Legendary Super Smash Bros player William “Leffen” Hjelte will be missing Evo in Las Vegas on August 2 because he couldn’t pick up his passport.
“My passport with my visa arrived, just in time so I could make it to EVO. But I couldn’t pick it up because, well, you need ID to verify and the only one I have atm that they recognize is my passport…” The superstar who was set to compete in Smash Ultimate revealed on Twitter.
Leffen said he showed cards and bank statements from five years back and had his girlfriend Jennie vouch for him, but had no luck.
“Called support and they say they cant do anything, gotta call the embassy which is already closed for today. GG no Evo for me :(,” the opinionated Swedish smasher added.
He explained his situation in greater detail in a TwitLonger, “Started the visa process a long time ago, even paid for premium processing too ($500 extra). Making the petition takes extra time since it recently got a lot more strict. politics etc.”
My passport with my visa arrived, just in time so I could make it to EVO. But I couldn't pick it up because, well, you need ID to verify and the only one I have atm that they recognize is my passport…showed cards &bank statements from 5 years back and had jennie vouch, but no.
— L3ff3rd (@TSM_Leffen) August 1, 2019
“Then after getting it approved to get a time at the embassy, then you leave your passport there and then they send it back to you (iirc you can pick it up but it was already very close time wise),” he said. “Generally when you pick up passports at the police etc you can have parents/partner to verify you, thats why I thought I’d be ok, but this specific postal service refuses to accept anything other than state id/drivers license.”
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Leffen admitted it was stupid of him to not have another form of ID, but said he didn’t have this issue back in 2016.
“I’ll probably be able to get my passport in the next few days so its a shame that everything took longer than expected… Hopefully I can get it back in time for smashcon and sorry for anyone I disappointed,” the popular Smash icon apologized.
Leffen’s absence should open up the Smash Ultimate field a bit more, especially in pools where he was likely to advance.
As a player, Leffen is most well-known for his success in Melee, being the first player to defeat the “five Gods” of Mew2King, HungryBox, Armada, PPMD and Mango.
At Evo 2018, Leffen finished 1st in Melee using the fighter Fox.