(Image: Youtube)

By Daniel “Tafokints” Lee

After seven grueling months, William “Leffen” Hjelte can now return to the United States on a temporary visa.

It hasn’t been easy. A #FreeLeffen campaign was spearheaded by Red Bull, and signatures are still being collected to petition the White House to give esports athletes P-1 visas (essentially counting them alongside international athletes in traditional sports).

That’s progress. But the damage has already set back Leffen’s progression.

From god to gone

Leffen looked unstoppable in his last U.S. appearance, where he won HTC Throwdown back in September 2015. He displayed everything you wanted from a textbook Fox: a strong use of projectiles, great use of footsies, and clean mechanics with minimal technical flubs. In two sets, he flustered Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma with his methodical play, eventually going 3-1 in Winner’s Finals and 3-0 in Grand Finals. He left the U.S. on a very high note.

But Leffen was denied entry back into the United States for The Big House 5. Leffen held a travel visa, which the officers deemed inappropriate for his trip’s purpose. Instead, he needed to re-apply for a P-1 visa. In the meantime, the delay has prevented him from entering every US major in the past 6 months: Genesis 3 in January, Battle of the Five Gods in March, and Pound 2016 and Smash Summit 2 in April.

Leffen still participated in whatever events he could, but his lack of practice became noticeable. In December, his DreamHack Winter bracket ended early with losses to Weston “Westballz” Dennis and James “Duck” Ma. The 9th place finish was his lowest placing in nearly a year. In February, Leffen finished behind Adam “Armada” Lindgren at BEAST 6 in his hometown, Sweden. He managed to take a set in Grand Finals, but his slow adaptations and sloppy play ended up being his downfall. With the lack of European events, Leffen could only sit and wait.

Frustrations began to spring up. Why practice tech skill if he couldn’t put his talents on display? Practice partners were also incredibly tough to come by in Sweden. His closest competition was hours away. In contrast, everyone in the U.S. can easily practice at larger events and in their respective home regions. He lamented often and questioned whether it was worth it. Understandably, his career and passion were taken away from him.

Red Bull to the rescue

Just as we wondered if we’d ever see Leffen on a big stage again, Red Bull swooped in as a sponsor, picked him up, remedied his visa issues, and started working to get him in game shape for the summer.

While everyone else flew to California for Smash Summit 2, his sponsors flew him to the Red Bull house in Canada to start practicing again. Armada and a few other high level players joined Leffen after Smash Summit 2 ended.

For Leffen, the high level practice is what he desperately needed. He showed glimmers of brilliance on his practice stream. His Fox went back and forth against Armada’s in their friendly sessions. Stream monsters were reminded of his incredible punish game punctuated by solid grabs, amazing aerial timings, and knack for platform follow-ups. Leffen nearly perfected Kalindi “KJH” Henderson , a top Fox player from Michigan, with KJH only dealing 6% in damage from two laser shots.

The early exhibitions at the Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX) in Canada also looked promising for Leffen. In the USA vs. World crew battle, Leffen anchored the team and defeated the self-proclaimed Fox ditto master, Joseph “Mango” Marquez, in a Fox ditto. Brackets went swiftly in the early stages for him as well. His first real test came in Winner’s Quarters, where Jeffrey “Axe” Williamson was waiting.

Leffen has historically performed well against the charismatic Pikachu player, despite having minimal experience in the matchup. Leffen’s smart zoning came into play, but Axe also capitalized on Leffen’s mistakes to take the first game. In the next two games, Leffen showed why he’s so scary to play against: he doesn’t have the rush-down pressure like Mango, but he outright bullies with his impeccable zoning and footsies. And if you’re not actively approaching Leffen, he punishes you with a barrage of lasers. Leffen was up after the first three games and it looked like he was on a path to Hungrybox.

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