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Red Bull eSports Releases 'A New Level' Documentary Series Ahead of DreamHack Montreal

With DreamHack Montreal kicking off on Friday, Red Bull eSports has released a three-part documentary spotlighting the Canadian Super Smash Bros. Melee esports scene.

Ozzie Mejia

September 8, 2017 9:40 AM

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With DreamHack Montreal set to kick off this weekend, the folks at Red Bull eSports are shining a spotlight on Canada's esports scene. In particular, Red Bull is taking a look at the Super Smash Bros. scene, starting with a look at Team SoloMid's William "Leffen" Hjelte and following up with a look at Canada's best.

The first episode of "A New Level" takes a brief look at Leffen's brief hiatus, due to his visa issues. Then, in keeping with the Canadian theme, the video looks at Leffen's May 2016 return to North America, where he competed at Get On My Level from Toronto. Leffen talks about returning to his old form as one of Super Smash Bros. Melee's best players, as Red Bull walks through his weekend of competition.

The second episode of the series looks at "Toronto" Joe Cribani, regarded as one of the most hard-working and beloved tournament organizers in Canada. This episode looks at the stress that goes into being a major tournament organizer, as Toronto Joe deals with issues such as last-minute dropouts, organizing the venue, transporting equipment, and setting up the stage and live stream. It also looks at how Toronto Joe deals with the various issues that pop up during a major tournament, including a particularly hairy seeding issue.

The third and final episode looks at the rising Canadian Melee scene, specifically on Edgard "n0ne" Sheleby, David "KirbyKaze" MacDonald, and Roustane "Kage" Benzeguir. This episode looks at their careers, their highlights, and growing as a player in the Canadian scene.

All three videos and more Smash Bros. content can be found on the Red Bull eSports YouTube channel. The Super Smash Bros. Melee portion of DreamHack Montreal is set to begin Friday morning at 1:30PM ET and can be viewed on the DreamHack Smash Twitch channel.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?