Leffen Handed Lifeline Amidst Visa Issues For Arc World Tour

Swedish player, Leffen, has been handed a lifeline in his issues regarding securing a visa to the United States to compete at the Arc World Tour finals for Guilty Gear -STRIVE-. Leffen had complained about his inability to travel, hinting that he might not be able to make the tournament at all and stating how frustrating that was for him. 

He added that this is likely his last tournament for GGST as he has been disillusioned with the game for a while and is unhappy with the direction the game is heading. 

He said:

"Seems likely that I'll be missing AWT Finals due to Visa issues outside of my control yet again.

"Feeling pretty depressed about it to be honest, missed Genesis and now also a 100k finals I've been practicing and traveling for a year straight for.

"The last two months especially, despite deeply despising what they've turned the game into, I've been forcing myself to play 10 hours a day just to prepare for the finals, neglecting streaming and everything else since it's likely my last serious strive tournament. I was doing great too, felt like I have a great chance to take it all, but it seems like all the work and pain was for nothing."

He added: "It's now year 11 of constant visa issues, over and over again, thousands of hours wasted and thousands of dollars lost. I'd be lying if I hadn't thought about retiring since I can't seem to shake of this curse.

"I'll be fine though, it fucking sucks but it could always be worse. All I can do is be proud of the work regardless of everything. Probably won't stream until I feel better though.

"There's still technically a chance I can make it so I'll keep the hope up for a few more days but most likely the dream is dead."

It does seem that since then, something has happened that has made it possible for him to make the trip as he added an update saying,

"Update: through some luck I have gotten both the application approved and an interview for tuesday. Average processing time is 2 days, and you can sometimes request rush proccesing in person. 

"If arcsys lets me skip media day its possible I make it assuming the processing is fast"

So, it seems like there is a chance. But it is unclear and it is hoped that a lasting solution is found. 

Leffen qualified from the global leaderboard placing 11th thanks to strong finishes in various tournaments around the world. 

The Arc World Tour Finals will be between the 21st and 23rd of March 2025.