Smasher:MkLeo

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"Leo" redirects here. For the other Mexican player who currently goes by Leo, see Rox
For the Peruvian 64 smasher, see Leo (Peru).
For the Peruvian Ultimate smasher, see MeetLeo
MkLeo "Leo"
MkLeo G4.jpg
MkLeo holding the GENESIS 6 trophy.
Character info
Melee main Sheik
Other Melee characters Falco, Marth
Brawl main Meta Knight
Other Brawl character Snake
Smash 4 mains Cloud, Marth
Other Smash 4 characters Meta Knight, Bayonetta, Lucina, Corrin, Sheik, Lucario, Shulk, Toon Link, Roy, Mewtwo, Charizard
Ultimate main Joker
Other Ultimate characters Lucina, Byleth, Marth, Wolf, Greninja, Ike, Wario, Mewtwo, Cloud, Hero, Meta Knight, Link, Chrom, Corrin, Samus, Snake, Richter, Roy, Terry, Isabelle, Ridley, Mr. Game & Watch
Project M main Mewtwo
Other Project M character Lucario
Team info
Sponsor(s) T1
Former sponsor(s) Echo Fox, Most Valuable Gaming
Former crews Hydra Team, Rampage Zone, HDG, Smash Factor
Rankings and results info
Most recent ranking Super Smash Bros. 4 Panda Global Rankings 100: 3rd
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fall 2019 PGRU: 1st
Winnings Super Smash Bros. 4 ~$99,606.99
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ~$115,790.90
Personal and other info
Real name Leonardo Lopez Perez
Birth date (age 23)
Location Mexico City Mexico
Miscellaneous info
Skill Super Smash Bros. Melee Semi-professional
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Professional
Super Smash Bros. 4 Top professional
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Top professional
PM Icon.png Professional

MkLeo, also known simply as Leo, is a smasher from Mexico. He is widely considered to be the best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player in the world, dominating the competitive scene since the game's release and being ranked 1st on the Fall 2019 PGRU. Originally playing Ike, he later found tournament success with Lucina and Wolf before picking up Joker shortly after the character's release. He also uses Lucina, Marth, and Byleth as strong secondaries or counterpicks. Although he performs worse on Wi-Fi, he has nonetheless placed highly at several large online tournaments and as such is ranked 11th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5 using Cloud, Greninja, and Wolf on Wi-Fi.

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. He is also widely considered the best Marth and Cloud player in the world, one of the two best Lucina players in the world (along with Mr E), one of the best 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 his nerfs in game updates, 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 doubles player and usually teams with komorikiri or his cousin Javi. Leo/komorikiri consists of Cloud/Cloud and have 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.

Leo was ranked 3rd on the Panda Global Rankings 100 and was formerly ranked 1st on the Mexican Smash 4 Power Rankings.

On January 4th, 2017, MkLeo was signed by Echo Fox[1] and Most Valuable Gaming. On the 8th of November 2019, WIN.gg reported[2] that an unnamed investor spokesperson for Echo Fox told them the organization had completely folded. While this has not been independently corroborated by any other sources, the organization has been completely inactive on social media since September 2019. MkLeo formally announced his free agent status on February 21st, 2020. Five days later, on February 26, 2020, MkLeo signed with T1.[3]

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.

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.[4]

In Ultimate

Leo's playstyle remains the same with the release of Ultimate. When he played Ike, he had a solid grasp on his fundamentals and bread and butter combos. 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 on combos and tools. He also is notable for the usage of Joker's guns to edgeguard, escape pressure, and await opponents trying to punish his landing. Leo is also well known for the infamous forward air 1 to drag down up air to confirm into a down smash, or up smash if the opponent is on a platform. When Joker gets Arsene, Leo uses that advantage to quickly close out stocks with his precise timing of edgeguards and grab combos.

Tournament history

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2008-2014: Pre-Smash 4

MkLeo's tournament record before Smash 4 is relatively unknown (though it was implied he has been playing competitively since 2008). His first tournament victory came at Anime Expo Mexico TNT 2009, at only 8 years of age. [5] 5 years later, he attended Smash Factor 3 in Project M singles, losing to his cousin Serge 0-3 in winners finals, but defeating Ally 3-2 in losers finals. He lost to Serge again 2-3 in grand finals to place 2nd.

2015-Early 2016: Growing Fame Outside of U.S.

In 2015, MkLeo was a Meta Knight main and considered the best player in Mexico. He burst into the international Smash scene when he won Smash Factor 4, Mexico's largest Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at the time, defeating Mr.R in Grand Finals 3-1, 2-stocking him in each game he won despite Mr. R recently getting 2nd at EVO 2015. Later in the year, at another Mexican tournament, True Combo, Leo defeated Vinnie 3-1 in Grand Finals, further proving his capabilities as a player and creating more interest in the Mexican Smash scene as a whole.

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

Due to visa issues, Leo was unable to attend an American tournament prior to October 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 a widespread community approval. He defeated False and Nairo to reach top 8. Leo was matched up against Ally and was defeated 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, proving that he could go toe-to-toe with many other top players. His run ended with a very impressive 5th place.

At Smash Factor 5, after losing to Wonf in winners quarters 2-3, Leo made a run through the losers bracket, getting the runback against Wonf in losers semis 3-0, eliminating Dabuz in losers finals 3-2, and beating Mr.R twice in grand finals (3-0 and 3-2) to win the tournament.

At Canada Cup 2016, Leo once again confirmed his place among the best in the world. He double eliminated Mew2King, and despite losing to Ally in winner's finals 2-3, he ended up taking 2 sets off of Ally in two very close 3-2/3-2 grand finals sets to get 1st place.

2016: USA Debut and Becoming Top 10

In October 2016, MkLeo's visa was approved, allowing him to travel to the United States. His first American tournament was KTAR XIX where he placed 3rd, beating Nairo a second time 3-2 but losing to ZeRo 2-3 in winners finals and Salem 1-3 in losers finals.

At UGC Smash Open, he lost to Marss 2-3 in winners and was then upset by Darkshad 1-3 in losers, finishing at a disappointing 13th place.

At 2GGT: ZeRo Saga, MkLeo was sent to losers by VoiD 2-3; subsequently, he made an incredible losers run, defeating Dabuz 3-1, ANTi 3-0, and Ally 3-1. He then defeated ZeRo 3-0 in loser semis, becoming the 16th player to defeat him. He then won the rematch against VoiD in losers finals 3-0 to reach Grand Finals against Larry Lurr. He reset the bracket 3-1 and claimed the second set 3-2 to win his first American national tournament. On top of this, Leo was the youngest person to ever win a Smash 4 tournament and still is today. Soon after, he was sponsored by Echo Fox and Most Valuable Gaming as a result.

1st Half of 2017: GENESIS Champion and Becoming One of the Best

MkLeo travelled to California to participate in the upcoming international tournament GENESIS 4. His first event there was 2GGC: GENESIS Saga, set the weekend before GENESIS, where he beat Rich Brown and his cousin Javi both 3-1 to make it to top 8. He was then sent to losers by VoiD (2-3) and eliminated by Tweek (1-3), placing 5th.

At GENESIS 4, Leo solidly cruised through his round 1 and 2 pools, defeating You3 and Raffi-X both 2-1. In top 32, he beat Elegant and komorikiri in two very close 3-2 sets. In top 8, he beat Mr.R 3-0, then he defeated Ally 3-1 in winners finals and 3-2 in grand finals, winning his second supermajor tournament in a row.

At the Texas regional Austin's Really Feeling It 16, Leo was defeated by Trela 1-3 in winners finals. After defeating Karna 3-0, once again Leo fell to Trela 1-3 in grand finals, placing 2nd.

At Frostbite 2017, in top 48, he was defeated 1-3 by Kameme and sent to losers. In losers, he defeated Abadango 3-0 before being eliminated once again by VoiD 1-3 and finishing at 13th place.

At Frame Perfect Series 2, Leo defeated Ranai in a rather dominant 3-0. He was then sent to the loser's bracket by ZeRo 0-3 in winners semis, landing next to Dabuz in bracket where he won 3-2. Leo then went on to face komorikiri in loser's semis, defeating him 3-0 in Cloud dittos, before losing to ZeRo again in losers finals 0-3, placing 3rd.

At 2GGC: Civil War, Leo was upset by Meteor 0-2 in winners semis of his pool. He then lost in another upset to AC 2-3 in Meta Knight dittos, finishing at 65th, his worst placement yet.

MkLeo attended KTAR XX where he qualified for top 8 winners after defeating Mr.E 3-0 in a highly anticipated Marth ditto set. He then beat Nairo 3-1 but lost to ZeRo 1-3 in winners finals and Tweek 2-3 in losers finals, placing 3rd.

Returning back to Mexico, he attended The Arena 2017 using almost exclusively Corrin. He defeated Wonf 3-0 in winners finals, but lost to Javi 1-3 in the first set of grand finals. Switching out of Corrin, he won the second set 3-1.

At DreamHack Austin 2017, MkLeo made it to top 8 winners without losing a game, beating players such as Locus and Whispy. He then defeated VoiD 3-2 and Ally 3-1 to reach grand finals, where he lost to ZeRo 0-3 twice, placing 2nd.

MkLeo traveled to Japan for the first time and attended his first event there, KSB 2017. He solidly won the tournament: defeating Ranai, Edge, and Abadango solidly. He then attended Umebura Japan Major 2017 defeating the likes of Kirihara 2-1 and Choco 3-0 until losing to KEN 0-3 in winners finals. After defeating Choco 3-2 again in losers finals, he won both sets of grand finals against KEN 3-2 and 3-0 using Meta Knight, taking the tournament.

After returning to the USA, he attended 2GGC: Nairo Saga, making top 8 winners without dropping a single game. He defeated Ally 3-0 in winners semis, but lost to ZeRo 2-3 in winners finals (this time using Cloud) and Salem 2-3 in losers finals, placing 3rd.

At CEO 2017, MkLeo made it to winners quarters after beating ZD 2-0 and Marss 3-0 where he lost to Larry Lurr 2-3 for the first time. He made top 8 after defeating Dabuz 3-2. He went through the bracket, defeating Salem 3-2 (with a choice of Corrin games 4 and 5), KEN and Nairo 3-1 and Larry Lurr 3-0 in a runback before finally losing to ZeRo 1-3 in grand finals (again playing Corrin in games 3 and 4), placing 2nd.

2nd Half of 2017: Sudden Drop and Quick Resurgence

At EVO 2017, MkLeo was upset by False 1-2 in his pool in winners. Then in the same pool, he was upset again by MuteAce 0-2, placing 65th (his worst since Civil War).

One week later, at DreamHack Atlanta 2017, MkLeo was upset 1-2 by Vinnie in pools, entering top 64 on losers side. After defeating Rideae 2-0 and Manny 3-1, he lost to ZeRo 0-3 (despite choosing Meta Knight games 2 and 3), placing 17th. Despite the underwhelming placings, he did win International Gaming Expo 2017 in Texas, defeating players such as Ryo and Konga.

MkLeo attended Smash Factor 6 in his native Mexico. He solidly cruised through the bracket, defeating NAKAT 3-0 to make top 8 winners. After defeating his cousin Javi 3-2 though, he lost to Mr.R for the first time losing 1-3 in winners finals (despite choosing Meta Knight games 3 and 4). After defeating NAKAT again 3-0 in losers finals, he won both sets of grand finals 3-0 and 3-1 over Mr.R using solely Marth, taking the tournament. The following week, he attended Super Smash Con 2017 where he solidly made top 8 winners, defeating Komorikiri 3-2 in pools, then Salem 3-1 in winners quarters. In top 8, he defeated WaDi 3-0, but lost to ZeRo 1-3 in winners finals and Nairo 1-3 in losers finals, placing 3rd.

At 2GGC: SCR Saga, MkLeo made top 8 winners after defeating Tweek 3-0. In top 8, he lost to ZeRo 0-3 but then made a losers run, defeating CaptainZack 3-1, Mistake 3-2 and Larry Lurr 3-1 before losing to ZeRo again 2-3 in grand finals, placing 2nd.

At Shine 2017, MkLeo made top 8 winners after defeating Ally 3-1. He lost to ZeRo 1-3 in winners semis and Tweek 0-3 in losers quarters (despite counterpicking Corrin, Bayonetta and Toon Link against Tweek's Donkey Kong), placing 5th.

MkLeo was invited to PAX Arena at PAX West 2017. He lost every set in his round robin pool except against KOSSismoss, whom he defeated 2-1, to be seeded in losers side for the final bracket. In the top 10 bracket, he would lose his first round set to another Donkey Kong, this time Konga's 1-3, finishing at a very underwhelming 9th place.

At GameTyrant Expo 2017, MkLeo solidly made top 8 winners after defeating Salem 3-1. He then beat Mr. R 3-1 but lost to Elegant 1-3 in winners finals. In losers finals, he defeated ZeRo 3-1 for the first time since 2GGT: ZeRo Saga (using Meta Knight). He then won both extremely close sets of grand finals against Elegant 3-2/3-2 to win the tournament.

At 2GGC: Fire Emblem Saga, MkLeo was upset by komorikiri 2-3 in winners quarters and VoiD 2-3 in losers, placing 9th. However, he defended his title at Canada Cup 2017, defeating Larry Lurr 3-2 in winners finals and Lima 3-1 in grand finals. However, he was unable to break the curse at 2GGC: MkLeo Saga, losing to Tweek 2-3 in winners finals and KEN 2-3 in losers finals, placing 3rd.

At the 2GG Championship, MkLeo barely won in his group to qualify for the championship bracket, defeating Kirihara 3-2 and Salem 3-0 after losing to Shuton 0-3. In the championships, he was able to beat Abadango 3-2, 3-0 ZeRo with Meta Knight, and beat Salem 3-1. In grand finals, he lost the first set to ZeRo 2-3, but managed to take the last set 3-1.

MkLeo was invited to Smash 4 Boot Camp one week later. He lost to Tweek 1-2 and Cosmos 0-2 in his group pool, entering top 16 on losers side. He beat Dabuz 3-1 but lost to Larry Lurr 1-3, placing 9th.

2018: Claiming the Throne

MkLeo successfully defended his title at GENESIS 5, narrowly defeating Dabuz 3-2 in winner semis, defeating Salem 3-0 in winners finals and Mistake 3-1 in grand finals. He traveled to Japan to attend EVO Japan 2018 and again won the tournament from the winner side, defeating Abadango 3-2 and 3-1 in winners finals and grand finals respectively.

MkLeo qualified for Niconico Tokaigi 2018 by winning Umebura Tokaigi Qualifier 1, defeating Shuton 2-0 in grand finals. At Tokaigi 2018, MkLeo placed 2nd, losing to Tokaigi 2017 champion Nairo 0-2 twice in grand finals.

At Midwest Mayhem 11, MkLeo lost to Dabuz for the first time 2-3 in winners finals and Zinoto 1-3 in losers finals, placing 3rd. At Smash Masters League: Battle for Vegas, MkLeo placed 2nd, losing to Nairo twice (2-3 in winner semis and 0-3 in grand finals). However, he came back with a win at Noods Noods Noods: Oakland Edition, defeating ANTi 3-0 in both winners and grand finals. MkLeo would later get his redemption on Nairo at SwitchFest, defeating him 3-2 in winners finals and 3-1 in grand finals to take the tournament.

At Get On My Level 2018, MkLeo remains on top by taking the tournament, defeating Nairo 3-2 in winners finals and 3-1 in the second set of grand finals (despite losing the first set 1-3). He would be unable to win the next major tournament, Smash 'N' Splash 4, however, losing to Salem 0-3 in winners semis and 1-3 in losers finals, placing 3rd.

On May 9, 2018, MkLeo was revealed to be one of the invited players to attend E3 2018 for Nintendo's invitational tournament for the next iteration of Super Smash Bros., named Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

At the Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018, MkLeo would team with Mango to defeat Mr.R and Lucky to advance to winner semis, playing Bayonetta. MkLeo would defeat Mango's Inkling with Sonic to advance to winners finals with Solid Snake against ZeRo's Sheik. MkLeo barely lost to ZeRo so he dropped into losers finals where he faced Plup. After sweeping Plup's Ridley with Bayonetta, he faced ZeRo again in grand finals, which was best of 3, and managed to reset the bracket 2-0 with Bayonetta and Sonic over ZeRo's Mario and Sheik. However, MkLeo would lose 1-2 in the second set to ZeRo's Mario, finishing 2nd at the invitational.

At 2GG: Hyrule Saga, MkLeo was upsetted 1-2 by zaki in pools. He made a long losers run, defeating Lima, Javi, Chag, Elegant and Salem to make top 8. In top 8, he lost to CaptainZack 1-3, placing 7th. However, he would bounce back with a win at CEO 2018, defeating Cosmos 3-0 in winners finals and after losing to Tweek 0-3 in the first set of grand finals, he won the second set 3-1 to take the tournament, soldifying himself as the best in the world following ZeRo's retirement as he was ranked 1st on the PGR V5.

MkLeo was unable to attend EVO 2018 due to chickenpox, but was able to attend Super Smash Con 2018 where he won the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Samsora 3-1 in grand finals.

MkLeo's last Smash 4 tournament was Shine 2018. After he cruised solidly through pools, he was upset 1-3 by JaKaL in top 32 winners. In the losers bracket. He defeated SuperGirlKels, Smokk, and Dabuz to advance to top 8 on the losers side. After an extremely close set with VoiD where he won 3-2, he barely lost to Tweek's Bayonetta ending his run at 5th place. MkLeo ended up as the 3rd best Smash 4 player of all time on the PGR 100, under ZeRo in 1st and Nairo in 2nd.

2019: 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 3-2. At GENESIS 6, the first Ultiamte supermajor, MkLeo would be sent to Loser's by Samsora 2-3 in Winner Semis. However, he made an impressive losers run, defeating Light 3-2, Dabuz 3-1, Samsora 3-2 in a runback then VoiD 3-1 twice in grand finals 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 decided to devote 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 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. This would be the last offline tournament that MkLeo would place outside of the top 2, and he would win 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. By the end of the season, MkLeo was undoubtedly 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 only 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, 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 managing to clutch 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 placed 1st once again.

2020: The Struggle Online

Leo's first tournament of the year 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 during this period was at the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank S-Tier tournament The Quarantine Series: Major Tournament 1, where he only lost to Sonix in Winner's Final and Grand Finals, placing 2nd. By the end of the season he would have an even record against the top 10 and would be ranked 11th on the Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v5.

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
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
Thunderstruck 3 October 16th-18th, 2015 1st
True Combo October 31st-November 1st, 2015 1st 1st Javi
Bring It! November 21st, 2015 1st 1st Javi
Smash@Tier3 Volume 6 February 6th, 2016 2nd
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 2017 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 Bros. Ultimate

Tournament Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
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
Glitch 6 January 19th-20th, 2019 4th 1st Ally
GENESIS 6 February 1st-3rd, 2019 1st 4th Javi
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
Smash Ultimate Summit March 8th-10th, 2019 1st
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
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
MomoCon 2019 May 23rd-26th, 2019 1st 2nd Marss
Smash 'N' Splash 5 May 31st-June 2nd, 2019 1st 13th Mew2King
CEO 2019 June 28th-30th, 2019 1st
Turtul Returns July 14th, 2019 1st
Smash Factor 8 July 26th-28th, 2019 2nd 1st Javi
EVO 2019 August 2nd-4th, 2019 1st
S@X 314 August 6th, 2019 1st
Super Smash Con 2019 August 8th-11th, 2019 1st 2nd Javi
Shine 2019 August 23rd-25th, 2019 2nd 1st Dark Wizzy
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
Smash Ultimate Summit 2 October 24th-27th, 2019 1st
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
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
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
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
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
Captain's Quarters 2 June 19th-20th, 2020 1st
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
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
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

Trivia

  • The "Mk" in his gamertag stands for "Monster Kingdom", which is the name of a local game store owned by his brother. Since Mk is also a common acronym for Meta Knight and that MkLeo started his rise while maining Meta Knight in Smash 4, many have incorrectly assumed that is what his gamertag means[6].
  • 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 streak.
  • 2GGC: Civil War and EVO 2017 stand as MkLeo's worst tournaments, placing 65th at both after losing to Meteor and AC at Civil War, while losing to False and MuteAce in early upsets at EVO 2017.
  • MkLeo and his cousin Javi have only ever lost five doubles tournaments teaming together: Smash Pendiente 80, 2GGC: MkLeo Saga, 2GG: Hyrule Saga, GENESIS 6, and Super Smash Con 2019. As such, they are considered to be one of the best doubles teams in the world (with this being recognized at the inaugural Smashies Awards at Super Smash Con 2017 with the team being nominated for "Best Doubles Team in Smash 4" and ended up winning the award).
    • 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 (not dropping a single game at 2GGC: SCR Saga and Shine 2017). As a result, they were widely considered to be the best Smash 4 doubles team in the world throughout 2017, and one of the greatest Smash 4 doubles teams of all time.
  • MkLeo's $20,000 prize for winning the 2GG Championship is the largest ever won in a Smash 4 tournament.
    • He later won $21,204 at EVO 2019, the most at an Ultimate tournament and the highest EVO pot to not have a bonus.
  • MkLeo was congratulated by series director Masahiro Sakurai for his victory at EVO 2019.[7] Sakurai thanked the participants for a good show, and watched some parts of the tournament, but missed the Grand Finals due to a meeting.
  • The only players that MkLeo holds negative records against in Ultimate are Shuton (0-2), KEN (0-2), Jw (0-1), kameme (0-1), and Prodigy (0-1), while the only players that MkLeo holds tied records against in Ultimate are ESAM (2-2) and TKM (1-1).
  • MkLeo did not place below 2nd at any tournament during the Fall 2019 PGRU season.
    • Additionally, only six players managed to take sets against him in the entire season, with these players being Samsora, Nairo, Marss, Glutonny, kameme, and ESAM; Samsora, Marss, and Glutonny (even though he only won one set against MkLeo's Joker) were the only ones who took multiple sets against him.
    • He also has the highest win rate at 81.3% which beats out Zackray's score of 68.4% by 12.9%.
  • MkLeo has a great friendship with the European scene. He went to Europe twice in two months and became very close to top European players such as Glutonny (who he met first at Smash Ultimate Summit), quiK, Longo, and Tarik.
    • He often enters doubles with Glutonny in majors, winning doubles at Mainstage and 2GG: Kongo Saga.
  • MkLeo is known for being a fan of Korean culture and K-pop bands, notably the girl group Twice.

External links

Gameplay videos

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

References