Explaining the latest drama between Leffen and Hax$

Olivia Richman Published 06/06/2021

Veteran Smash Bros player William “Leffen” Hjelte is currently seeking legal advice after fellow pro Aziz “Hax$” Al-Yami released a dramatic video over two hours in length accusing Leffen of being a danger to the Super Smash Bros Melee community.

Hax$ said that the Melee community is being set up for a “dystopian future,” mostly caused by “evil” and “manipulative” people like Leffen. Hax$ explained that every time Leffen speaks, his words as viewed as “facts” by his large fan base. Hax$ brought up a variety of beefs Leffen has been involved in and how “nobody is safe from his wrath anymore.”

“Beefing with Leffen will cause you to be at war for the rest of your life. So they give up. Leffen gets his way and the cycle of abuse continues,” Hax$ said. “Leffen is a disease that can be expected to fully erode the Smash community.”

Within 10 minutes, Hax$ started to show historical documents and screenshots about totalitarianism, including leaders such as Adolf Hitler. Hax$ said Leffen was like them due to the manipulation of the Smash community, including painting himself as a “false hero.” Hax$ explained that Leffen wants full control of the community and is at complete fault for the Melee community becoming akin to a totalitarian society.

Hax$ lists charges against Leffen in wild video

Throughout the video, Hax$ brought up moments throughout Leffen’s career that point towards the pro player being a “psychopath” or “dictator.” It included a “list of charges” against Leffen, which included starting smear campaigns against other Smash pros, hijacking the #MeToo movement to take down ZeRo, and destroying a tournament series.

Leffen evidence

Despite all of the “evidence” in the video, the Smash community instead felt that Hax$ was the one who was possibly unwell.

Leffen responds to Hax$ video, says he feels unsafe

The dark video had a lot of people in the Smash community confused. This included Leffen himself, who said he wasn’t sure what to do about it.

“I’m legit concerned with my safety at events with this level of things,” Leffen admitted on Twitter.

at this point i don’t even know what to do. Legit concerned with my safety at events with this level of things.
Will be looking into a lawyer before saying more just to make sure my bases are covered.
— TSM FTX Leffen (@TSM_Leffen) June 5, 2021

The majority of the Smash community seemed to take Leffen’s side on the matter, calling Hax$ “unhinged” and “crazy.” While a lot of people agreed that Leffen’s narcissistic and does bully some lesser-known Smash players on Twitter, nobody seemed to believe that Leffen was “destroying” the community. Others felt that Hax$ shouldn’t be diagnosing people as “psychopaths” or anything similar without medical evidence.

Just to make it clear from yesterday

With leffen 1000%

Hope Hax gets help, glad he’s “okay”, but it has to be away from the scene, and especially away from leffen
— Panda | iBDW (Cody Schwab) (@iBDWSSBM) June 5, 2021

Despite all of the “evidence” in the video, the Smash community instead felt that Hax$ was the one who was possibly unwell.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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