After a long uphill battle with the US Visa system, TSM’s very own Willian “Leffen” Hjelte has recently obtained a short term visa just in time for the EVO Championship Series. It has been a long time coming for this pro Smash Bros player to make his way back to the US competitive scene.
TSM Leffen first had trouble getting in to the States way back in September of 2015, when he was denied entry in to the US for the Big House 5 competition. While TSM’s League of Legends players can apply for athlete visas due to progress made by Riot Games, players for smaller games like Super Smash Bros. often encounter difficulties when competing in other countries. Most players just say they are here for pleasure when visiting, but because of growing prize pools it makes more complicated for players of “smaller games” to gain entry.
Leffens Process was halted due to the following reasons:
- Super Smash Bros Melee is a grassroots game and is not institutionalized.
- Super Smash Bros Melee is not considered a legitimate sport.
- There is no real ranking system other than a few non-legitimate websites.
In an official announcement, TSM had this to say:
“Due to this initial rejection, we had to re-file Leffen’s application which without the complications is already an arduous process. Currently, we have obtained a short-term P-1 Visa, allowing him to compete within the US until and throughout July, meaning that he will be able to attend EVO. We are working on extending this Visa for the long term and will announce an update as soon as one is available. Thank you to all our fans for your patience and thank you to Red Bull for helping us throughout the process.”
For more information on TSM Leffen, be sure to follow his Twitter. We wish him the best of luck and will keep you updated as more on the situation develops.
