Smasher:MkLeo

"Smasher:Leo" redirects here. For other players who use or have used the Leo tag, see Leo.

MkLeo "Leo"
Character info
Melee main	Sheik
Other Melee character	Falco
Brawl mains	Meta Knight, Snake
Smash 4 mains	Marth, Cloud
Other Smash 4 characters	Bayonetta, Lucina
Retired Smash 4 characters	Meta Knight, Corrin
Ultimate mains	Joker, Pyra, Mythra
Other Ultimate characters	Byleth, Marth, Corrin
Retired Ultimate characters	Ike, Lucina, Wolf, Greninja, Cloud
Project M main	Mewtwo
Other Project M character	Lucario
Team info
Sponsor(s)	Luminosity Gaming
Former sponsor(s)	Monster Kingdom, Echo Fox, Most Valuable Gaming, T1
Crew(s)	MKgaming
Former crews	Hydra Team, Rampage Zone, HDG, Smash Factor
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking	Panda Global Rankings 100: 3rd LumiRank Mid-Year 2023: 7th
Winnings	~$99,606.99 ~$222,877.05
Personal and other info
Real name	Leonardo Lopez Perez
Birth date	January 20, 2001
Location	Mexico City
Miscellaneous info
Skill	Upper mid level (retired) High level (retired) Top level (retired) Top level High level (retired)

MkLeo, also known simply as Leo, is a smasher from Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico, who previously lived in Florida, United States, and is currently living in Mexico City. He is widely considered to be the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player of all time, being considered the best player in the world from 2019 to 2022. He is currently ranked 7th on the LumiRank Mid-Year 2023 and was formerly ranked 1st on the Mexican Ultimate Power Rankings. Originally playing Ike, he later found tournament success with Lucina and Wolf before picking up Joker shortly after the character's release. Although he briefly struggled during the online metagame, he eventually found consistent success after picking up Byleth, as well as Pyra and Mythra following their release, leading him to be ranked 5th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7. He has continued to use Byleth offline and achieve major success in tournaments.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, MkLeo played Marth and Cloud, with Bayonetta, Meta Knight, Lucina, and Corrin as strong secondaries. He is his country's best player and was considered to be the best player in the world in 2018 after ZeRo's retirement, leading him to be ranked 3rd on the Panda Global Rankings 100 and 1st on the final Mexican Smash 4 Power Rankings. He is also widely considered the best Marth and Cloud player in the world, one of the best Lucina and Bayonetta players in the world, and formerly considered one of the best Corrin players and the best Meta Knight player prior to dropping both characters. Leo arguably popularized both Meta Knight and Marth, characters that had been seen as mediocre after their nerfs from Brawl, as top players such as Abadango have since used Meta Knight against other top players until later updates nerfed the character, as well as lower-leveled players picking up Marth due to his dominance with him. He is the youngest player to win a major Smash 4 tournament, doing so at only 15 years old, achieving this feat at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga. Due to his aggressive style and heavy punish game with Meta Knight and proving his skills surpass those of top players at a very young age, some compare him to Nairo's early Brawl career.

He is also a proficient Smash 4 doubles player and usually teams with komorikiri or his cousin Javi. Leo/komorikiri consists of Cloud/Cloud and has taken 1st at majors such as Super Smash Con 2017, 2GGC: SCR Saga, Shine 2017, and GameTyrant Expo 2017. They were considered to be the best team in the world throughout 2017. Leo/Javi generally consists of Cloud/Sheik or Cloud/Cloud and dominate the Mexican and American scenes, taking impressive first places at major tournaments such as 2GGC: Civil War, 2GGC: Nairo Saga, and Canada Cup 2016. The duo has wins over the likes of ZeRo and Nairo, Mew2King and Ally, and Larry Lurr and ANTi.

MkLeo was signed by Echo Fox and Most Valuable Gaming from January 4, 2017, to February 21, 2020. He was later signed by T1 from February 26, 2020 to February 23rd, 2023. He is currently sponsored by Luminosity Gaming, having been signed by them along with Tweek on March 23rd, 2023.

Playstyle

Leo is known for his patient and calculative, yet aggressive playstyle with most of the characters he plays with, which grants him a strong punish game, as well as being known for his intense mindgames. He is most infamously known for his immaculate spacing and microspacing in neutral, especially with characters with swords and other disjointed hitboxes. As his career progressed, his strong mindgames transferred to his strong mentality as he became the number 1 player at the end of the competitive lifecycle of Smash 4 and in Ultimate. This is highlighted by some of his legendary loser's runs in multiple S-tier tournaments, most notably Evo 2019, Frostbite 2020, and Super Smash Con 2019, with multiple reverse 3-0 comebacks.

In Smash 4

As Marth, he is well known for his masterful spacing of Marth's aerials, as well as a surprisingly aggressive approach with a character that is often played with a more patient and defensive playstyle. His Marth in particular has been very effective against Bayonetta as Leo is known to lab that matchup a lot. As Cloud, he is more known for his defensive spacing and reserved usage of Limit Break-boosted moves, though he does retain his signature aggressive playstyle with him whenever he has the advantage, allowing him to pressure the opponent very well. As Meta Knight, he is known for his mastery of Meta Knight's combos, his uncanny ability for reading the opponent's air dodges, and his proficiency at executing the Rufio, Meta Knight's famous death combo. His Bayonetta is noted for its comeback ability and above-average combo game.

He is also notorious for his player knowledge, defeating his opponents convincingly after initially losing to them in their first encounter. However, he does have some problems on the Ryu match-up, having dropped sets to Darkshad, Trela, Venom, Klein, and takera (though he began showing improvement in the matchup lately, notably having a perfect record against Locus). He is also known to struggle against grab-focused characters such as Donkey Kong and Bowser; at 2GGC: MkLeo Saga, he said that the player he dislikes fighting the most is Tweek since he often plays Donkey Kong against Leo and has taken numerous sets off of him with the character.

In Ultimate

Leo's playstyle remains the same with the release of Ultimate. Over time his play style evolved towards a more all-around approach, able to play defensively passively along with his signature aggression depending on the match-up. Leo's first character, Ike, was characterized by a solid grasp on fundamentals and bread-and-butter combos. Ike's usage in the early days of Ultimate complimented the unrefined metagame, Leo's ability to outread his opponent combined with Ike's simple yet damaging combos lead him to great success. However, as the game developed, this simplicity would lead him to drop Ike and transition to his period of domination with Joker.

After dropping Ike, the first DLC character for the first Fighters' Pass Joker was released and Leo was interested in learning the character. As Joker, Leo has a mastery of combos and tools, being the main driving force of Joker's meta. While Leo had been previously known for his mastery of sword characters due to his unparalleled spacing ability, this same skill in spacing came into play with Joker's speed, able to weave in and out of combat just outside of the opponent's range. Leo's mastery of Joker emphasized all of the character's strengths: incredible edgeguarding and neutral with gun, a diversity of playstyles through movement, and an incredible read-heavy comeback factor due to Arsene. Leo's ability to adapt and adjust to his opponents became widely known, leading to the nickname of "Game 4 Leo", where he would initially struggle against his opponent, before dominantly defeating them in the latter half of a match. In fact, Joker's primary weakness, the inability to kill without Arsene, seemed absolutely negligible in the face of an unparalleled ability to read his opponent's habits. His infamous usage of forward air 1 into drag down up air and smash attack confirm would make even his base Joker a feared opponent.

Leo began playing Byleth upon the character's release, eventually transitioning to maining the character during the online era. Like many sword characters before, Byleth fit his mastery of spacing, but also provided a superb, yet simple neutral game with his usage of neutral air. While Leo's previous characters were highlighted by their explosive plays, this ability was emphasized in Byleth more than any other. Now, poignant reads lead into extreme punishes with shield breaks and spikes through down air or down smash, as well as deadly edge-guards with his unique usage of up-b. Leo's knowledge of the intricacies of Byleth's up-b was unmatched. With it, he routinely stole stocks at low percentages, often deciding the game then and there. With Byleth, Leo was shown to time and again be a master of reacting perfectly to an opponent's panic options, where a single mistake from would lead to a complete shift in momentum through a well-timed kill confirm, combo, or read. Even in matchups against quick characters, where Byleth is at a heavy disadvantage, Leo would find ways to close the space through well-timed usages of tilts and neutral air, to force his opponent into Byleth's disjointed aerials. His playstyle with Byleth is epitomized by precise, optimal play, combined with singular game-ending plays.

Tournament history

Mexico's Prodigy

MkLeo's tournament record before Smash 4 is relatively unknown, though it was implied that he has been playing competitively since 2008. His first tournament victory came at Anime Expo Mexico TNT 2009, with him being only 8 years of age at the time. 5 years later, he attended Smash Factor 3 in Project M singles, losing to his cousin Serge in winners finals, but defeating Ally in losers finals. He lost to Serge again in grand finals to place 2nd.

In Smash 4, MkLeo began as a Meta Knight main. Despite the character's unpopularity due to the nerfs from Brawl, MkLeo quickly became known as the best player in Mexico. He gained international fame in the Smash scene when he won Smash Factor 4, Mexico's largest Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at the time, and defeated EVO 2015 runner-up Mr.R in Grand Finals 3-1, 2-stocking him in each game he won to everyone's surprise. Although Smash Factor 4 was the only PGR tournament he attended that season, he was ranked 19th for the first Panda Global Rankings due to his performance. Later in the year, he would defeat Vinnie 3-1 in Grand Finals at True Combo, further proving his capabilities as a player. His victories not only created more interest in the Mexican Smash scene, but also helped popularize Meta Knight.

In 2016, Leo's usage of Meta Knight progressively decreased as he started to use Cloud and Marth instead. Following Meta Knight's nerfs and Marth's buffs in update 1.1.5, MkLeo began to rely more on Marth and Cloud and would only use Meta Knight in specific match-ups such as Peach, Ryu, and Sonic.

Due to visa issues, Leo was unable to attend an American tournament for most of 2016. He received his Canadian visa after registration for Get On My Level 2016 had closed, but a decision was made by TOs to allow him to enter despite this, due to widespread community approval. He defeated False and Nairo to reach top 8, but was defeated by Ally 1-3. In Loser's bracket he faced ZeRo in a highly anticipated set, which he narrowly lost 2-3 in a last hit, last stock situation, ending his run at 5th place. In the following few months, MkLeo would continue to rise as he would defeat Dabuz and Mr.R twice at Smash Factor 5 as well as Ally twice at Canada Cup 2016.

International rise to fame

In October 2016, MkLeo's visa was approved, allowing him to travel to the United States. His first American tournament, KTAR XIX, saw him defeating Nairo a second time but falling to ZeRo and Salem, placing 3rd. His next American tournament, UGC Smash Open, was his worst performance of the season as he would lose to Marss and Darkshad, placing 13th.

Although he would claim victory at Showdown: Battle Royale, MkLeo's first major American victory was at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga. Despite being sent to losers by VoiD, MkLeo would make an impressive losers run, eliminating Dabuz, ANTi, and Ally along the way. He then met ZeRo for the third time that season and was able to defeat him 3-0, becoming the 16th player to defeat him. He then won the rematch against VoiD in losers' finals and double-eliminated Larry Lurr to win his first American national tournament. With this victory, he became the youngest person ever to win a major Smash 4 tournament, a record that still stands today. His outstanding performance that season, culminating with his victory at 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, not only helped him rise up to 8th place on the Panda Global Rankings v2 but also helped him gain sponsorships from Echo Fox and Most Valuable Gaming.

With his new status as the youngest top 10 player, MkLeo went into the third season with hopes of becoming the best player in the world. His first tournament that season, 2GGC: GENESIS Saga, saw him lose to VoiD and Tweek, placing 5th. Despite this shortcoming, he would have a spectacular performance at GENESIS 4, defeating everyone in his path, including komorikiri, Mr.R, and Ally twice, to claim victory at his second supermajor ever.

His next few majors, however, would be marked with disappointments. At Frostbite 2017, he lost to kameme and VoiD, placing 13th. Although he had a successful performance at Frame Perfect Series 2, he failed to claim victory as he was unable to take a single game off of ZeRo, who cemented himself as MkLeo's bracket demon. Finally, he saw his worst performance yet by being upset by Meteor and AC at 2GGC: Civil War, finishing 65th.

Despite these disappointments, MkLeo would see his most successful season yet. He had several stellar performances such as his victory at Umebura Japan Major and top 3 placements at DreamHack Austin 2017, 2GGC: Nairo Saga, and CEO 2017. He also introduced a new secondary - Corrin - whom he used to claim victory at The Arena 2017 and defeat Salem at CEO 2017. His consistent victories over everyone except for ZeRo helped him rise all the way to 2nd on the Panda Global Rankings v3.

The fourth season, however, would be challenging for MkLeo as he would see some of his worst performances yet. At EVO 2017, he failed to make it past pools by losing to false and MuteAce, tying his worst placement at 65th. His next major, DreamHack Atlanta 2017, saw him losing to Vinnie and ZeRo, placing 17th. Finally, MkLeo would perform abysmally at the invitational PAX Arena at PAX West 2017, where he was only able to defeat KOSSismoss. Although MkLeo found success at a few majors during this period, he would still struggle against ZeRo. With Salem's victories at EVO 2017 - double-eliminating ZeRo in the process - and DreamHack Atlanta 2017 shutting MkLeo out of the top 2, people began to wonder whether MkLeo would drop even further.

However, MkLeo would see some light at GameTyrant Expo 2017. Although he fell to Elegant, he saw his first victory against ZeRo since 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, eliminating him using Meta Knight. He rematched Elegant in Grand Finals where he would barely double-eliminate him, with both sets going to the final game, claiming his first victory of the season.

The rest of the season saw a return to form for MkLeo. Although he would finish in 9th place at 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga, losing to komorikiri and VoiD, and fall victim to the 2GG curse by placing 3rd at the 2GGC tournament honoring him, he would claim victory at the final 2 national tournaments of the season: IBP Masters Showdown and 2GG Championship. The latter tournament was MkLeo's best performance of the season: he defeated ZeRo in a very quick 3-0 using Meta Knight and, although losing the first set of Grand Finals, defeated ZeRo yet again 3-1. Due to his strong performances towards the latter half of the season, MkLeo would only see a small drop to 4th place on the Panda Global Rankings v4.

During the off-season, MkLeo was invited to Smash 4 Boot Camp. He lost to Tweek and Cosmos in his group pool, entering the top 16 on Losers side. He beat Dabuz but lost to Larry Lurr, placing 9th.

Claiming the throne

Following ZeRo's retirement, MkLeo would become one of the contenders for the top spot alongside Nairo. MkLeo would start off strong by defending his title at GENESIS 5 and winning EVO Japan 2018. Nairo would fire back by winning and defeating MkLeo at both Niconico Tokaigi 2018 and Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas. In turn, MkLeo would win and defeat Nairo at both SwitchFest and Get On My Level 2018, picking up Bayonetta along the way. Eventually, Nairo's results started to decline, and it looked like MkLeo was to secure the top position. However, he was met with yet another challenger for the top spot: his rival Tweek, who won EGLX 2018, MomoCon 2018 and 2GG: Hyrule Saga; the latter tournament was one of the largest events of the season and was a tournament where Leo took a loss to ZAKI and ended in 7th place. With yet another challenger to the throne on the rise, all eyes were on CEO 2018, the tournament that would decide whether Tweek or MkLeo would take the throne. Despite taking an early loss to Captain L, Tweek refused to concede, and he made a brutal loser's run 3-0ing almost everyone in his way to meet MkLeo in Grand Finals, where he managed to 3-0 MkLeo with Donkey Kong to reset the bracket. However, MkLeo was able to overcome the Donkey Kong in the second set and, after Tweek pulled out Bayonetta, he switched to Marth to not only win the tournament but claim the vacant throne on the Panda Global Rankings v5.

MkLeo would also be invited to the Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 for the then-upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In the first round, MkLeo used Bayonetta and teamed with Mango to defeat Mr.R and Lucky. He then defeated Mango's Inkling with Sonic, but then lost to ZeRo's Sheik while using Snake. In Loser's Finals, MkLeo controversially swept Plup's Ridley with Bayonetta, causing discord in the audience due to Bayonetta's unpopularity in Smash 4. He would then rematch ZeRo in Grand Finals, resetting the bracket 2-0 with Bayonetta and Sonic over ZeRo's Mario and Sheik, but then losing 1-2, placing 2nd.

In the final season, MkLeo would only register for three major tournaments. He dropped out of EVO 2018 due to chickenpox but was able to come back strong by winning Super Smash Con 2018, only losing 3 games to WaDi, Nairo, and Samsora. At his final tournament, Shine 2018, he was upset 1-2 by JaKaL and performed one last Loser's run, defeating Dabuz and VoiD before falling to Tweek, finishing 5th.

Due to MkLeo's success throughout Smash 4's lifespan culminating in his rise to the throne in the game's final year, MkLeo was ranked 3rd on the PGR 100, the all-time Smash 4 ranking, behind ZeRo and Nairo.

The Ultimate player

Following his performance at the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate invitational, MkLeo went into Ultimate with strong results, using a combination of Ike and Lucina. MkLeo's first national tournament for the new game was Smash Conference United where he would claim victory over Samsora. At GENESIS 6, the first Ultimate supermajor, MkLeo would be sent to Loser's by Samsora in Winner Semis. However, he made an impressive losers run, defeating Light, Dabuz, Samsora in a runback then VoiD 3-1 in both grand finals and its bracket reset to take his third GENESIS title in a row.

With his impressive showing at GENESIS 6, MkLeo was shaping up to potentially be the best player in the world. However, his Smash 4 rival Tweek would challenge that position at Frostbite 2019, where he would beat MkLeo twice in Winner's Finals and Grand Finals. During this time, MkLeo would also experience a character crisis as he believed that Ike was holding him back, and he would experiment with Wolf and Marth. He would also fail to claim victory at a major save for Smash Ultimate Summit, which didn't count for the Spring 2019 PGRU.

With the release of Joker in Challenger Pack 1, MkLeo devoted more time to the new character and picked him up as a main despite the character's lukewarm reception in regards to viability. His first tournament with Joker, Umebura Japan Major 2019, ended with a dud as he was upset by TKM and Umeki to place 33rd, his worst Ultimate placement to date. However, he would stick with Joker and eventually started to see success with the character when he placed 4th at Get On My Level 2019. Following this tournament, however, MkLeo began his top 2-placing streak by placing first at the next three tournaments he participated in. MkLeo would showcase Joker's advantages with a commanding 3-stock on Samsora at Grand Finals of Smash 'N' Splash 5 as well as his run at CEO 2019, where he would only drop 2 games to ProtoBanham and Marss. At the end of the season, MkLeo took the top spot on the Spring 2019 PGRU, cementing himself as the best player in the world.

The following season continued MkLeo's dominance. He would have a weak start by losing to Marss twice at Smash Factor 8, the first Smash Factor tournament MkLeo attended and failed to win. Then, at EVO 2019, the largest Smash tournament to date, MkLeo would fall to kameme 0-2 in Winner's Top 24. This, however, didn't hold him back and he would make one of the best Loser's run of his career, defeating Maister, ScAtt, and Abadango to reach Top 8, and then zackray, Raito, Samsora, and Glutonny to reach Tweek in Grand Finals. Although Tweek would defeat MkLeo in the first 2 games, MkLeo held on, taking the third game. In the fourth game, MkLeo would make an impressive 3-stock comeback and would dominate Tweek in the remaining four games, winning EVO for the first time. The next week at Super Smash Con 2019 MkLeo would be in the exact same situation: after falling to Samsora in Winner Semi-Final, he would tear through the Loser's Bracket and defeat Samsora 3-2 and 3-0 in the bracket reset, claiming victory at his second Super Smash Con.

For the rest of the season, MkLeo would place 1st at every single tournament he attended aside from Shine 2019, Mainstage, and Mega Smash Mondays 213. He would only lose to 6 players at PGRU tournaments - Marss, kameme, Samsora, Nairo, Glutonny, and ESAM; Marss, Samsora, and Glutonny would also be the only players who would take more than one set off of him. MkLeo also became notorious for clutching out game 4 in sets against players while down 1-2, such as against Tweek at EVO 2019 and Samsora at Super Smash Con 2019, earning him the nickname "Game 4 Leo." The second PGRU season saw MkLeo ranked 1st once again with a win rate of 81.3%, over 12% higher than Zackray, the player with the next-highest win rate.

Online era

Leo's first tournament of 2020 was GENESIS 7 where he tried to defend his three-year winning streak. He was initially sent into Loser's bracket by Samsora in a game 5 set during top 8 and, after fighting through several top players, lost to Marss 0-3 in Grand Finals, ending the streak. He would bounce back next month with his victory at Frostbite 2020. Although he was upset 0-3 by Prodigy in winners Top 96, he tore through the Loser's bracket, defeating the likes of Salem, Dark Wizzy, Samsora, Nairo, Zackray, Dabuz, Tea, and Tweek to reach Grand Finals; many of these sets went to game 5, including a reverse 3-0 on Tweek and a last-hit scenario with Tea. In Grand Finals, he 6-0'd Maister to win the whole tournament, famously choosing Byleth for the final game.

With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down tournaments worldwide, MkLeo began to participate in online tournaments. However, he quickly realized that Joker performed noticeably worse online and attempted to find a new online main, using Byleth, Lucina, Cloud, Wolf, and Greninja throughout the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5 season. At the start of the season, MkLeo would struggle to place top 8 at major online tournaments, falling to Wi-Fi Warriors such as IcyMist, BestNess, Epic_Gabriel, and Kola, as well as other players such as Hungrybox and rat. He also developed a bracket demon in Sonix, who held an 8-2 record over him by the end of the season. He would match his worst offline placement twice, first at The Box, losing to Jw and Prodigy, and then at The Box: Juice Box 8, losing to GamingHI9x9 and AoS.

Despite these early shortcomings, MkLeo eventually found some success. Towards the latter half of the online season, MkLeo would stick to Wolf, Cloud, and Greninja and started to consistently place in the top 8 at major tournaments. His best placement that season was at the S-Tier tournament The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1, where he only lost to Sonix in Winner's Finals and Grand Finals, placing 2nd. By the end of the season, he would have an even record against the entire top 10 and would be ranked 11th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5.

In the 6th season, MkLeo started to play more Byleth and produced solid results such as 5th at A-tier Zinc Tank 3 and 9th at S-tier Lockhart Series. However, throughout the first half of the season, MkLeo would fail to claim victory at any major online tournament and his only victory would be at the B-tier Frame Perfect Series: ONLINE. It would not be until November when MkLeo would finally win a major tournament: the S-Tier tournament Ultimate 32. Starting off in the top 32, MkLeo defeated several top players including BestNess, Sharp, and Sparg0 as he used solo Byleth throughout most of the top 32 and top 8 brackets. Coming from Loser's side, he faced Maister in Grand Finals, where he lost the first two games. He then switched to Ike, considered one of Mr. Game & Watch's worst matchups, and pulled off a reverse 3-0 against Maister, resetting the bracket. He then defeated Maister 3-0 in the reset, winning the largest tournament of the season. Despite being an online tournament, several players compared MkLeo's performance to his runs at EVO 2019 and Super Smash Con 2019 and congratulated him on his victory.

Although MkLeo entered fewer tournaments than he did the previous season, his victory at Ultimate 32, as well as his overall outstanding results, brought his rank up to 6th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6.

In the 7th season, MkLeo would only make appearances at a couple online tournaments, notably placing 2nd at both the S-tier The Airlock, defeating everyone aside from Sonix, and the first Phase 1 Qualifier for the Smash World Tour 2021, playing the newly-released Pyra for most of the tournament. Following the latter tournament, MkLeo announced he was going to stop attending online tournaments, although he would attend three other tournaments: Ultimate @ Xanadu Online 400 due to its high prize pool, Frame Perfect Series 5: ONLINE at the request of Mew2King, and Smash Alzheimer's after being invited. Despite entering fewer tournaments than the sixth season, he would rise up to 5th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7.

Adaptations in a changing metagame

As offline slowly returned, MkLeo decided to commit to Byleth and the Aegis, as he saw his Joker as rusty. MkLeo attended his first offline tournament since Frostbite 2020 at SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals, where he won the event without dropping a set. His next tournament, Smash Ultimate Summit 3, saw him face-to-face with his longtime rival Tweek. However, for the first time since Frostbite 2019, Tweek managed to defeat MkLeo 3-0 twice with his new main Diddy Kong, leaving MkLeo at 2nd. Two weeks later, the rivals met again at Riptide. Although Tweek was up 2-0 against him, MkLeo managed to turn it around and ended their match with a three-stock. He would then defeat Tweek once again in Grand Finals, winning his first supermajor since offline returned. These placements not only washed away any doubt at MkLeo's abilities post-quarantine but also started a shift in perception for Byleth, who was previously considered a low tier by many players. With all three characters in his pocket, MkLeo continued to place top 2 at every major he attended, only losing sets to ESAM, Dabuz, and Sparg0 at these majors, and culminating in him taking the title of World Champion at the Smash World Tour 2021 Championships.

Despite these successes, however, a notable weakness was starting to develop in the form of Min Min. MkLeo was unable to defeat the character with Byleth, forcing him to rely on his secondaries instead. Although he only met a couple of Min Mins during this season, they were not the smoothest sets: he went to game 5 versus Pink Fresh and lost to Dabuz for the first time this season. These results foreshadowed an obstacle that would be in MkLeo's way in the next season.

Despite having an incredibly strong 2021, MkLeo started 2022 lukewarmly as his dominance faltered a bit. At Smash Ultimate Summit 4, MkLeo lost to both Light and Glutonny and placed 3rd in his pools, relegating him to the Gauntlet Phase. Although he won his gauntlet, his run was ended by Sparg0 and ProtoBanham, both of whom defeated him after making a comeback in the fourth game; at 4th place, this was MkLeo's worst placement since Get On My Level 2019. The following day, he placed 3rd at G4 Smash Ultimate Invitational while primarily playing Corrin and Aegis, being double eliminated by Larry Lurr.

At the first supermajor, Collision 2022, MkLeo was reverse 3-0'd by Sparg0 before losing to Tweek, placing 3rd. These three placements, while still very good, were the first few tournaments since mid-2019 that MkLeo placed outside of the top 2, and his number one position was being challenged by Sparg0, who not only defeated MkLeo at two of these tournaments, but won all three of them as well.

As a result of these early results, MkLeo decided to change it up a bit by working on his Corrin, and he was able to showcase how strong the character could be at Delfino Maza RETA 2022. MkLeo placed 1st using a combination of Byleth and Corrin, defeating Sparg0 in Grand Finals and finishing the tournament with a 24-1 game count record, winning his first major since the Smash World Tour 2021 Championships. While many players applauded his skill with Corrin, others hoped it could mark a return to form, and many eyes were on him and Sparg0 for GENESIS 8.

Although there were several upsets at GENESIS 8, MkLeo managed to cruise into top 8, having only pulled out Corrin for three games total. Leo then defeated both Light and Sparg0 with Byleth before swiftly taking out Glutonny to win the tournament, marking his first supermajor win of 2022 and winning his runback against three players that had defeated him that season. The rest of the season marked a return to form for MkLeo, as he continued to place in the top 2 at every tournament he attended. His victories over Sparg0 at Relax & Smash at GeekFest Cancún were enough to barely edge his rival out on the rankings. Although he remained the best player in the world for the PGRU v3 season, a mere 0.7 points separated him and Sparg0, making it the closest someone has dethroned him.

The competition continued to tighten in the next season, with MkLeo facing three obstacles that challenged his position on the throne. The first was the matchup against Min Min, whom he would say was his least favorite character. At the supermajor Double Down 2022, he ran into ProtoBanham, who had previously defeated MkLeo at Smash Ultimate Summit 4 using a mixture of Min Min and Lucina. ProtoBanham fought using mostly the former and managed to defeat MkLeo and his Corrin in Winner's Finals, but MkLeo managed to win the runback in the first set of Grand Finals, this time using R.O.B., yet another character he had been working on. However, he was unable to defeat ProtoBanham in the second set, leaving ProtoBanham as the winner. Following the tournament, MkLeo conceded that he played too many characters and noted his struggle against Min Min.

His second obstacle came in the form of another Fighter Pass 2 character: Steve, a character that many players believed was overpowered. Japan's rising star acola had dominated the Japanese Smash scene since March and defeated several of North America's best players to win The Gimvitational, sparking debates on whether it was possible for acola to be the best player in the world instead of MkLeo. The two had avoided each other due to MkLeo's presence in Europe during The Gimvitational and acola dropping out of Super Smash Con 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, many players began anticipating for a set between the two at Smash Ultimate Summit 5. In addition, MkLeo suffered a devastating 3-0 loss to Onin at Super Smash Con which ended in a 3 stock from the rising Steve player; MkLeo ultimately placed 5th after losing to Glutonny, the first time he failed to make top 4 at a tournament since Umebura Japan Major 2019 over 3 years prior, while Onin went on to win the tournament through the winner's side.

The final obstacle came in the form of a character crisis as MkLeo not only dropped Corrin and R.O.B., but began to slowly shift away from his Byleth in favor of Pyra and Mythra, due to him finding the latter two more fun to play. However, this started to work against him, as seen in his 5th-place finish at Super Smash Con 2022. Although he remained confident in the character after winning the major Rise 'N Grind solely using the character, this confidence was shattered by his performance at Smash Ultimate Summit 5. Having ended up in the Gauntlet round after losing to Riddles in pools, MkLeo was unable to make it out on the Winner's side after Glutonny reverse 3-0'd him, leaving MkLeo in the Loser's side. In the final bracket, Tweek handily defeated MkLeo in the first two games of their set, forcing him to switch to Byleth. However, despite coming very close, MkLeo was unable to complete the reverse 3-0 and Tweek eliminated him in 9th; not only was MkLeo unable to face acola, who would've been his next opponent after Tweek, but it also marked the first time ever since Umebura Japan Major 2019 where he failed to make top 8.

Although he eventually decided to switch back to Byleth, the damage was done: his two underwhelming performances caused players to once again question MkLeo's position in the current metagame. The discussion shifted from whether MkLeo was still #1 to who was #1, and during this period several candidates popped up, which included Light, who had seen consistent top 3 placements throughout the year, and acola, who continued to dominate the Japanese Smash scene after his victory at The Gimvitational. Many players believed a clearer answer would present itself at the supermajor Ludwig Smash Invitational, a tournament that saw both Light and acola seeded above MkLeo.

Having returned to Byleth, MkLeo not only won the tournament, but bested the competition by winning every single game he played save for the first game against Kurama, whom he ultimately won the runback. Furthermore, MkLeo finally had his long-anticipated set against acola, which went 3-0 in MkLeo's favor in both Winner Semis and Grand Finals. With Light finishing in a disappointing 13th and MkLeo defeating acola twice, doubt on MkLeo's abilities quickly faded away.

However, he would not be able to follow up on this outing, largely due to situations out of his control. MkLeo had been developing hearing problems, which led to him canceling most of his travel plans, including a tournament dedicated in his honor in Canada. Although he had planned on only attending the circuit finale tournaments, those plans were dashed following the Smash World Tour 2022 Championships's cancellation and the shutdown of the Panda Cup that followed. With the two major end-of-season tournaments gone, the only other tournament MkLeo attended was the Scuffed World Tour, the Smash World Tour's replacement tournament. However, his performance was significantly weaker than his previous Ludwig appearance: he ultimately placed 5th, going game 5 against Kazuya players Ferps and Riddles - the latter of which he reintroduced his Marth into top competitive play - but being 3-0'd by Tweek and Shuton, both of whom solidified themselves as MkLeo's new bracket demons. Despite this disappointing season, as well as a rather inconsistent season overall, most power rankings, including the half-year UltRank 2022 and the yearly OrionRank 2022, still ranked him first, albeit with very close competition from both acola and Sparg0.

Losing the throne

After MkLeo's most fragile year yet, he began working on ways to keep his hold on the throne. The most notable change was his character lineup, as MkLeo swapped out his Byleth for his former main Joker while maintaining many other characters as secondaries. He put this Joker to use at Let's Make Big Moves 2023, but the choice initially backfired, as after being defeated by Tweek, he stubbornly stuck with the character against Sonix, resulting in his first ever loss to his former online bracket demon, ending his run at 4th. Nevertheless, he stuck with his character choices in GENESIS 9. Although he used Joker for most of the tournament, he pulled out R.O.B. against Justice to barely clutch out a 3-2 victory, and used the Aegis against Sonix, where despite going down 2-0, MkLeo managed to reverse the bracket and redeem his previous loss. Although he did also pull out his Byleth, it ultimately cost MkLeo his set to MuteAce, who defeated the Byleth in the first 2 games and took a win over the Joker in the fourth, knocking MkLeo into Loser Finals. Following yet another reverse 3-0, this time against Light, MkLeo stuck with the Joker for all 2 sets against MuteAce, and despite MuteAce surviving to high percents for almost every game, MkLeo was able to defeat MuteAce twice, claiming his fifth ever GENESIS title.

But GENESIS proved to be an outlier for his season, as MkLeo followed it up with his worst performances since the early metagame: 9th place finishes at Collision 2023, Smash Ultimate Summit 6, and Get On My Level 2023 -- with more losses than wins at Summit -- as well as a 13th place finish at Battle of BC 5. His record against Tweek, Riddles, and Glutonny continued to worsen as they became three of his biggest bracket demons, with Riddles notably defeating him 3-0 at both Collision and Summit. Furthermore, MkLeo began dropping more sets to players outside of the top 10, including to ShinyMark at Collision, ApolloKage at Summit, and Jakal at Crown the Third. Conversely, his record against the top 10 worsened, as for the first half of 2023 he not only had a losing record against his three bracket demons but also a losing record acola and an even record with Sparg0, with acola soundly defeating MkLeo at Summit and Sparg0 double-eliminating MkLeo at MAJOR UPSET, which marked the first Ultimate major that MkLeo lost from the Winner's side of Grand Finals. These performances were also hindered by MkLeo's continued character crisis, from adding Meta Knight to his lineup at Summit to sticking to only the Aegis and Byleth for MAJOR UPSET and Crown, to returning to Joker at Get On My Level. Due to his underwhelming major performances and poor record against players in the top 10, most players stopped considering MkLeo for the season's top 3, let alone the best player in the world. This was ultimately reflected in his final placement on the LumiRank Mid-Year 2023, where he fell all the way down to 7th, the first time he was not ranked in the top 5 since the PGR v2.

Following this season, MkLeo decided to take a step back from competing to focus on his personal life, opting to only attend events in Mexico until October. He attended a few events during this time, including the supermajor Smash Factor X and the major Delfino Maza 2023. His performance at these events, however, were also rather underwhelming; aside from winning two superregionals, MkLeo underperformed at most of the events he attended. For example, Smash Factor X marked the first Smash Factor event since Smash Factor 2013 where he didn't make Grand Finals, as he ultimately placed 5th. In addition, this period saw MkLeo gain his first-ever unranked loss, losing to SuperDog 2-1 at Hooters Universidad Smash Ultimate, a regional event where he ultimately placed 4th.

Little seemed to change once October came, as at Rise 'N Grind 2023, MkLeo once again saw his worst placement at a major since Umebura Japan Major 2019. After losing 3-0 to Skinny the Pooh, having stuck to Joker the entire set despite his Joker historically having trouble against Mario, MkLeo ran into Riddles in Loser's Round 4. Despite pulling out Marth, who he used to defeat Riddles previously, Riddles ultimately defeated MkLeo 3-2, eliminating MkLeo at 17th. This trend would continue at Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023, as MkLeo would lose yet another set to a Mario player, this time to Kurama. Picking up Marth for the first two games and switching to Lucina for the third game. This gamble would not pay off as he would lose 3-0 to him, reminiscent of his loss to him at Frostbite 2020. He later lost 3-1 to SHADIC in the losers bracket. Ending his run at 13th. Later, he started off decent at the most stacked tournament of the year Port Priority 8 where he reverse 3-0'd MVD to qualify for top 64 Winners Side. He then faced against Kaninabe, the best Fox player in Japan, who was fresh off of reverse 3-0ing his fellow Luminosity teammate Tweek. Kaninabe also proceeded to beat Leo 3-2 in a clutch fashion with a jump read up air, sending him into the losers bracket. He then fought MuteAce in a runback from GENESIS 9 earlier this year, but this time MuteAce came out on top 3-0ing MkLeo's Byleth, tying his worst placement at 17th since Umebura Japan Major 2019, along with the rest of the Mexican players Sparg0, Skyjay, and Maister.

So far, things were not looking good for MkLeo. Not only had he lost sets to non-top level players but also failed to make it into top 8 at every major he attended after Delfino Maza 2023. It reached such a low that some people would go as far as to question if MkLeo would even end up in the top 10. As 2023 would near it’s end, MkLeo would attempt to make in roads at two important events. Ultimate Fighting Arena 2023 and Watch The Throne, the former being the largest Smash Ultimate tournament in Europe and an latter being an invitational tournament that included the best ultimate players in the world. At UFA, MkLeo would have a rough start after losing to NaetorU 1-3 in top 64, yet another underwhelming loss to yet another non-top level player. However, MkLeo would later soar through top 64 losers and would eventually make it to top 8. He then went on to defeat Tarik 3-2 and would upset Tea 3-1, the latter being the number one seed of the tournament. Unfortunately, he would be upsetted by Raflow 2-3 in Losers Semifinals, finishing his run at 4th. Despite the losses, this was a drastic improvement for MkLeo, being his best placement in an Ultimate major since MAJOR UPSET almost 8 months ago. Then December came and so did the last invitational of the year, Watch The Throne. On the Round Robin stage, MkLeo would take a set off Ken 3-1, but would lose back to back sets off both Sonix 0-3 and Lui$ 1-3. He would later be sent to Gauntlet and would face off Sparg0, but Sparg0 ultimately defeated MkLeo 1-3 which resulted in MkLeo starting in losers. MkLeo who despite the poor start, started to perform better as he would defeat ApolloKage 3-2, a player which he had previously lost to twice earlier this year, and would then defeat Dabuz 3-1 successfully making to top 8. But would soon lose to Ken 1-3 ending his run at 7th. Despite the streak of bad performances and poor results, MkLeo would prove to show some degree of consistency given his encouraging performances at those two events. And most people would start to regain confidence that MkLeo may stay as a top 10 player.

Rankings

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Mexican Power Rankings

Ranking	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
2017	42nd

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Panda Global Rankings

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
PGR v1	January 2015-May 2016	19th
PGR v2	May-December 2016	8th
PGR v3	January-June 2017	2nd
PGR v4	June-December 2017	4th
PGR v5	January-July 2018	1st
PGR 100	January 2015-November 2018	3rd

OrionRank

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
OrionRank 2016	March 15th-December 18th, 2016	3rd
OrionRank 2017	December 24th, 2016-December 24th, 2017	4th
OrionRank Mid-Spring 2018	January 1st-May 1st, 2018	1st
OrionRank 2018	January 1st-December 2nd, 2018	1st

EventHubs

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
EH 2016 SSB4Rank	January 2nd, 2016-February 4th, 2017	2nd

Mexican Power Rankings

Ranking	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
2017	1st

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Panda Global Rankings Ultimate

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
Spring 2019 PGRU	February 1st-July 7th, 2019	1st
Fall 2019 PGRU	July 13th-December 15th, 2019	1st
PGRUContenders NA	2021	S+ (1st)
PGRU v3 NA	March 1st-June 13th, 2022	1st

LumiRank

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
UltRank 2022	June 18th-December 18th, 2022	1st
LumiRank Mid-Year 2023	December 19th, 2022 - July 23rd, 2023	7th

OrionRank Ultimate

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
OrionRank Ultimate	January 5th-June 30th, 2019	1st
OrionRank 2019	January 5th-December 15th, 2019	1st
OrionRank Pre-Quarantine	December 27th, 2019-March 15th, 2020	1st
OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse	April 2020-December 19th, 2021	1st
OrionRank Mid-Year 2022	December 22nd, 2021-June 26th, 2022	1st
OrionRank 2022	December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022	1st

Wi-Fi Warrior Rank

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5	January-June 2020	11th
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6	July-December 2020	6th
Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v7	January-June 2021	5th

OrionRank North America

Ranking	Time period	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
OrionRank North America Top 200	January 2019-March 2020	1st
OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse North America	June 2020-December 19th, 2021	1st
OrionRank 2022 North America	December 22nd, 2021-December 18th, 2022	1st

Mexican Power Rankings

Ranking	Rank	Character(s)	Notes
2020/2021	1st
January-June 2022	1st

Tournament placings

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Smash 'N' Chill Weekly #7	February 28th, 2017	3rd	—	—
Smash Factor 6	August 4th-6th, 2017	—	9th	Serge

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Anime Expo Mexico TNT 2009	June 19th-21st, 2009	1st	—	—
Smash Factor 2013	July 19th-21st, 2013	9th	?	?

Project M

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Smash Factor 3	August 1st-3rd, 2014	2nd	—	—

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner
Smash Factor 4	July 24th-26th, 2015	1st	1st	Javi
Smash@Tier3 Volume 2	August 23rd, 2015	1st	1st	Javi
Smash@Tier3 Volume 3	September 26th, 2015	1st	—	—
Thunderstruck 3	October 16th-18th, 2015	1st	—	—
Smash@Tier3 Volume 4	October 24th, 2015	1st	1st	Javi
True Combo	October 31st-November 1st, 2015	1st	1st	Javi
Bring It!	November 21st, 2015	1st	1st	Javi
Smash@Tier3 Volume 5	November 28th, 2015	1st	—	—
Monster Kingdom	December 13th, 2015	2nd	—	—
Smash Pendiente XII	December 17th, 2015	1st	1st	Javi
TNT	December 21st, 2015	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente XIV	January 7th, 2016	1st	2nd	Hyuga
Time To Tip The Scales	January 9th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash@Tier3 Volume 6	February 6th, 2016	2nd	—	—
Smash Pendiente XIX	February 11th, 2016	1st	1st	Serge
Torneo del Amor - Friki	February 13th, 2016	1st	—	—
Hail Smash	March 12th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente XXIV	March 18th, 2016	1st	—	—
StreetBros	March 19th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente XXV	March 24th, 2016	2nd	—	—
The Arena 2016	March 25th-27th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXVI	March 31st, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXVII	April 7th, 2016	1st	—	—
Hail Smash II	April 16th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Street Bros 2	April 30th, 2016	2nd	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXXI	May 5th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Get On My Level 2016	May 20th-22nd, 2016	5th	—	—
Smash Pendiente XXXIV	May 26th, 2016	1st	—	—
Hail Smash III	May 28th-29th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXXV	June 2nd, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente XXXVI	June 9th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXXVII	June 16th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Factor Prelude	June 18th, 2016	2nd	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXXVIII	June 23rd, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente XXXIX	June 30th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 40	July 7th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente 41	July 14th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Orbit	July 23rd, 2016	1st	1st	Angel
Smash Factor 5	July 29th-31st, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 44	August 4th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 45	August 11th, 2016	1st	1st	Serge
Rio de Janeiro eGames Showcase 2016	August 15th-16th, 2016	3rd	—	—
Hail Smash V	August 20th-21st, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 47	August 25th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 48	September 1st, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 49	September 8th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Thunderstruck 4	September 17th-18th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente 51	September 22nd, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 52	September 29th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 53	October 6th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 54	October 13th, 2016	—	2nd	Lavi
Hail Smash VI	October 15th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Canada Cup 2016	October 28th-30th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 58	November 10th, 2016	1st	1st	Javi
KTAR XIX	November 19th, 2016	3rd	2nd	Mr.E
Smash Attack 14	November 20th, 2016	1st	1st	Max Ketchum
The Break Weekly #388	November 22nd, 2016	1st	—	—
XenoSaga IV	November 26th, 2016	1st	1st	Gomamugitya
The Break Weekly #389	November 29th, 2016	1st	—	—
Poplar Creek Bowl Weekly #76	December 1st, 2016	1st	3rd	Rickles
UGC Smash Open	December 2nd-4th, 2016	13th	2nd	Day
Ignition #60	December 7th, 2016	1st	—	—
Poplar Creek Bowl Weekly #77	December 8th, 2016	1st	1st	Mr.R
FNSD 26	December 9th, 2016	1st	—	—
Showdown: Battle Royale	December 10th-11th, 2016	1st	1st	Ally
GGSW 11	December 13th, 2016	1st	—	—
Smashfield Weeklies #68	December 15th, 2016	1st	—	—
2GGT: ZeRo Saga	December 16th-18th, 2016	1st	5th	Dabuz
Smash Pendiente 64	December 22nd, 2016	—	1st	Lavi
Smash Pendiente 65	December 29th, 2016	1st	1st	Yura
Smash Pendiente 66	January 5th, 2017	1st	1st	BryanZ
2GGC: GENESIS Saga	January 14th, 2017	5th	1st	komorikiri
Mega Smash Mondays 81	January 16th, 2017	2nd	—	—
GENESIS 4	January 20th-22nd, 2017	1st	1st	Ally
Smash Pendiente 69	January 26th, 2017	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente 70	February 2nd, 2017	—	1st	Javi
Austin's Really Feeling It 16	February 11th, 2017	2nd	—	—
The Smash Pack #7	February 11th, 2017	1st	1st	Hakii
Freezing Point: A Prelude to Frostbite	February 24th, 2017	1st	—	—
Frostbite 2017	February 25th-26th, 2017	13th	1st	Ally
Smash 'N' Chill Weekly #7	February 28th, 2017	1st	—	—
No Fun Allowed	March 4th, 2017	1st	1st	Cosmos
League of Shadows Season 7 Weekly 09	March 9th, 2017	1st	—	—
Smash 4 at KI Con	March 10th-12th, 2017	2nd	1st	Nairo
Frame Perfect Series 2	March 18th-19th, 2017	3rd	4th	Mew2King
2GGC: Civil War	March 24th-26th, 2017	65th	1st	Javi
Mega Smash Mondays 91	March 27th, 2017	2nd	—	—
Wednesday Night Fights Winter Season 1.7	March 29th, 2017	1st	—	—
KTAR XX	April 1st-2nd, 2017	3rd	1st	ZeRo
The Arena 2017	April 8th-9th, 2017	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 80	April 20th, 2017	1st	2nd	Javi
DreamHack Austin 2017	April 28th-30th, 2017	2nd	1st	ZeRo
KSB 2017	May 4th-6th, 2017	1st	—	—
Umebura Japan Major 2017	May 6th-7th, 2017	1st	1st	Mew2King
Toryumon Weekday Tournament x STUDIO SKY #2	May 10th, 2017	7th	—	—
Toryumon Weekday Tournament x STUDIO SKY #3	May 17th, 2017	17th	—	—
Battle of BC 2	June 3rd-4th, 2017	1st	1st	Mew2King
Mega Smash Mondays 24 - The Lose Episode	June 5th, 2017	2nd	—	—
Wednesday Night Fights 2017 Spring Season 2.5	June 7th, 2017	1st	—	—
2GGC: Nairo Saga	June 10th-11th, 2017	3rd	1st	Javi
Mega Smash Mondays 100	June 12th, 2017	4th	—	—
Wednesday Night Fights 2017 Spring Season 2.6	June 14th, 2017	1st	—	—
CEO 2017	June 16th-18th, 2017	2nd	—	—
Smash Pendiente 89	June 29th, 2017	1st	1st	Javi
Mega Smash Mondays 104	July 10th, 2017	3rd	—	—
EVO 2017	July 14th-16th, 2017	65th	—	—
DreamHack Atlanta 2017	July 21st-23rd, 2017	17th	1st	Ally
International Gaming Expo	July 28th-30th, 2017	1st	1st	Locus
Smash Factor 6	August 4th-6th, 2017	1st	1st	Javi
Super Smash Con 2017	August 10th-13th, 2017	3rd	1st	komorikiri
Weds Night Fights 2017 Summer Season 3.3	August 16th, 2017	1st	—	—
2GGC: SCR Saga	August 19th-20th, 2017	2nd	1st	komorikiri
Shine 2017	August 25th-27th, 2017	5th	1st	komorikiri
PAX Arena at PAX West 2017	September 1st-4th, 2017	9th	—	—
Smash Pendiente 100	September 14th, 2017	1st	1st	Yura
GameTyrant Expo 2017	September 29th-October 1st, 2017	1st	1st	komorikiri
2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga	October 14th-15th, 2017	9th	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 104	October 19th, 2017	1st	1st	Captain Levi
Canada Cup 2017	October 28th-30th, 2017	1st	1st	Mew2King
2GGC: MkLeo Saga	November 4th, 2017	3rd	2nd	Javi
IBP Masters Showdown	November 11th-12th, 2017	1st	—	—
Smash Pendiente 108	November 16th, 2017	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 109	November 23rd, 2017	1st	1st	Javi
2GG Championship	December 1st-3rd, 2017	1st	—	—
Mega Smash Mondays 124	December 4th, 2017	1st	—	—
Smash 4 Boot Camp	December 7th-10th, 2017	9th	1st	Tweek
Smash Pendiente 113	December 21st, 2017	1st	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 116	January 11th, 2018	1st	2nd	Yura
GENESIS 5	January 19th-21st, 2018	1st	1st	Javi
Toryumon Weekday Tournament x STUDIO SKY #18	January 24th, 2018	2nd	—	—
EVO Japan 2018	January 26th-28th, 2018	1st	—	—
Umebura Tokaigi Qualifier 1	February 3rd, 2018	1st	—	—
Toryumon Weekday Tournament x STUDIO SKY #19	February 7th, 2018	1st	—	—
Niconico Tokaigi 2018	February 10th-11th, 2018	2nd	—	—
Smash Pendiente 121	February 15th, 2018	3rd	1st	Javi
Smash Pendiente 123	March 1st, 2018	1st	1st	Javi
Midwest Mayhem 11	March 10th, 2018	3rd	1st	CaptainZack
Smash Pendiente 125	March 15th, 2018	1st	4th	Yura
Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas	March 24th-25th, 2018	2nd	—	—
Mexcombat	April 1st, 2018	4th	—	—
Noods Noods Noods: Oakland Edition	April 7th, 2018	1st	—	—
SwitchFest	April 21st-22nd, 2018	1st	1st	komorikiri
Arcane Tournaments 2018	April 27th-29th, 2018	1st	1st	Javi
Get On My Level 2018	May 18th-20th, 2018	1st	2nd	Mistake
Smash 'N' Splash 4	June 1st-3rd, 2018	3rd	3rd	komorikiri
2GG: Hyrule Saga	June 23rd-24th, 2018	7th	9th	Javi
CEO 2018	June 29th-July 1st, 2018	1st	—	—
Super Smash Con 2018	August 9th-12th, 2018	1st	1st	Cosmos
Shine 2018	August 24th-26th, 2018	5th	1st	ANTi
Super Smash Con 2019	August 8th-11th, 2019	—	2nd	Javi

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Tournament	Date	1v1 placement	2v2 placement	Partner	Earnings
Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018	June 12th, 2018	2nd	—	—
Smash Mania 2	December 21st, 2018	1st	—	—
Smash Conference United	January 5th-6th, 2019	1st	2nd	Wizzrobe	$2,074
Glitch 6	January 19th-20th, 2019	4th	1st	Ally
GENESIS 6	February 1st-3rd, 2019	1st	4th	Javi	$8,420
Wednesday Night Fights 4.12	February 6th, 2019	1st	—	—
Heart of Battle	February 9th, 2019	1st	1st	WaDi
Mega Smash Mondays 176	February 11th, 2019	2nd	—	—
Frostbite 2019	February 22nd-24th, 2019	2nd	5th	Nairo	$2,478
Smash Ultimate Summit	March 8th-10th, 2019	1st	—	—	$17,132.61
2GG: Prime Saga Kickoff	April 12th, 2019	2nd	—	—
2GG: Prime Saga	April 13th-14th, 2019	7th	1st	Javi
Smash Ultimate MVG Round-Robin #3	April 16th, 2019	1st	—	—
Pound 2019	April 19th-21st, 2019	7th	5th	Mew2King	$240
Umebura Japan Major 2019	May 1st-2nd, 2019	33rd	—	—
EGS Cup	May 6th, 2019	2nd	—	—
Toryumon Kiwami #18	May 8th, 2019	1st	—	—
Get On My Level 2019	May 17th-19th, 2019	4th	1st	Serge	$755.09
MomoCon 2019	May 23rd-26th, 2019	1st	2nd	Marss	$4,500
Smash 'N' Splash 5	May 31st-June 2nd, 2019	1st	13th	Mew2King
CEO 2019	June 28th-30th, 2019	1st	—	—	$5,820
Turtul Returns	July 14th, 2019	1st	—	—
Smash Factor 8	July 26th-28th, 2019	2nd	1st	Javi
EVO 2019	August 2nd-4th, 2019	1st	—	—	$21,204
S@X 314	August 6th, 2019	1st	—	—
Super Smash Con 2019	August 8th-11th, 2019	1st	2nd	Javi	$12,186
Shine 2019	August 23rd-25th, 2019	2nd	1st	Dark Wizzy	$1,764
Uprising 2019	August 31st-September 1st, 2019	1st	1st	Raito
Mainstage	September 20th-September 22nd, 2019	2nd	1st	Glutonny
Smash4Glory #6	October 3rd, 2019	1st	—	—
Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019	October 4th-6th, 2019	1st	1st	Longo	$3,775.40
Smash Ultimate Summit 2	October 24th-27th, 2019	1st	—	—	$14,310.04
Mega Smash Mondays 213	October 28th, 2019	2nd	—	—
Wednesday Night Fights 3.13	October 31st, 2019	1st	—	—
Canada Cup 2019	November 1st-3rd, 2019	1st	—	—
Soda Smash XVI	November 17th, 2019	1st	—	—	$140.17
Smash'n'Sip #31	November 19th, 2019	1st	—	—
VCA 2019	November 23rd-24th, 2019	1st	13th	Longo
Weicheischuppen Jr. #32	November 27th, 2019	1st	—	—
2GG: Kickoff - Kongo Saga	December 6th, 2019	1st	—	—
2GG: Kongo Saga	December 7th-8th, 2019	1st	1st	Glutonny
GENESIS 7	January 24th-26th, 2020	2nd	2nd	Glutonny	$5,141.50
MKSunday #62	February 2nd, 2020	1st	—	—
Frostbite 2020	February 21st-23rd, 2020	1st	13th	Dark Wizzy
Ultimate Naifu Wars 8	March 27th, 2020	9th	—	—
The Quarantine Series Opening Invitational	March 29th, 2020	7th	—	—	$200
Ultimate Naifu Wars 9	April 17th, 2020	13th	—	—
The Quarantine Series: Minor Tournament 1	April 18th-19th, 2020	17th	—	—
Pound Online	April 24th-26th, 2020	17th	—	—
BUK CAKES INVITATIONAL 1	April 30th, 2020	5th	—	—
Ultimate Naifu Wars 10	May 1st, 2020	3rd	—	—
The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1	May 2nd, 2020	2nd	—	—	$2,000
The Box	May 8th-10th, 2020	33rd	—	—
Ultimate Naifu Wars 11	May 15th, 2020	3rd	—	—
King of WiFi Random Characters	May 30th, 2020	2nd	—	—
Captain's Quarters 1	June 5th-6th, 2020	3rd	—	—
Ultimate Naifu Wars 12	June 12th, 2020	5th	—	—	$20
Captain's Quarters 2	June 19th-20th, 2020	1st	—	—	$200
Playing for Pride	June 20th-21st, 2020	4th	—	—
The Box: Lunch Box 1	June 24th, 2020	9th	—	—
Ultimate Naifu Wars 13	June 27th, 2020	5th	—	—
Flat Realm #6	June 27th-28th, 2020	1st	—	—
The Box: The Cube Charity Doubles Invitational	July 24th, 2020	—	3rd	Maister
Flat Realm 7	July 31st, 2020	3rd	—	—
Juice Box #8	August 5th, 2020	33rd	—	—
Epic_Tournament	August 7th-8th, 2020	7th	—	—
Lockhart Series	August 9th, 2020	9th	—	—
Elympics 1	August 15th, 2020	9th	—	—
The Collective 2	August 16th, 2020	7th	—	—
Zinc Tank 3	August 16th, 2020	5th	—	—
Juice Box 10	August 19th, 2020	1st	—	—	$100
Frame Perfect Series: ONLINE	August 22nd, 2020	1st	—	—
THE 8.0 GIMVITATIONAL	August 23rd, 2020	3rd	—	—
The Box: Lunch Box 3	August 26th, 2020	2nd	—	—
Maister's RNG Invitational	September 25th, 2020	3rd	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 3: ONLINE	November 8th, 2020	17th	—	—
Ultimate 32	November 14th-15th, 2020	1st	—	—	$4,400
The Sephiroth Gimvitational	Janurary 2nd-3rd, 2021	2nd	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 4: ONLINE	January 17th, 2021	7th	—	—
The Box: Juice Box #27	February 3rd, 2021	1st	—	—	$100
The Airlock	February 13th, 2021	2nd	—	—	$1,000
SWT: Mexico Ultimate Online Qualifier	March 13th-14th, 2021	2nd	—	—
Frame Perfect Series 5: ONLINE	April 18th, 2021	1st	—	—
Smash Alzheimer's	June 24th-25th, 2021	1st	—	—	$1,000
SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals	August 21st-22nd, 2021	1st	—	—	$1,600
Smash Ultimate Summit 3	August 26th-29th, 2021	2nd	—	—	$23,869.65
Mega Smash Mondays 241	August 30th, 2021	1st	—	—
Mega Smash Mondays 242	September 6th, 2021	1st	—	—
Riptide	September 10th-12th, 2021	1st	4th	naitosharp
Glitch 8.5 - Konami Code	September 24th-26th, 2021	2nd	3rd	BigBoss	$1,326.15
Low Tide City 2021	October 1st-3rd, 2021	1st	2nd	Javi
Port Priority 6	October 30th-31st, 2021	1st	2nd	Javi	$2,690.40
Uptown Smash #5	November 6th, 2021	1st	—	—
Mainstage 2021	November 12th-14th, 2021	1st	5th	Javi
Smash World Tour 2021 Championships	December 17th-19th, 2021	1st	—	—	$20,000
Smash Ultimate Summit 4	March 3rd-6th, 2022	4th	—	—	$15,779
G4 Smash Ultimate Invitational	March 7th, 2022	3rd	—	—
Collision 2022	March 12th-13th, 2022	3rd	1st	Glutonny	$1,685.25
Game Lab Smash #34	March 18th, 2022	1st	—	—	$291
Delfino Maza RETA 2022	April 1st-3rd, 2022	1st	—	—
GENESIS 8	April 15th-17th, 2022	1st	2nd	BigBoss	$11,754
Pound 2022	April 22nd-24th, 2022	2nd	—	—
Ultimate Tropical Arena	May 21st, 2022	2nd	—	—
Relax & Smash at GeekFest Cancún	June 3rd-5th, 2022	1st	1st	Law	$922
E-Caribana	June 19th, 2022	1st	—	—
95 Kings of Fields 2	June 25th-26th, 2022	1st	—	—	$2,431.39
COLOSSEL 2022	July 2nd-3rd, 2022	1st	—	—
Double Down 2022	July 8th-10th, 2022	2nd	2nd	BigBoss
Smash Factor 9	July 29th-31st, 2022	1st	1st	BigBoss
Super Smash Con 2022	August 11th-14th, 2022	5th	1st	Sisqui	$716.40
Rise 'N Grind	August 19th-21st, 2022	1st	1st	Chag	$2,802
Smash Ultimate Summit 5	September 15th-18th, 2022	9th	—	—
Ludwig Smash Invitational	October 21st-23rd, 2022	1st	—	—	$15,752
Scuffed World Tour	December 18th, 2022	5th	—	—
Let's Make Big Moves 2023	January 6th-8th, 2023	4th	2nd	BigBoss	$1,161
GENESIS 9	January 20th-22nd, 2023	1st	33rd	MKBigBoss	$7,290
MSM ZERO.2	January 23rd-24th, 2023	1st	—	—
Collision 2023	March 10th-12th, 2023	9th	4th	MKBigBoss
Smash Ultimate Summit 6	March 23rd-26th, 2023	9th	—	—	$2,084
MAJOR UPSET	April 1st-2nd, 2023	2nd	1st	MKBigBoss
Battle of BC 5	May 19th-21st, 2023	13th	1st	MKBigBoss
Crown the Third	June 3rd-4th, 2023	5th / 418	3rd / 99	Maister
Wavedash 2023	June 16th-18th, 2023	1st / 330	1st / 54	MKBigBoss	$1,962
Get On My Level 2023	July 21st-23rd, 2023	9th / 877	9th / 132	MKBigBoss
Smash Factor X	July 28th-30th, 2023	5th / 702	1st / 108	MKBigBoss
Delfino Maza 2023	August 18th-20th, 2023	7th / 347	1st / 104	MKBigBoss
Hooters Universidad Smash Ultimate	September 27th, 2023	4th / 145	—	—	$600 MXN
The Hex of Sorcerer Vol. X	September 30th, 2023	1st / 104	2nd / 28	Axljacob	???
Maingame Fest Mini: Invitacional	October 4th, 2023	1st / 8	—	—	—
Rise 'N Grind 2023	October 13th-15th, 2023	17th / 443	1st / 75	MKBigBoss	???
Luminosity Makes Moves Miami 2023	October 27th-29th, 2023	13th / 387	7th / 73	MKBigBoss
Port Priority 8	November 11th-12th, 2023	17th / 710	4th / 165	Maister
Ultimate Fighting Arena 2023	November 24th-26th, 2023	4th / 1,013	4th / 96	MKBigBoss	€560
Sunrise 2023	December 2nd-4th, 2023	9th / 316	1st / 64	MKBigBoss
Watch The Throne	December 8th-10th, 2023	7th / 16	—	—

Trivia

• The "Mk" in his gamertag stands for "Monster Kingdom", which is the former name of a local game store owned by his brother. The store now operates as "mk.nime" and focuses on selling anime merchandise and hosting Super Smash Bros. tournaments. Since Mk is also a common acronym for Meta Knight and MkLeo started his rise while maining Meta Knight in Smash 4, many have incorrectly assumed that is what his gamertag means.
• He frequently uses gamertag "seulgi", an homage to his favorite member of the Korean girl group Red Velvet.
• Prior to Smash@Tier3 Volume 6, he had won every single Mexican Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament that he had entered. However, Serge (his cousin) managed to double-eliminate him at said tournament, ending his 6-months streak.
• 2GGC: Civil War and EVO 2017 stand as MkLeo's worst tournaments, placing 65th at both.
• MkLeo is also a very skillful doubles player, especially with set partners.
  • MkLeo and his cousin Javi have only ever lost five doubles tournaments teaming together. As such, they are considered to be one of the best doubles teams in the world, winning the "Best Doubles Team in Smash 4" award at Super Smash Con 2017.
  • In addition, prior to Cloud's ban from doubles, MkLeo and komorikiri had never lost a doubles tournament, notably winning Super Smash Con 2017, 2GGC: SCR Saga, Shine 2017, and GameTyrant Expo 2017. As a result, they were widely considered to be one of the greatest Smash 4 doubles teams of all time.
  • In Ultimate, MkLeo enters doubles with Glutonny in majors, winning doubles at Mainstage, 2GG: Kongo Saga and Collision 2022 and finishing 2nd at GENESIS 7.
• MkLeo has won the largest prize check for Smash 4 for winning the 2GG Championship, earning $20,000.
• MkLeo's ability to make a comeback in Ultimate sets is so strong that from the release of Ultimate to throughout 2021, he has won roughly half of the best-of-5 sets where he started the set 0-2 at PGRU events. He is the only player to hold this title out of players that have started out 0-2 in at least eight sets at PGRU events.
• From MomoCon 2019, up to and including the Smash World Tour 2021 Championships, Leo would place no lower than 2nd place at every offline tournament he attended.

External links

• Twitter account
• Mkgming Twitter account
• Twitch channel
• Mkgming Twitch channel
• Metafy profile
• YouTube channel
• Mkgming YouTube channel
• Facebook page
• Mkgming Facebook page
• SSBWorld profile
• Smashdata profile (Smash 4)
• Smashdata profile (Ultimate)
• SmashBoards interview

Gameplay videos

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• MKLeo vs Mr. R - Smash Factor 4 - Grand Finals - Smash Wii U
• IQHQ Vinnie RZ Leo Grand Finals
• HY M(k) Leo vs SC Serge - GRAND FINALS - Smash@Tier3 Vol6
• SF5 Smash 4 - SF HDG | MKLeo (Marth, Metaknight) Vs. Mr. R (Sheik) SSB4 Grand Finals - Smash Wii U
• SF5 Smash 4 - dT Dabuz (Rosalina, Olimar) Vs. SF | MKLeo (Metaknight, Cloud) SSB4 LF - Smash Wii U
• KTAR XIX - NRG Nairo (ZSS) vs MKLeo (Marth/MK)
• 2GGT: ZeRo Saga - SF | MKLeo (Marth) Vs. TSM | ZeRo (Diddy Kong) Losers Semis - Smash Wii U
• Genesis 4 Smash 4 - C9 | Ally (Mario) Vs. FOX MVG | MkLeo (Marth) SSB4 Winners Finals - Smash Wii U
• GTX 2017 Smash 4 - BSD | Elegant (Luigi) vs FOX MVG | MKLeo (Cloud) Wii G.Finals
• CEO 2018 Smash 4 - Echo Fox | MkLeo (Lucina, Bayo, Marth Vs. Tweek (DK, Bayo) Wii U Grand Finals

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• CEO 2019 SSBU - FOX | MKLeo (Joker) Vs. PG | Marss (ZSS, Falcon) Smash Ultimate Grand Finals
• EVO 2019 Smash Ultimate Grand Finals - TSM | Tweek (Pokemon Trainer) Vs. FOX | MKLeo (Joker)
• SSC 2019 Smash Ultimate Grand Finals - eUnited | Samsora (Peach) VS FOX MVG | MKLeo (Joker)
• Glitch Konami Code Losers Finals - Kola (Roy) Vs. MkLeo (Byleth) Smash Ultimate Tournament
• Mainstage 2021 Grand Finals - T1 | MkLeo (Byleth) vs Sparg0 (Pyra and Mythra)
• GENESIS 8 Winners Finals - T1 | MkLeo (Byleth) vs FaZe | Sparg0 (Cloud)
• Ludwig Smash Invitational Winners Semis - T1 | MkLeo (Byleth) vs ZETA | acola (Steve)
• Ludwig Smash Invitational Grand Finals - T1 | MkLeo (Byleth) vs ZETA | acola (Steve)