Early Beginnings

Leonardo "Leo" Lopez turned 15 last January and looks like a typical teenager. Hailing from a humble background, he likes basketball and does well at school. His love of video games started at the age of six and he won his first event when he was eight.

"Once I was there, I entered just to get a chance to play," he recalled. "I was just having fun, but at the end of one of the matches, people came to congratulate me. 'You just won the entire thing,' they said. I was like, 'What? Really? Well that's cool I guess.'"

Now, Leo wins Smash 4 majors in Mexico and helps support his family with his tournament earnings. Editor's Picks NRG's Ohq on NaJin, adjusting to America, and NRG's struggles

H2k's Jankos: 'It offended [FORG1VEN] that he was losing to Rekkles and to Niels'

Q&A with Meteos: Being on a team is very similar to being in a relationship 2 Related

The early Smash 4 days

From Brawl, Leo transitioned seamlessly into Smash 4. He took some time to find his character, but still defeated many of the best players from Mexico. Then, he made the switch to Meta Knight and started placing even better. "At first, I thought it was me getting lucky," he quipped. "I didn't really consider myself to be good."

It wasn't until Smash Factor 4, the largest Smash Bros event in Latin America, where he started to receive international recognition. Only 14 at the time, he won the event and defeated European champion Ramin "Mr. R" Delshad twice, who just placed second at EVO 2015, the largest Smash Bros tournament up to that point. Leo promptly called out Team SoloMid's Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios in front of the cameras. "After I beat Mr. R., I thought I was the best in the world," he said. "I felt like I could defeat anyone. That's why I called him out. I don't think it was wrong but maybe it was dumb on my part. I apologized afterwards."

The Visa Issue

Leo's name was suddenly everywhere. Enthusiasts flocked to his YouTube matches and many speculated whether the 14-year-old could take down ZeRo. For Leo, he desperately wanted the opportunity and dreamed of facing ZeRo on a big stage. Given the chance, Leo was confident he could beat him, but to do so, he would have to travel to one of the many majors in the United States. This was a problem.

A lot has been said about visas for esport athletes in the past few months. The Leffen petition surpassed the 100k mark, and while this is a good first step, there is still a lot to do before legislation can be modified for professional gamers. Leo found out exactly how difficult it was to receive a US visa as a professional gamer. "It was very frustrating. I applied twice," he said. "Once for EVO and once for Genesis. I was denied both times with no explanation."

Visa applications cost $160. To put that into perspective, minimum wage in Mexico is around $110 a month. It's expensive to apply for a visa, and this places even more strain on young teenagers with no support from organizations or sponsors.

Fortunately, Antonio "Citi" Catarino Vargas -- founder and owner of Smash Factor -- offered to help Leo attend Canadian super major Get On My Level. Smash Factor is well known as being the largest Smash organization in the country, as well as offering help and sponsorships to promising Mexican players.

"After I beat Mr. R., I thought I was the best in the world." Leonardo "Leo" Lopez

When asked about Leo, Citi said, "We have tremendous trust in Leo. He has proved he is world class, and we are willing to help him develop as one of the first professional players from Mexico."

Leo applied once again for a visa and had his application approved six days later. "I couldn't believe it," he said. "I was screaming 'Finally!' and jumping up and down. I even felt like crying."

A permit to enter the country was the first step, though; money was still an issue. Citi organized a fundraising stream in which the Smash community came through to support Leo's trip to Get On My Level 2016 in Canada. The rest was history.

Get On My Level 2016

Several of the world's best players were in attendance for the Canadian major, but this didn't faze the young challenger at all. "I felt I was on their level and had nothing to be nervous about," Leo recalled. "And they were all very nice to me at the event. ZeRo even offered to help me with interpreting if I needed it, and the rest were just very welcoming as well."

In pools, Leo breezed through without losing a single game, starting his top-32 bracket run by taking down Corey "False" Shin's technical Sheik. That set him up against Team Liquid's Nairoby "Nairo" Quezada, the second-best player in the world. Not intimidated, Leo took him out 3-1 in dominating fashion. Leo also managed to two stock Nairo in the past two games. After that match, he felt very confident that he could win GOML.

"I just beat Nairo," he said. "I can take this whole thing down. I can beat ZeRo and Ally. I thought I had the tournament in the bag."

Leo studied the rest of the bracket and figured it would be him and ZeRo facing off in winner finals. However, he did not foresee Echo Fox's Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman taking down ZeRo 3-0, knocking him into the loser's bracket. He also severely underestimated Ally. In winners' semis, Ally's Mario kept Leo's Meta Knight in check. After his second loss, Leo took a while before making a decision to switch to Marth, a surprising pick to most spectators, but almost a natural one for people who see him play back home. Leo won the next game, but Ally closed out the set 3-1 and sent Leo into the losers' bracket.

In losers, Leo got what he had always wanted: a tournament set against ZeRo. Except, it wasn't in the grand finals. It was in the quarterfinals of the losers' bracket, and they were both fighting for their survival. "That's when I felt the pressure," Leo said. "A million things going around in my head. This was the match I had traveled for."

Leo started with his signature Meta Knight, but ZeRo was fully prepared and won easily. After the loss, Leo remembered Mew2King's earlier set with ZeRo and switched to Cloud. Leo lost a close second game, and now down 0-2 in the set, Leo decided to stick with Cloud. The decision paid off -- he won the next two games to tie the set at 2-2, bringing the crowd to the edge of their seats.

At the end of a close, nerve-wrecking Game 5, Leo was knocked out of the tournament by the man he had set out to beat. He earned fifth place in his first international event, and the crowd chanted his name as he walked off the stage.

"It was satisfying to hear them support me," he said. "But I knew I could have done better. A lot better. For my first international, I feel like I did a very good job."

The Aftermath

Leo is now back home and counting the days until his next major tournament. Important names are already signing up to challenge him on his home turf this July, during Smash Factor in Puebla. Citi is hopeful they can get him to travel again soon.

Leo has a clear goal. "I want to be the best," he said. "And I want to be the best for a very long time."

At 15, Leo was one stock shy of eliminating the greatest player the world has seen. It makes you wonder what he will be capable of when he's older and able to travel regularly.

(Interview and Translations originally done by Anibal Tamacas of the Gamers en Espanol Community)