By Daniel “Tafokints” Lee

Over the past year, Smash pro Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma has improved dramatically in both his fundamentals and results. In the first half of 2016, he won PAX Arena, Battle of the Five Gods, Pound 2016, and EGLX. But one of his biggest challengers, William “Leffen” Hjelte, could only watch from the sidelines, unable to attend any U.S. event due to visa issues and failing to advance far in the EGLX bracket. Though Leffen defeated Hungrybox in two sets at HTC Throwdown, that was seven months ago. In the FGC, that might as well be years.

But the tide turned at Get On My Level 2016. By defeating Adam “Armada” Lindgren, Leffen set himself on a winner’s final collision course with Hungrybox. And to everyone’s surprise, Leffen won, taking down Hungrybox’s improved Jigglypuff despite the half-year hiatus.

So how did he do it? Let’s break it down.

The Set Summary

Table 1: Aggregate Set Data between Leffen and Hungrybox at Get On My Level 2016 More

The winners finals set was incredibly close. Leffen dealt 1,887 total damage and Hungrybox was not too far behind with 1,828. They both lived to roughly 100 percent on every stock and Leffen took only one more stock than Hungrybox.

The set could have gone either way. Both players made several mistakes, and if a few plays went differently, Hungrybox could have taken it. Regardless, Leffen has been out of practice and it’s impressive that he was able to take a set against the current best player in the United States. What did Leffen do right where so many other Foxes have failed?

Leffen’s lasers

Leffen’s core strength is his ability to switch between playing passively and aggressively. Along with his deep knowledge of Melee, he carries a general understanding of fundamentals from playing other fighting games such as Street Fighter and King of Fighters.

But the hallmark of Leffen’s gameplay is his incredible use of lasers.

Lasers have an inherent trade-off: you can rack up free damage, but you lose control of the stage. Many Foxes use lasers to force other characters to approach. While lasers only deal 2-3 percent in damage, Leffen knows how to maximize the damage while maintaining stage control.

In this particular set, Leffen dealt 398 in laser damage, which is devastating, considering that Jigglypuff can die as early as 60-70 percent on certain stages. In comparison, other Foxes deal 100-250 in laser damage against Hungrybox in five game sets.

View photos Table 2: Leffen’s Laser Damage by Game Against Hungrybox More

Bait and Up-Smash

The lasers present an interesting conundrum in the Fox-Jigglypuff matchup. If the Fox lasers too often, the Jigglypuff player can encroach on the Fox’s space and earn free hits while Fox is cornered. If the Jigglypuff player plays too aggressively as a response to lasers, the Fox can counter-poke with aerials and Up-Smashes.

Lasers also make large horizontal stages, such as Dreamland, a risky pick for Hungrybox. Although Hungrybox won their match on Dreamland, Leffen racked up over 100 damage in lasers and held a tremendous two stock lead before throwing away the match.

Kill power

One of the difference makers is Leffen’s ability to find early kills. His throws into Up-Airs were incredibly clean even at slightly higher percents. It’s debatable whether Hungrybox could have SDI’d (Smash Directional Influence) Leffen’s Up-Airs, but Leffen positioned himself very deep into Hungrybox’s Jigglypuff, making the Up-Air incredibly difficult to SDI.

Other Foxes tend to struggle when the Up-Throw into Up-Air combo isn’t available due to Jigglypuff’s floatiness, but Leffen still found ways to kill with an incredible use of Fox’s Up-Smash. Leffen has the uncanny ability to catch Hungrybox’s shorthops with Up-Smashes, whereas other Foxes tend to get antsy with more predictable Up-Smash attempts that Hungrybox punishes. Leffen did get caught a few times with bad Up-Smashes, but generally found success.

View photos Table 3: Leffen’s Kill Set-Ups More

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