestMelee tournaments of all time. Leffen's EVO 2018 run is often regarded as one of the most dominant tournament runs inMelee history.

AtSuper Smash Con 2019, Leffen took 1st place, winning his first major since the EVO victory, notably 6-0-ing Hungrybox.

2020-present: Post-pandemic era[edit]

Leffen was one of the top players most heavily affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic, due to his location in Europe. He was unable to enter many North American online events, as they were often region-locked for European players due to high ping issues. During this time, Leffen was perceived to be a top three player in the world, alongside Zain and Mang0, but it was difficult to compare his skill against other players due to a lack of results.

He received an automatic invite toSmash Summit 11, the first post-pandemic LAN major, but was unable to attend due to further visa problems.[10] As such, in 2021, he attended only one tournament in North America:Smash Summit 12, where he placed 5th.

Leffen began entering more North American events starting in 2022; by this time, he also had picked up another fighting game,Guilty Gear Strive, and competed in that title full-time alongsideMelee. Despite splitting time between the two games, Leffen still proved that he was capable of winning a major and defeating the best players in the world. His first post-lockdown victory came atBattle of BC 4, where he beataMSa, Hungrybox, and Zain twice. In 2023, he wonLudwig Ahgren Championship Series 5, where after losing toJoshman andCody Schwab in pools, he managed to make it out of the Swiss bracket and into winners' top 16. He beat Hungrybox 3-0, Zain 3-2, Cody Schwab in winners' finals, and Zain once again in the runback.

During this time, Leffen also developed a secondarySheik as a counterpick toMarth, due to his previous difficulties against Zain in the Fox-Marth matchup. He used Sheik to double eliminate Zain at both Battle of BC 4 and LACS 5, and is one of the few players who holds a positive record against Zain post-pandemic.

OtherSmash games[edit]

Leffen also playedProject M at a high level for a while, and was known as one of the best players ofCaptain Falcon,Fox, andZero Suit Samus.

Leffen has occasionally playedSuper Smash Bros. 4, and notably pioneered the usage ofDiddy Kong's up throw to up air combo.

UponSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate's release, Leffen often streamed the game and offered his own opinion on the metagame. He was one of the early pioneers of usingPokémon Trainer, who he has since used successfully in tournaments. Leffen briefly dropped Pokémon Trainer in favor ofRoy andPichu in April 2019, citing that Pokémon Trainer was not worth the effort, but he would eventually return to using the Trainer. Leffen also began labbing Joker upon his release and discovered aninfinite lock technique performed by repeatedly using short-hoppedup aerials under the opponent while they are on top of a platform. The technique has since been named "Leffoble" in honor of him.

At the end of April, Leffen announced his semi-retirement fromUltimate singles, mainly citing the smaller scene in Sweden and issues with online play making it difficult for him to get any meaningful practice.[11] However, the release ofHero saw his return to the game, and he intended to compete inEVO 2019, but issues with his visa kept him from doing so. Leffen continued to enter for bothMelee andUltimate at major tournaments such asSuper Smash Con 2019, and although he put more importance towardsMelee, he still found success inUltimate, with set wins overTweek,Salem, and other top players. Following his first place atDreamHack Winter 2019, Leffen announced he would once again be puttingUltimate on the backburner, instead focusing onMelee and other fighting games. He has since been critical of the game, which hasbrought about some controversy.

Playstyle[edit]

With Fox, Leffen is known for his consistent execution and movement, and boasts solid fundamentals in all aspects of the game, using a methodical and efficient approach, making him a very well-rounded player. Leffen has both a greatneutral game, as he rarely overextends or overreaches in games even against weaker opponents, and a solidcombo game, especially against fastfallers. He is renowned for his proficiency againstFalco,Peach, and other Foxes, having made his first upsets against theFive Gods in those matchups. Leffen's prowess against Peach is so great that evenArmada, the best Peach in the world, would primarily opt for the Foxditto in tournaments instead, generally only playing Peach onFinal Destination. He is also arguably the best Fox player in the world at edgeguarding, which heavily contributes to his success in the Fox ditto and several other matchups.

While Leffen is well-rounded, he undoubtedly focuses on mental fortitude and adaptation more than technical play. Leffen 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 from losing positions, even from 0-2 deficits. Despite this, he still puts in the work to lab certain matchups or situations that give him trouble, showing his solid work ethic; he's even known to lab other miscellaneous characters solely to push the metagame forward. Along with Armada, he practices withSnowy for the Jigglypuff matchup and has flown him out to events such as Summit in order to prepare for facing Hungrybox in bracket.

Prior to his establishment as a top 5 player, Leffen had noticeable trouble against punish-heavy players. Despite his strong fundamentals, he struggled if his opponent could overwhelm him technically, leading to losses againstSilent Wolf,Westballz, andJavi, among others. He also could not defeatMew2King for a long time, even after he had upset the rest of the Five Gods, because of that aforementioned weakness. Leffen was also noted to be fairly poor at theSamus matchup, having, at one point, losing records withHugS andDuck, both of whom are considered far below his skill level. He has also lost three times toPlup in solo Samus sets. However, he has since overcome these weaknesses and no longer drops sets as frequently to these types of players, most notably not having lost to solo Samus since 2018.

Rankings[edit]

Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

SSBMRank/MPGR[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
SSBMRank 2013January-November 201314thFox (SSBM)
Summer 2014 SSBMRankJanuary-May 20146thFox (SSBM)
SSBMRank 2014January-October 5th, 20146thFox (SSBM)
Summer 2015 SSBMRankJanuary-July 20152ndFox (SSBM)
SSBMRank 2015January-November 20153rdFox (SSBM)
SSBMRank 2016January 15th-December 4th, 20165thFox (SSBM)
Summer 2017 SSBMRankDecember 10th, 2016-June 18th, 20175thFox (SSBM)
SSBMRank 2017December 10th, 2016-December 10th, 20176thFox (SSBM)
Summer 2018 MPGRDecember 15th, 2017-July 20184thFox (SSBM)
MPGR 2018December 15th, 2017-December 16th, 20183rdFox (SSBM)
Summer 2019 MPGRDecember 17th, 2018-June 30th, 20194thFox (SSBM)
MPGR 2019December 17th, 2018-December 8th, 20192ndFox (SSBM)
MPGR Summer 2022March 1st-July 11th, 20225thFox (SSBM)Sheik (SSBM)
SSBMRank 2022March 1st-December 18th, 20227thFox (SSBM)Sheik (SSBM)
SSBMRank Summer 2023December 19th, 2022-July 23rd, 20234thFox (SSBM)Sheik (SSBM)
SSBMRank 2023December 19th, 2022-December 17th, 2023HMFox (SSBM)Sheik (SSBM)Ranked as an Honorable Mention due to low attendance

European Melee Power Rankings[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
SmashEurope Spring 2016 Power RankingsSpring 20162ndFox (SSBM)
HEIR Spring 2018 Power RankingsSpring 20182ndFox (SSBM)
Phoenix Blue Ranking20191stFox (SSBM)
EURank 20232023HMFox (SSBM)Sheik (SSBM)

Top 100 Melee Players of All Time[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
First ListJanuary 10th, 2004-January 21st, 20188thFox (SSBM)
Second ListJanuary 10th, 2004-February 3rd, 20197thFox (SSBM)
Third ListJanuary 10th, 2004-February 16th, 20207thFox (SSBM)
Fourth ListJanuary 10th, 2004-September 12th, 20216thFox (SSBM)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Panda Global Rankings Ultimate[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
Fall 2019 PGRUJuly 13th-December 15th, 2019Area 51Pokémon Trainer (SSBU)

OrionRank Ultimate[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
OrionRank Ultimate: Six Months InJanuary 5th-June 30th, 201979thPokémon Trainer (SSBU)Roy (SSBU)
OrionRank 2019January 5th-December 15th, 201983rdPokémon Trainer (SSBU)Terry (SSBU)Joker (SSBU)Roy (SSBU)X-Factor: +19

OrionRank Europe[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
OrionRank Europe Top 75January 2019-March 20205thPokémon Trainer (SSBU)

European Ultimate Power Rankings[edit]

RankingTime periodRankCharacter(s)Notes
European Smash RankingsJanuary 3rd, 2019-January 13th, 2020HMPokémon Trainer (SSBU)

Tournament placings[edit]

Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartnerEarnings
STIIGJuly 13th-20th, 20109th4thAJP
SKN2October 8th-10th, 20107th7thAJP
B.E.A.S.TJanuary 7th-9th, 20119th13thAJP
SKN3February 11th-13th, 20113rd3rdAJP
BeautyApril 15th-17th, 20113rd5thAJP
Tampora 2April 29th-May 1st, 20112nd3rdAJP$195
Beauty 2May 2nd-5th, 20112nd2ndAJP
GENESIS 2July 15th-17th, 201117th13thAJP
B.E.A.S.T IIAugust 10th-14th, 20114th5thAJP$86.24
Tampora 3November 25th-27th, 20114th3rdZoler$6.67
Beauty 3December 2nd-4th, 20112nd2ndZoler
Apex 2012January 6th-8th, 201233rd25thZoler
Gamers Meetup STHLMFebruary 18th-19th, 20122nd1stFuzzyness
Epita Smash Arena 5April 20th-23rd, 20125th2ndFuzzyness
Haags Kwartiertje 6June 16th, 20124th4thBeat
Smashers' Reunion: Melee GrandeJuly 13th-15th, 20123rd2ndDr. PeePee$369
King Funk's Castle II: MåskeOctober 4th-7th, 20123rd2ndIce
hf.lan 4December 1st-2nd, 20122nd3rdNMW$188.12
Apex 2013January 11th-13th, 201317th5thIce
EVO 2013July 12th-14th, 20139th5thIce
CFST: WarZone 2September 1st, 20137th2ndMattDotZeb
hf.lan 6December 14th-15th, 20132nd1stIce$220.02
Apex 2014January 17th-19th, 20144th9thDr. PeePee$628
B.E.A.S.T 4February 12th-16th, 20141st2ndIce$1,239.03
Republic of Fighters 3May 17th-18th, 20141st2ndFuzzyness$1,314
MLG Anaheim 2014June 20th-22nd, 20145th5thHax$1,000
EVO 2014July 11th-13th, 20149th3rdIce
COMEBACK IAugust 1st-3rd, 20142nd1stBeat$156.66
Hit & Stun Tournament 2September 6th-7th, 20143rd2ndIce
Beauty 8September 12th-14th, 20142nd1stProfessor Pro
The Big House 4October 4th-5th, 20143rd3rdHax$855
SmashsätraOctober 11th, 20141st
DrømmeLAN 4.0November 7th-9th, 20142nd2ndIce
hf.lan 8November 22nd-23rd, 20141st1stIce
Beauty 9December 5th-7th, 20142nd2ndPop$138
B.E.A.S.T 5January 9th-11th, 20151st2ndIce$2,971
Paragon Orlando 2015January 17th-18th, 20153rd3rdMacD$542
Apex 2015January 30th-February 1st, 20153rd3rdIce$2,711
Cannes Winter ClashFebruary 27th-March 1st, 20151st$407.86
NeoNebulous 7March 28th, 20151st1stG$
Beauty 10April 2nd-6th, 20152nd2ndProfessor Pro$173
I'm Not Yelling!April 11th-12th, 20153rd1stMacD$593
SandstormApril 18th-19th, 20155th1stMacD$173
DrømmeLAN 4.5April 24th-26th, 20152nd2ndFuzzyness
Press StartMay 9th-10th, 20159th2ndMacD
Headstomper '15May 16th, 20151st1stKing Funk
Battle Arena Melbourne 7May 22nd-24th, 20152nd1stBlue2ez$737.27
CEO 2015June 26th-28th, 20151st2ndHungrybox$4,698
FC Smash 15XR: ReturnJuly 4th-5th, 20151st$852
WTFoxJuly 10th-11th, 20151st2ndMango$1,525
EVO 2015July 17th-19th, 20155th$373
Super Smash Con 2015August 6th-9th, 20151st1stMacD$5,749
Heir II the ThroneAugust 14th-16th, 20155th2ndIce
PAX Prime 2015August 28th-30th, 20152nd1stMacD$875
Paragon Los Angeles 2015September 5th-6th, 20155th$373
HTC ThrowdownSeptember 19th, 20151st2ndMacD$5,648
The Call of RagnarokSeptember 26th-27th, 20151st
EclipseNovember 14th-15th, 20152nd2ndIce$1,973
DreamHack Winter 2015November 26th-29th, 20159th5thIce
Kickstart 5January 24th, 20161st2ndProfessor Pro
B.E.A.S.T 6February 19th-21st, 20162nd1stIce$1,047.77
Webhallen Fridhemsplan 3/5March 5th, 20161st
Kickstart 7March 13th, 20161st1stLamp
HFLAN 12April 9th-10th, 20161st2ndBrTarolg
The Come Up 2016April 23rd-24th, 20161st$311.22
Enthusiast Gaming Live ExpoApril 29th-May 1st, 20167th2ndHungrybox$120
Battle of BCMay 14th, 20161st$989
Get On My Level 2016May 20th-22nd, 20161st3rdHungrybox$3,078
Headstomper '16June 4th-5th, 20161st
DreamHack Summer 2016June 18th-21st, 20161st$4,700
Stockholm Monthly 6/28June 28th, 20161st
Stockholm Weekly 8/8August 8th, 20161st
Stockholm Weekly 9/13September 13th, 20161st
Heir 3August 19th-21st, 20167th33rd (DQ)Yabasta$123
The Big House 6October 7th-9th, 201617th
Stockholm Monthly 10/4October 4th, 20161st
Stockholm Weekly 10/18October 18th, 20161st
Eclipse 2October 21st-23rd, 20163rd2ndIce
Stockholm Monthly 10/25October 25th, 20161st
Smash Summit 3November 3rd-6th, 20169th3rdMafia$432
DreamHack Winter 2016November 24th-27th, 20163rd$3,000
UGC Smash OpenDecember 2nd-4th, 20164th2ndIce$1,241
Don't Park on the GrassDecember 17th-18th, 20161st2ndIce$2,960
GENESIS 4January 20th-22nd, 20175th2ndIce$511
LanETS 2017February 11th-12th, 20171st1stKirbyKaze
B.E.A.S.T 7February 17th-19th, 20172nd2ndIce$1,003.92
Smash Summit Spring 2017March 2nd-5th, 20173rd2ndIce$6,430
Full Bloom 3March 25th, 20179th5thIce
Capital of Smash 2April 8th, 20171st
DreamHack Austin 2017April 28th-30th, 20177th$300
Royal FlushMay 12th-14th, 20175th2ndIce$415
Smash 'N' Splash 3June 2nd-4th, 20172nd$2,696
DreamHack Summer 2017June 17th-18th, 20172nd$2,000
Smash @ Power 9 #39July 6th, 20171st
GENESIS: REDJuly 9th, 20171stIce
EVO 2017July 14th-16th, 20179th
FUSEJuly 16th, 20177thIce
Get On My Level 2017July 30th, 20171st1stIce$1,820
Super Smash Con 2017August 10th-13th, 20179th$54
Heir 4August 17th-21st, 20171st$2,450
Shine 2017August 25th-27th, 20175th3rdIce
Uppsala Weekly 9/18September 18th, 20171st
GameTyrant Expo 2017September 29th-October 1st, 201713th$300
The Big House 7October 6th-8th, 20173rd$1,826.40
Canada Cup 2017October 28th-30th, 20172nd1stMew2King
Smash Summit 5November 2nd-5th, 20173rd1stArmada$10,469.75
DreamHack Winter 2017December 2nd-3rd, 20173rd$1,000
ValhallaJanuary 4th-8th, 20181st
GENESIS 5January 19th-21st, 20183rd$1,225
Phoenix BlueFebruary 22nd-24th, 20182nd
The MangoMarch 18th, 201813th
Full Bloom 4March 24th-25th, 20183rd$651
VentusApril 14th, 20181st1stBeat$118
Flatiron 3April 21st, 20181st
Smash Summit 6May 3rd-6th, 20185th1stArmada$990.45
King of Nordic: Super Smash Bros. Melee @ BirdieMay 10th-13th, 20181st1stBeat
Smash 'N' Splash 4June 1st-3rd, 20183rd$2,136
Low Tier City 6July 27th-29th, 20182nd
EVO 2018August 3rd-5th, 20181st$8,118
Super Smash Con 2018August 10th-13th, 201865th (DQ)
Heir 5August 17th-19th, 20181st
The Big House 8October 5th-7th, 20185th$516
Red Bull EWKNDNovember 1st-3rd, 20181st$269.29
The Mang0: HomecomingNovember 10th-11th, 20181st$1,750
Smash Summit 7November 15th-18th, 20182nd5thMango$8,927
DreamHack Winter 2018December 1st-2nd, 20181st$2,700
GENESIS 6February 1st-3rd, 2019129th (DQ)
Get On My Level 2019May 17th-19th, 20193rd$702.04
Smash 'N' Splash 5May 31st-June 2nd, 20193rd
Smash Summit 8June 13th-16th, 20193rd$3,472
Super Smash Con 2019August 8th-11th, 20191st$3,838
Shine 2019August 23rd-25th, 20195th$330
The Big House 9October 4th-6th, 20193rd$1,090
Valhalla IIIJanuary 9th-13th, 20201st
GENESIS 7January 24th-26th, 20205th$118
Smash Summit 9February 13th-16th, 20209th$1,387
Battle of the Armada - Melee Edition 2OnlineAugust 15th, 20201st$355
Poilon Arena 3OnlineNovember 12th, 20201st
Smash Summit 10 Online EuropeOnlineNovember 19th-22nd, 20201st$1,200
Schweeklies #4OnlineJanuary 14th, 20211st
Valhalla OnlineOnlineJanuary 30th-31st, 20212nd
Eurat.gg Melee Series #1OnlineFebruary 6th, 20213rd$120
Saturday Night LEVO #6 EuropeOnlineFebruary 13th, 20211st
The UpsetOnlineFebruary 27th-28th, 20211st$132
Saturday Night LEVO #9 EuropeOnlineMarch 13th, 20211st
Poilon ColosseumOnlineMay 8th-9th, 20211st$973
SWT: Europe Melee Regional FinalsOctober 23rd-24th, 20211st$1,600
Smash Summit 12December 9th-12th, 20215th
Pound 2022April 22nd-24th, 20225th
Smash Summit 13May 12th-15th, 20229th
Battle of BC 4June 10th-12th, 20221st
The Big House 10October 7th-9th, 202217th
DreamHack Rotterdam 2022October 14th-16th, 20221st$1,350.28
Ludwig Smash InvitationalOctober 21st-23rd, 20223rd$5,250
Smash Summit 14November 3rd-6th, 20227th$1,593
Mainstage 2022December 2nd-4th, 20225th
Scuffed World TourDecember 18th, 20225th
GENESIS 9January 20th-22nd, 20237th$375.90
Smash @ SPACE 2February 28th, 20231st
The Coinbox #61OnlineMay 16th, 20237th$150
Battle of BC 5May 19th-21st, 20235th$306
Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 5July 7th-9th, 20231st / 16$15,001
GENESIS XFebruary 16th-18th, 20245th / 1,544
Battle of BC 6March 29th-31st, 20249th / 398
Don't Park on the Grass 2024November 16th-17th, 202413th / 888
LACS RivalsNovember 23rd-24th, 20247th / 8

Project M[edit]

TournamentDate1v1 Placement2v2 PlacementPartner
GENESIS 2July 15th-17th, 20113rd
King Funk's Castle II: MåskeOctober 4th-7th, 20122nd1stFuzzyness
Apex 2014January 17th-19th, 20149th
B.E.A.S.T 4February 12th-16th, 20143rd
COMEBACK IAugust 1st-3rd, 20142nd
Hit & Stun Tournament 2September 6th-7th, 20142nd
Beauty 8September 12th-14th, 20143rd
The Big House 4October 4th-5th, 201433rd
DrømmeLAN 4.0November 7th-9th, 20142nd
hf.lan 8November 22nd-23rd, 20141st
B.E.A.S.T 5January 9th-11th, 20154th
Beauty 10April 2nd-6th, 20151st
Paragon Los Angeles 2015September 5th-6th, 201549th (DQ)17thProfessor Pro

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS[edit]

TournamentDate1v1 placement2v2 placementPartner
DrømmeLAN 4.0November 7th-9th, 20141st

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]

TournamentDate1v1 placement2v2 placementPartner
Beauty 9December 5th-7th, 20141st
B.E.A.S.T 5January 9th-11th, 20153rd
Paragon Orlando 2015January 17th-18th, 20159th
DrømmeLAN 4.5April 24th-26th, 20151st

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

TournamentDate1v1 placement2v2 placementPartner
Valhalla IIJanuary 3rd-7th 20197th
GENESIS 6February 1st-3rd, 201917th
Ultimate NimbusMarch 3rd, 20199th
Smash Ultimate SummitMarch 8th-10th, 20199th
2GG: Prime SagaApril 13th-14th, 201949th
Mega Smash Mondays 185April 15th, 201913th
Pound 2019April 19th-21st, 201913th
Get On My Level 2019May 17th-19th, 2019257th (DQ)
Super Smash Con 2019August 8th-11th, 201917th
Shine 2019August 23rd-25th, 201933rd
MainstageSeptember 20th-22nd, 201917th
Smash Ultimate Summit 2October 24th-27th, 20199th
DreamHack Winter 2019November 29th-December 2nd, 20191st

Controversy[edit]

Despite being considered one of the best professional smashers inMelee, Leffen has led a controversial career as a Smasher, primarily due to a history of aggressive and rude behaviour towards other competitors, on- and offline.

Ban from European tournaments & Evidence.zip[edit]

An icon for denoting incomplete things.This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki byexpanding or finishing it.
The editor who added this tag elaborates:A summary of Leffen's defences could be useful to add balance to this section

On 9th February 2013, Leffen was banned from SwedishSmash tournaments following extensive evidence of abuse towards various players in the scene.[12] Alongside the ban,Armada provided a large "Evidence.zip"[13] featuring three documents; one 54-page Word document archiving numerousSmashBoards posts, one 14-page document of Swedish forum posts, and a miscellaneous archive compiled byMike Haggar including SmashBoards and SmashFinland posts.

At the time, the official reasoning behind banning Leffen was the following;

  1. Demoralising comments towards newer players, demotivating them and thus hindering scene growth.
  2. Libel against numerous players, accusing them of stealing, lying, and even taking drugs, to destroy their image.
  3. Ableism against those with disabilities, diseases, etc.
  4. Spreading personal information.
  5. Extremely poor sportsmanship, including demeaning teammates in Doubles.
  6. Causing a spike in drama since joining the scene.
  7. Freezing people out of conversations through ignoring them, standing in front of them in conversation, and talking over them when doing so; the person this was done against was notably disturbed by this behaviour. Made fun of this individual's hearing disabilities.
  8. Sabotaging people's Smashfests and trips through manipulation.

After noticing his poor behavior, Swedish tournament organizers and otherMelee 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.

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.

Unban[edit]

On January 24th, 2014, it was announced byArmada that the Swedish ban on Leffen was no longer in place[3]. Despite the ban, Leffen remained a relatively controversial figure in the community, especially on social media sites such as Reddit and Twitter, due to his vitriolic comments. Evidence.zip remained notorious in the community, notably being mentioned inChillindude829's infamous "Respect Your Elders" diss track, released in 2015.

Evidence.zip Testimony Leak[edit]

In January 2024, alongside a ban appeal,[14]Hax$ leaked the 2013 Evidence.zip testimonies.[15] This was done under the justification of being the only remaining community member still holding them, and seeking to preserve the archive. Out of the nine testimonies, seven were revealed, with two being held back due to their particularly sensitive natures.

Some new facts can be extracted from these testimonies, adding further context to Leffen's original ban from the SwedishMelee scene;

  • Leffen was notably insulting in theMelee Back Room, withStrong Bad citing some particularly aggressive posts.
  • Hax$ mentions a stream where Leffen, seemingly unprovoked, attacked his character and repeatedly resorted to ad hominems in debate, and subsequently receiving repeated online harassment ever since. He additionally criticises Leffen for the way he handled his ban in 2013, calling a post he made in theMelee It On MeFacebook group manipulative.
  • C discusses a road trip where Leffen would deliberately and forcefully rock his seat back against their legs while locked against it, causing severe pain, in addition to a large-scale harassment campaign against them.
  • ROFL observes the negative effects Leffen's manipulation had on those around him; previously, he held respect for Leffen, but felt it decline over time as a result of this behaviour.
  • Zneffy discusses a time where they received an unprovoked verbal attack from Leffen following a match, followed by a non-apology where he talks down to Zneffy.
  • VJ, a tournament host, while never personally having conflicts with Leffen, discusses the reason why they made a personal decision to never allow Leffen in their tournaments, to the point of considering calling the police. In general, he discusses Leffen's elitist behaviour and general dishonesty, on top of his conflicts with other players.

Additionally, a letter toGENESIS 3 was enclosed, which had compiled the testimonies and demanded Leffen be banned from the tournament.

Censorship allegations[edit]

In December 2020,Samox released a documentary titledMetagame, compiling the history of theMelee metagame and following up fromThe Smash Brothers. In this documentary, Evidence.zip is mentioned when discussing Leffen, but was cut from later releases following criticism from Leffen himself. To make up for it, in June 2021, a bonus episode titled "Godslayer" was released, which portrayed Leffen in a more positive light. This move was blasted by Hax$, accusing the Metagame documentary of being "censored" due to manipulation from Leffen,[16] in addition to numerous other allegations against Leffen's character. He evidenced this with the unusual timing of the situation, given Leffen's tweets blasting the Metagame documentary on his end.

In January 2024, Samox released a statement.[17] He notes that the Evidence.zip mentions total 20 seconds, that his portrayal of Leffen was hardly positive, and, most notably, that someone threatened to sue him for the use of the Evidence.zip content. He specifically noted that Leffen wasn't the party who threatened to sue.

Ban from commentary[edit]

Information icon.svgThis article or section is missingcitations.
Citing sources helps guard against factual inaccuracies. Without sources, some of the information on this page may not be true.

AtHeir 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. Leffen notably compared the tournament toThe Foundry, a series notorious for its relaxed and non-competitive atmosphere. Many argued that the TOs had overreacted in their decision, and that a full ban was an excessively harsh punishment.

Opinion onUltimate[edit]

Despite focusing onUltimate for a year, Leffen has been openly critical about the game, even going as far as to say that playing top-levelUltimate "is just pure fucking torture to [him]."[18] As a result, he has butted heads with several otherUltimate professionals. Most notably, on September 26th, 2020, he argued withRickles that streamingUltimate was painful to him, that he would "rather flip burgers at mcdonalds [sic] if it paid the same amount," and that streamingUltimate was harder than holding a minimum wage job.[19] This Tweet was met with backlash and mockery from the community: users noted the difficulty of minimum wage jobs especially during the COVID-19 pandemic while several Smashers such asAxe recounted how they hated working at their minimum wage jobs before they went professional. The Tweet eventually caused "Leffen" to trend on Twitter.[20] Leffen would later delete and apologize for his minimum wage Tweet.[21]

Libel allegations[edit]

On July 2nd, 2020, amidst a wave of sexual harassment allegations in the community, artist Jisu posted a tweet where she called out ZeRo for showing her hentai and explicit Craigslist ads when she was 15.[22] ZeRo later responded, admitting that he looked at hentai, but denied that he had shown it to her, nor would he show it to an entire room of people. He also denied showing her the ads.[23] Following this defense, many people started to target Jisu for "clout-chasing." Leffen, however, would defend Jisu's claims by claiming that he saw ZeRo show people hentai in public, a statement that was backed up by a screenshot from an anonymous user later sent to Leffen.[24] ZeRo would later confirm this and many other allegations made about him to be true several days later.[25]

However, on June 25th 2021,Technicals would make a YouTube video where he challenged a vast majority of Jisu's allegations towards ZeRo.[26] In the same video, Technicals featured a brief section where he interviewed ZeRo about Leffen's allegations. ZeRo stated that he didn't remember any of the events that Leffen claimed to have happened. He would later state in the interview that he felt as if "he was trapped by Leffen into being pressured into admitting the truth" due to all of the allegations against him, and that by apologizing for Leffen and Katie, he would be creating a false agenda that Jisu's story would be correct. Both Leffen and Jisu have yet to respond to Technical's and ZeRo's allegations.

On September 9, 2022, ZeRo would release a video where he accuses Leffen as the biggest instigator during the allegations made against him, as he claimed Leffen lied about a story regarding ZeRo sharing hentai with Leffen and Japanese players when they housed together forApex 2013, and also accused ZeRo for exchanging hentai with fans without verifying their age. A fan that ZeRo sent hentai to would add an addendum to their statement saying while ZeRo had sent her hentai without confirming their age, they were an adult at the time and also requested ZeRo send it to them.[27] ZeRo ultimately accused Leffen for profiting off the drama while tarnishing ZeRo's name in the process.[28]

Feud with Hax$[edit]

An icon for denoting incomplete things.This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki byexpanding or finishing it.
The editor who added this tag elaborates:A summary of Hax and Leffen's original feud during the SmashBoards era, the circumstances of Evidence.zip, and adaptation of the post-2021 controversies from Hax's SmashWiki page could be useful for this section

Trivia[edit]

  • Leffen was commonly considered a villain in theSmash community due to his reportedly rude behavior and trash-talk. He claimed that he enjoyed his given title due to the community's need of someone to root against, although a controversy existed over whether he should embrace it or not.
    • Leffen has also been compared toGary Oak from thePokémon anime due to their similar personality and appearance.
  • Leffen is the subject of the two-season Red Bull documentaryCultivation Leffen: Resurrection, which chronicles the time period from his initial ban through his visa issues and his triumph atGet On My Level 2016.
  • Leffen's lifetime set count against Mew2King (9-17) is his worst set count against a god (excluding PPMD).
  • Leffen is infamous for a spate of losses againstSamus playersHugS, Plup, andDuck in 2015 and 2016 after having mocked Chillin's losses to the same character on Twitter.
  • Leffen is the first person to four-stock Armada in a bracket, doing so twice atFC Smash 15XR: Return and atSmash 'N' Splash 4.
  • Leffen, along withTafokints andZomba, holds the title of the most money won in a single money match. He won $1,000 on three different occasions:
  • Leffen is sometimes referred to by his nicknamesYung Leff orBig Leff. Depending on how he plays and if he wins or loses, the adjective used can vary (Humoungous Leff orMassive Leff when winning;Small Leff orMinuscule Leff when losing). He has also been referred to these names byDragon Ball FighterZ commentators.
  • Outside ofSmash, Leffen has competed in bothDragon Ball FighterZ andGuilty Gear: Strive events. He is currently the onlySmash player who was invited to a non-Smash-related Summit event (DBFZ'sSummit of Power), as well as the only player to win an official EVO event for both platform and traditional fighting games (having also wonEVO 2023 forGuilty Gear: Strive). He has since retired fromDragon Ball FighterZ, citing Toei's meddling in tournaments, and Arc System Works' way of patching as the two reasons he does not enjoy the game anymore.
  • Leffen is the subject of a popular Twitter parody account known as theDeep Leffen Bot, a natural AI learning model created by a PhD student that is trained on Leffen's tweets, variousSmash subreddits, and other "unsavory source materials". The bot is popular in theSmash community for its humorous and creative content output. Although he initially blocked the bot's account on Twitter, Leffen has since come around and praised the bot for its artistic and comedic value.[29]
  • Despite being a sandbagging secondary, Leffen'sMewtwo reached the top of the ranked EuropeanProject Slippi leaderboards (and taking offline sets regionally against top European players) under the alias ofMewTwoMan. He managed to take an offline set offProfessor Pro with only Mewtwo atPhoenix Blue: Smash Championship.

References[edit]

  1. ^[1]
  2. ^[2]
  3. ^Original ban post
  4. ^Leffen signs for Team SoloMid.
  5. ^Leffen is denied entry to The Big House 5 (in Swedish).
  6. ^White House responds to ‘Free Leffen’ petition, won’t make any changes to esports visa policies.
  7. ^Leffen visa update.
  8. ^Visa delays hold Leffen back from attending Evo.
  9. ^Leffen receives athlete visa, approved to compete in the US.
  10. ^Leffen unable to attend Smash Summit 11 due to visa issues.
  11. ^Leffen's firstUltimate retirement.
  12. ^Original ban post
  13. ^Original Evidence.zip (Posts Only)
  14. ^Hax$'s January 2024 Ban Appeal
  15. ^Evidence.zip Testimonies
  16. ^"evidence.zip 3"
  17. ^Samox's Statement regarding Metagame's portrayal of Leffen
  18. ^Leffen's Tweet before DreamHack Winter 2019.
  19. ^Flipping Burgers Tweet.
  20. ^Archived Minimum Wage Tweet.
  21. ^Leffen apologizing for his Tweet.
  22. ^Jisu's statement.
  23. ^ZeRo's response to Jisu.
  24. ^https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sra9ee?new_post=true.
  25. ^ZeRo's final statement.
  26. ^Technicals' video.
  27. ^Clarification on Leffen accusation from fan.
  28. ^THE LAWSUIT IS OVER.
  29. ^Leffen's endorsement of Deep Leffen.

External links[edit]