As soon as the undisputed king of Tremendous Smash Bros. Final, it’s truthful to say that Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez isn’t fairly the all-conquering drive that he as soon as was. It appears that there’s a fairly good cause for that dip in type, nevertheless. MkLeo announced right this moment that he has been coping with well being points that can now forestall him from competing in some upcoming occasions.
The problems revolving round MkLeo’s listening to have been ongoing, in response to the T1 participant’s TwitLonger. He stated he’s “at all times suffered” together with his ears and listening to points. However lately, the issues have gotten worse, with MkLeo saying that he’s “misplaced” a few of his listening to and skilled ear ache on the identical time.
In the meanwhile, MkLeo’s docs have suggested him to not fly till they’ve a greater deal with on what’s happening together with his ears. He’s additionally spending the week getting exams carried out and taking medication to see if his situation will enhance. That may imply that he’ll miss the Battle of Z match scheduled for this weekend.
The cancellation comes with some further disappointment for Leo since this 12 months’s version of the Canadian match is definitely named in honor of him, dubbed the “Forma de Leo saga.” Going ahead, MkLeo stated that he nonetheless hopes to attend Ludwig Ahgren’s Ludwig Smash Invitational subsequent weekend in Las Vegas however that he’s undecided if he’ll be capable to compete there or not.
When it comes to efficiency, MkLeo’s outcomes have trailed off his normal sterling requirements in current months, ending in fifth place for Final singles at Tremendous Smash Con earlier than taking a lowly ninth place at Smash Final Summit 5. It’s unclear if his ear points got here into play in both of those tournaments, but when he was experiencing ear ache whereas attempting to play, it’s straightforward to see how that might throw him off in a preventing sport the place split-second reflexes and inputs usually make the distinction between good and nice gamers. Many prime Smash gamers choose to put on headphones and hearken to their very own music to drown out crowd noise and different distractions, but when doing so actively prompted MkLeo ache whereas taking part in, that might definitely throw off his sport.
After all, MkLeo has collected his share of match victories and excessive placements over the past a number of months as effectively, taking first at Smash Issue 9 and second at Double Down 2022. It’s not like he’s fully pale away. However sadly, his followers should wait to see him in motion once more till he and his docs can work out what’s unsuitable together with his ears. And in the meanwhile, that places him prone to lacking some huge tournaments.
