Team SoloMid Super Smash Bros. Melee player William "Leffen" Hjelte has received his P1-A Internationally Recognized Athlete visa today, which will allow him to return to the United States and compete in Smash tournaments once again, as announced by SoloMid owner Andy "Reginald" Dinh on Twitter today.
Leffen is tentatively registered to compete at The Big House 6 in Dearborn, Michigan this weekend, but Dinh tells ESPN nothing has been planned and whether Leffen will compete there is yet to be determined.
TBH is still uncertain. I'll keep you posted!
So happy I'm finally in the clear. Huge shoutouts to everyone who supported me through it.— Yung Leff (@TSM_Leffen) October 3, 2016
Approval of his visa comes one year after he was denied entry for having an incorrect visa type coming into the United States to compete at The Big House 5 on Oct. 1, 2015. P1-A visas have recently received a push to be granted to esports athletes, with many professional League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players leading the charge. Leffen now joins the list of players who have obtained such a visa.
For the past year, Leffen has been unable to compete in many of Super Smash Bros. Melee's biggest tournaments, including Genesis 3, Community Effort Orlando, the Evolution Championship Series and Shine. Leffen was able to compete in major tournament Get On My Level in Toronto, which he won after taking down the likes of Smash gods Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma, Adam "Armada" Lindgren and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman.