An actual doctor just won a major Super Smash Bros Melee tournament

A real-life doctor has claimed his first major Super Smash Bros Melee title after surviving a dramatic Grand Finals reset at Get On My Level 2026.

Arjun ‘lloD’ Malhotra, an orthopedic surgery resident and longtime Peach main, won the 512-player tournament in Toronto, Ontario.

The stacked bracket featured some of Melee’s biggest names, including Hungrybox, Zain, and moky. However, it was lloD and rising Luigi star RapMonster who fought for the championship.

lloD reverse swept Hungrybox to reach the top eight before defeating moky and RapMonster on his way to Grand Finals. RapMonster then beat Zain 3-1 in Losers Finals to earn another shot at the doctor.

RapMonster won the opening Grand Finals set 3-1 to reset the bracket, but lloD recovered and took the deciding set 3-2 in a Game 5, last-stock finish.

(Final game begins at 43:05)

Dr. lloD celebrates historic first Smash major win

The result gave lloD his first major title more than two decades after he began competing. It was also the first time a Peach player had won a Melee major since Armada claimed Super Smash Con in 2018.

The match was also wild, because it was the first-ever Grand Finals where one player has been competing for longer than the other has been alive. As PracticalTAS notes, “lloD entered doubles at BOMB 4 in 2005 at age 10; RapM was born in 2006.”

Following his victory, the 31-year-old revealed that he may have made even more Smash history.

“Apparently I’m the oldest first-time major-winner of any smash game LMAO,” he wrote on X. “Turns out you can teach an old doc new tricks!”

When another user asked whether he was the first college graduate to win a major, lloD responded: “No but I have a medical degree, two master’s degrees, and soon to be a Ph.D.”

Malhotra is listed by Oklahoma State University as an orthopedic surgery resident who attended the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.

A 2022 profile by Upcomer revealed that lloD began entering Melee tournaments as a 10-year-old in 2005. His attendance later declined while he attended medical school, but he continued climbing the rankings despite taking long breaks from the game.

“I really don’t see myself quitting ever,” he said at the time.

Four years later, Dr. lloD is finally a Melee major champion.

This isn’t the first time a medical professional has made good use of their video game skills. Back in 2021, a dentist went viral for promising customers a free cleaning if they could beat him at Super Smash Bros Ultimate.