It was only a matter of time.
Team SoloMid is the latest major esports organization to enter Super Smash Bros. in the past year as the scene continues its booming resurgence.
The team, known mainly for League of Legends, announced it had signed top Smash pro William “Leffen” Hjelte late yesterday.
We are proud to announce that TSM is branching into SSB with our pickup of the Fox player specialist, @L3ff3n ! http://t.co/GHQUEQQ5Dg
— Team SoloMid (@TeamSoloMid) March 9, 2015
As of today I am officially a sponsored player by @TeamSoloMid. Incredibly happy and proud to say the least :’] http://t.co/J9oWvwcnfC
— William Hjelte (@TSM_Leffen) March 9, 2015
Leffen is currently ranked sixth in the world, according to Melee it on Me. He had a great showing at Apex last month, placing third and beating both fourth-ranked Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman and first-ranked Joseph “Mango” Marquez.
The signing is a significant move on the PR front, as well. Not only does Hjelte have a massive Twitter following (195,000), he’s also constantly in the middle of major Smash Bros. spats. Any press is good press, right?
Most recently, Hjelte was involved in a Twitter fight with Kashan “Chillindude” Khan and sponsored players in general. He called out Team Curse, now Team Liquid, for signing on veterans that are past their prime.
Honestly, calling @chillindude829 a has-been is very generous of me. He never won anything of worth, and beat Ken at a tourny he didn’t win.
— William Hjelte (@TSM_Leffen) October 29, 2014
It all came to a boiling point when Hjelte and Khan had a money match during the tournament. Khan, for all intents and purposes, was obliterated. Marquez then stepped up on stage to redeem his fallen comrade’s honor by challenging Hjelte to a $1,000 money match if they were to battle in tournament. Marquez, as noted above, lost.
Hjelte was also banned from all Swedish and Finnish tournaments in 2013 after a series of incidents with other players and fans. This culminated when fellow pro Adam “Armada” Lindgren linked fans to an infamous zip file that contained all the evidence against Hjelte.
During interviews, Hjelte is known for his blunt and unapologetic attitude, something that may not fly with an organization like SoloMid (though SoloMid’s owners are hardly known for holding their tongues.)
Still, that SoloMid jersey might finally be what it takes to make Hjelte more restrained.
H/T Ready Up Gaming
