It’s normal to be frustrated after a loss, but some fighting game competitors take things a step further by demolishing the controller they were using to play just moments earlier.
The latest player to join this illustrious club alongside notables like Sanford Kelly and Runitblack is reigning Evo champion William “Leffen” Hjelte, who spiked his GameCube pad into the stage after being eliminated from a recent Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament.
The Big House, one of the most important tournaments on the Smash circuit, held its eighth instalment in Detroit, Michigan last weekend. Visiting from Sweden, Leffen made his way to the finals bracket over several prominent American players, but then he lost his very first matchup in top 8 to Melee god Joseph “Mango” Marquez.
His next fight against Justin “Plup” McGrath would be his first losers bracket match of the event.
Leffen and Plup are what the community considers “god killers.” While they aren’t thought to be in the same league as the supposed “gods” of Melee—Mango, Adam “Armada” Lindgren, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma, Jason “Mew2King” Zimmerman, and Kevin “PPMD” Nanney, all of whom have at some point been considered the best Melee player in the world—these two players are the most accomplished challengers when it comes to defeating the scene’s most deified competitors.
Plup won a close first game using Princess Zelda’s alter-ego Sheik, but then in the second game, he switched to low-tier favourite Samus Aran, knowing that Sheik’s abilities would be a tough matchup against Fox McCloud on the Final Destination stage.
Leffen, sticking with Fox, had a roaring start to this match that soon forced Plup to change back to Sheik after his Samus took a beating. Plup ended up winning yet another game with Sheik, pushing their match into what would be a decisive fifth game.
Leffen’s frustrated demeanour belied the fact that he had just won Evo in August. This emotion also appeared to be affecting his gameplay. Plup took advantage of his opponent’s faltering and landed multiple grabs, showing that he had a read on Leffen’s strategy.
In spite of that, Leffen was still able to whittle Plup down to a single stock—a testament to the skill that had earned him a championship finish months earlier—while also defending a stock of his own.
As the final game came to an end, Plup pushed Leffen from the Pokemon Stadium stage and defended against his multiple attempts to return to safety. As Leffen clung to the edge of the stage, he attempted a manoeuvre known as a ledgedash to reach a better position, but fell from his precarious position and lost his final stock instead. Leffen made no secret of his dissatisfaction by throwing his GameCube pad down and walking off stage. Plup simply nodded.
Leffen jumped on Twitter afterwards to state “fuck that controller,” as well as to congratulate his fellow competitors. In follow-up posts, he said he wasn’t sure if the missed ledgedash happened because of an issue with his pad or with his own execution.
“I don’t know for sure, and since I have been rusty it could be me, but I did feel like I missed more ledgedashes than normally,” Leffen added, speculating that his use of the Arduino controller mod to simulate the malfunctions present in some GameCube pads that make certain techniques easier to perform might have thrown off his muscle memory.
“Anyway, going to practice harder and smarter than ever in both [Dragon Ball FighterZ] and [Super Smash Bros. Melee] and live healthier and with as much discipline as I can muster,” Leffen concluded, with an attitude that made him seem more unfazed than the Leffen who had thrown his controller one day prior.
“You’re all gonna get fucked up in time. That’s all.”
Comments
11 responses to “Smash Champion Takes Out Loss On His Poor Controller”
what a fucking baby
Yeah seriously, this is such bad sportsmanship
It should be penalised like in tennis.
Honestly. You’re right.
In follow-up posts, he said he wasn’t sure if the missed ledgedash happened because of an issue with his pad or with his own execution.
For the junior readers, there’s an old saying “A bad workman blames his tools.”. Putting it another way, he’s a sore loser.
That saying has always bothered me because its blatantly bullshit.
A good workman blames his tools, too. There are no perfect tools. If you never blame your tools, you’re deluded.
Sure if the tool is broken/faulty get a new tool, but in cases like this not always an option until after the frustration.
Well all we know now is that this bloke needs a new tool LOL
Sorry but I think your wrong.
Every tool ever invented by man kind, EVER, has to have the will of the use imposed upon it to provide an output. I have literally watched Smash tournaments where they all test their controllers before the match.
His action is literally nothing other than the outburst of a child who is throwing a tantrum because he lost.
True winners realize that they are the only constant in any competition engaged in and that they loose because they failed themselves, they then look back on that competition and internalize the mistakes they made which lead to their loss.
one of the meanings is that good workmen can recognise poor tools and would be prepared beforehand. Either to adjust how they work to accommodate the tools shortfalls or by getting a better tool before starting the job.
Thank you fpr putting into words what I was attempting to reply with.
The controller deserved it. I mean like he wasn’t controlling his avatar correctly and ultimately lost his matches. But to throw the game pad, such a heinous crime.