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== Introduction ==

== Introduction ==

'''Leyla Hasso''' is a female Super Mario Kart ([[SMK]]) (SNES) player from London, UK and is the niece of [[Sami Cetin]]. Leyla is currently the female World Champion of Super Mario Kart on both PAL and NTSC modes plus on the Multiplayer World Championship results; she is also ranked the 5th fastest player in the UK. Whilst an active player of SMK she also briefly played [[MKDS]] until receiving a Wii for her 9th Birthday in 2008. She was historically known for defeating top [[MKDD]] player [[Vincent van der Fluit]] in a SMK Grand Prix 150cc Mushroom Cup tournament for karters around their skill level in 2007. Videos of those races are available on youtube and have also been created into a DVD. Her latest Time Trial videos are also uploaded on her youtube channel on a regular basis. Leyla Hasso has been featured in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2013 for her Women's World Title on Super Mario Kart SNES and also on page 216 of the the Guinness World Records 2014 main book.

'''Leyla Hasso''' is a female Super Mario Kart ([[SMK]]) (SNES) player from London, UK and is the niece of [[Sami Cetin]]. Leyla is currently the undefeated female World Champion of Super Mario Kart Time Trial on both PAL and NTSC modes plus on the Multiplayer World Championship results; she is also ranked the 5th fastest Time Trial player in the UK. She was historically known for defeating top [[MKDD]] player [[Vincent van der Fluit]] in a SMK Grand Prix 150cc Mushroom Cup tournament for karters around their skill level in 2007. Her latest Time Trial videos are uploaded on her youtube channel on a regular basis and co-managed by Sami. Leyla Hasso has been featured in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2013 for her Women's World Title on Super Mario Kart SNES and also on pages 216 and 177 of the the Guinness World Records 2014 and 2015 main books respectively. Leyla is currently studying for GCSEs and is excelling all round in her subjects.

== Her first years ==

== Her first years ==

Leyla Hasso was born in May 1999 as the first daughter of Ayla Hasso (née Cetin) and Karim Hasso. When she was 1 day old, her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] was asked to tell her all about his SMK World Records at the time, and that one day when she grew older he could teach her how to play. At the time this seemed far fetched but as they say, no one knows what the future may bring. She initially didn't play any games except for a few applications on the PC (e.g. Baby Type) with her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]]. The PC usage included once assisting Sami with an SMK Time Trial site update in November 1999 when she was just five months old. Suffice to say she wasn't able to type too well at the time but she was an excellent assistant for her age.

Leyla Hasso was born in May 1999 as the first daughter of Ayla Hasso (née Cetin) and Karim Hasso. When she was 1 day old, her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] was asked to tell her all about his SMK World Records at the time, and that one day when she grew older he could teach her how to play. At the time this seemed far fetched but as they say, no one knows what the future may bring. She initially didn't play any games except for a few applications on the PC (e.g. Baby Type) with her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]]. She once assisted Sami with an SMK Time Trial site update in November 1999 when she was just five months old. Suffice to say she wasn't able to type too well at the time but she was an excellent assistant for her age.

Leyla took a keen interest in books and drawing from a young age plus watching cartoons including classics from the 80s / early 90s despite being born much later than this time. Sami, preferring the programmes on from his childhood encouraged her to watch some of the things that he did many years before and perhaps this spurred on the interest in more of the retro classic gaming as opposed to HD / modern Era gaming when she grew up. She thoroughly enjoyed these times and it wasn't long before the two would venture further into another long lasting hobby.

Leyla took a keen interest in books, history and drawing from a young age plus watching cartoons including classics from the 80s / early 90s despite being born much later than this time. Sami, watching and playing some early retro titles with Leyla most likely spurred on the interest to compete in some retro video games later on.

== Starting out with some games and introduction to Super Mario Kart ==

== Starting out with some games and introduction to Super Mario Kart ==

When Leyla was 1 year and 10 months old Sami attempted to give her a SNES pad to give Super Mario Kart a try. It wasn't a great success as she only completed a lap of Mario Circuit 1 in 3 minutes and 24 seconds. After she was around 2 - 3 Leyla begun to play a little on some of the old handheld consoles including the original Nintendo Gameboy. and took an interest in games after a few years due to her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] and his SMK activity. She then played with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance on some basic platform games and a few Disney titles. This begun developing her hand eye coordination skills on platform games, which become useful when she would try some of the more difficult ones later on. When Leyla was 3 he gave her a quick go again on Super Mario Kart SNES and she was able to drive a little better this time but only on a few tracks. They ceased to play this further while Sami left for University, but Leyla vaguely remembered this interesting game for later.

When Leyla was 1 year and 10 months old Sami attempted to give her a SNES pad to give Super Mario Kart a try. It wasn't a great success as she only completed a lap of Mario Circuit 1 in 3 minutes and 24 seconds. After she was around 2 - 3 Leyla had a go on the original Nintendo Gameboy and took an interest in games after a few years due to her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] and his SMK activity. She then played with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance on some basic platform games and a few Disney titles. At 3 years old Sami gave her a quick go again on Super Mario Kart SNES and she was able to drive a little better this time but only on a few tracks. She didn't play Super Mario Kart after that as Sami left for University, but Leyla vaguely remembered this interesting game for later.

After Leyla turned 5, Sami was visiting back one summer from University. Leyla then asked if Sami remembered that game they once played "Super Mario Cartoon" a long time ago. Sami at first didn't realise what she meant, but then clocked on that it was infact Super Mario Kart and corrected her on this. Keen to give her a try they played together for a little while and she was able to drive cleaner with Toad this time. During that summer, Sami decided to get her her own SNES with Super Mario Kart and Super Mario All Stars. Although she didn't play it often due to the complexity of the setup on the old televisions, she enjoyed having her own copy and probably played a bit more of the platformers than SMK at the time. Shortly after putting together a full timeset on Super Mario Kart. she then officially joined the [http://www.mariokart64.com/smk/ Super Mario Kart Time Trial World Records Site] in Summer of 2004 while still 5 years old. Her initial competitor on Time Trials was Tanja Huber of Germany who turned 6 and presented a good challenge as they both started out on the site. Leyla overtook her on Time Trials and passed a few more karters till she stopped playing for a while.

After Leyla turned 5, Sami was visiting back one summer from University. Leyla then asked if Sami remembered that game they once played "Super Mario Cartoon" a long time ago. Sami at first didn't realise what she meant, but then clocked on that it was infact Super Mario Kart and corrected her on this. Keen to give her a try they played together for a little while and she was able to drive cleaner with Toad this time. During that summer, Sami decided to get her her own SNES with Super Mario Kart and Super Mario All Stars. Shortly after putting together a full timeset on Super Mario Kart, she then officially joined the [http://www.mariokart64.com/smk/ Super Mario Kart Time Trial World Records Site] in Summer of 2004 at 5 years old. Six months later, her initial competitor on Time Trials was 6 year old Tanja Huber of Germany (the younger sister of Former German Champion, Armin Huber). Tanja was a good contender and both karters exchanged ranks several times. Leyla eventually overtook her on Time Trials and passed a few more karters till she stopped playing for a while.

== Leyla Hasso vs Louise Bedford on SMK Match Race ==

== Leyla Hasso vs Louise Bedford on SMK Match Race ==

On the 29th April 2006 Leyla attended a UK Meet held by [[Sami Cetin]]. A mini beginners SMK Tournament was set up and Leyla entered using Toad. Her big moment came when she raced UK rival Louise Bedford. The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwH_NrUHOI Race on Mario Circuit 2] was intense.

On the 29th April 2006 Leyla attended a UK Meet held by [[Sami Cetin]]. A mini beginners SMK Tournament was set up and Leyla entered using Toad. Her big moment came when she raced UK rival Louise Bedford making a grand catch up after a bad start to win the race. Here is the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwH_NrUHOI Race on Mario Circuit 2]. Leyla then stopped playing SMK for the remainder of 2006.

 

 

Leyla started off poorly with a missed zoom start and then struggled to keep the pace going as she continuously went off the road and clipped pipes on the opening laps. Louise drove safe and took the lead; also throwing a red shell back in the open that hit Leyla pushing her further behind. Leyla continued to drive on lap 3 picking up the pace a bit and gaining a red shell. A green shell was approaching at the start of lap 4 and she fired the red shell which arc'ed into its path and killed it off. Leyla then reached top speed at the end of lap 4 and was on pursuit. With some fantastic cornering she picked up a star but didn't use it yet. Louise had an accident where the enemies were underneath the flyover jump and Leyla overtook. She activated the star before the jump and managed to defeat Louise on this final lap. She then stopped playing SMK for the remainder of 2006.

== Comeback to SMK in 2007 with Bowser ==

== Comeback to SMK in 2007 with Bowser ==

During 2007 Leyla returned to SMK trying out Bowser on certain tracks (mainly Mushroom Cup) to make some faster times, she became the fastest female SMK player in London and 2nd fastest in the UK. She switched to Toad on a few tracks, then one day after several attempts she managed to drive a Women's British record on the fastlap of Choco Island 2 with Toad, beating the time of Sue Cladingboel by a few hundredths. One of her proudest achievements was reaching 1'03" on Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial, close to the record of her father Karim. Leyla also played a lot of the Grand Prix mode also and developed good skills there, mainly just 150cc Mushroom Cup.

During 2007 Leyla returned to SMK trying out Bowser on certain tracks (mainly Mushroom Cup) to make some faster times, she became the fastest female SMK player in London and 2nd fastest in the UK. She switched to Toad on a few tracks, then one day after several attempts she managed to drive a Women's British record on the fastlap of Choco Island 2, beating the time of Sue Cladingboel by a few hundredths. One of her proudest achievements was reaching 1'03" on Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial that year, close to the record of her father Karim. Leyla also regularly played 150cc Grand Prix where she picked up some skills there.

== Leyla Hasso vs Vincent van der Fluit ==

== Leyla Hasso vs Vincent van der Fluit ==

A Tournament was organised on the 25th Birthday of Leyla's Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] in October 2007. This included karters of the Intermediates to Beginners on [[SMK]]. Leyla joined 'Team UK' (as established by [[Jonathan Sifleet]]) in the tournament and wore her own t-shirt with 'London Women's Champion' for Super Mario Kart written on the back. This was probably Leyla's most famous break on SMK and videogaming in general. 8 players entered the Tournament which would be set on 150cc Grand Prix mode of Mushroom Cup. The battles were fantastic, Leyla had an early match vs Lindsay Molenaar of the Netherlands who visited also. Leyla advanced to the later rounds. [[Vincent van der Fluit]] defeated the remainder of strong UK players including John Barber, placing Leyla and Vincent in the final. The races have been taped and are available on youtube and on DVD. Prior to the races, a 3 part Intro Video was created to detail Leyla's rise to fame from her first day until the start of the Tournament on SMK ([http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DXCKse2iWOY (Intro 1)], [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oHX9UA3gT7Y (Intro 2)], [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CY1hO077vgE (Intro 3)].

A Tournament was organised on the 25th Birthday weekend of Leyla's Uncle [[Sami Cetin]] on Saturday 6th October 2007 and was also the day of Leyla's most important break in her SMK career. The Tournament included karters of the Intermediates to Beginners on [[SMK]]. Leyla joined 'Team UK' (as established by [[Jonathan Sifleet]]) and wore her own t-shirt with 'London Women's Champion' for Super Mario Kart written on the back. 8 players entered which would be set on 150cc Grand Prix mode of Mushroom Cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the start of Bowser Castle 1, Vincent put on a good show raising his pad to help him time his boost start which he managed to reach, however Leyla failed hers. However with accurate cornering and meeting both zippers, Leyla quickly advanced into 2nd place shortly behind Vincent in the lead. Leyla then overtook Vincent at the start of lap 2, overpowering with Top Speed. Vincent fired his green shell too attack and Leyla had to make evasive maneuvers causing her to crash on corner 2, with Vincent taking 1st place lead once again. Vincent then had a crash at the end of lap 2, firing another Green shell as Leyla passed him, narrowly missing a hit and Leyla took the lead on lap 3 with the CPU catching up with Vincent. Vincent caught back up to 2nd place as Leyla made a sharp corner on the last turn, riding the left wall without touching it. Vincent had an error on the jumps and fell into the lava once as Leyla continued to speed ahead towards the 5th and final lap. Vincent used a feather to save him from a crash on the final corner of his lap 4. Leyla's top speed was excessive at this stage and she was lapping a CPU while avoiding a stray Yoshi Egg on the track at the hairpin. Vincent picked up a lot more speed to stay ahead of the CPU in 2nd while Leyla reached the finish, winning the race.

[[Image:LeylaSRW2.JPG|400px|thumb|Leyla Hasso winning her Tournament Final in Super Mario Kart vs Vincent van der Fluit]]

[[Image:LeylaSRW2.JPG|400px|thumb|Leyla Hasso winning her Tournament Final in Super Mario Kart vs Vincent van der Fluit]]

The battles were fantastic, Leyla had an early match vs Lindsay Molenaar of the Netherlands, advancing to the later rounds. [[Vincent van der Fluit]] defeated the remainder of strong UK players including John Barber, placing Leyla and Vincent in the final. After some epic races Leyla won the cup, establishing her place in the Super Mario Kart Multiplayer ranks. The races were recorded and can be seen on youtube. Here is the Final video of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1ZBCJdrqK0 Leyla Hasso vs Vincent van der Fluit]. Shortly after this Tournament she took a break from SMK, and played some Mario Kart DS on the side for fun plus some PC games.

 

Leyla got a zoom start on Mario Circuit 2 and went for it cutting corners very sharp to gain a huge lead. Vincent got off to a bad start in 8th place throughout lap 1 while Leyla stormed into lap 2. However Leyla over corrected and hit a pipe after the first corner putting her speed to a complete stop. She began to drive again after. Vincent picked up a star making it into 7th place but some controlling difficulties led him off the road into the green after the jump, with Leyla picking up speed once again and lapping him at the end of lap 3. Leyla picked up a Mushroom on lap 4, and was speeding round the track again, however a well placed green on the previous lap was in the way and she crashed into it where the flyover is. On the hairpin corner before the jump as Leyla was accelerating she got caught up a CPU that caused her to turn inwards and be stuck on the corner. Vincent, still a lap behind also made an error crashing into that same corner. Leyla was in 6th place and it was her last lap, 4th for Vincent. The crowd reminded her that she needed to come at least 4th to advance the race, and thus win the tournament. Leyla picked up another Mushroom and when approaching the jump, shroomed and passed the CPU to land 4th and advance the race the same moment as Vincent shroomed to land next to her on the finish line.

 

 

 

== Leyla Hasso Interviewed by Nintendo ==

== Leyla Hasso Interviewed by Nintendo ==

In December 2008, Leyla had the opportunity to be interviewed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Wii Channel where she was featured at a similar time as the interview of her uncle [[Sami Cetin]] took place. The interview highlighted her success as a young gamer; reaching #1 on the Women's ranking in London and #2 in the UK on SMK and how participating in an international tournament went. The video was featured on the Nintendo Wii Channel in early 2009 and remained there for most of the year. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zht_kzf1IwU (Watch her Interview Video with Nintendo)]

In December 2008, Leyla had the opportunity to be interviewed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Wii Channel. Her uncle [[Sami Cetin]] also had a separate interview at the same time. The interview highlighted her success as a young gamer; reaching #1 on the Women's ranking in London and #2 in the UK on SMK and how participating in an international tournament went the year before. The video was featured on the Nintendo Wii Channel in early 2009 and remained there for most of the year. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zht_kzf1IwU (Watch her Interview Video with Nintendo)]

== Super Mario Kart Foundation Match Race Mini Tournament October 2009 ==

== Super Mario Kart Foundation Match Race Mini Tournament October 2009 ==

Despite a long retirement and almost no practice, Leyla made a small comeback to SMK to attend a small Tournament with UK and European karters on a Foundation level on Match Race. Two leagues were constructed and Leyla had to face off on a few races vs each player in her group. This included her first French rival Claire Leviach, the wife of Guillaume (one of the fastest Super Mario Kart players in the World). Leyla made quick work of the match and later defeated all in her group except for one 1-1 tie. She was however able to net the top seed in the group for the bracket stage.

Despite a long retirement and little practice, Leyla made a small comeback to SMK to attend a small Tournament with UK and European karters on a Foundation level on Match Race. Two leagues were constructed and Leyla had to face off on a few races vs each player in her group. This included her first French rival Claire Leviach, the wife of Guillaume Leviach (current PAL and NTSC Time Trial World Champion). Leyla made quick work of the match and later defeated all in her group except for one 1-1 tie. She was however able to net the top seed in the group for the bracket stage.

She passed the Quarter Finals with ease to meet Andrew Redman in the Semi-Final who was the 2nd fastest player there on Time Trial ability. The racing was very fierce, but Leyla landed with a close 4-3 win and should have expected a slightly easier final. On the other side of the bracket Biff had advanced past Lindsay which came as a surprise. The final between Leyla and Biff took place. Leyla was comfortably advancing by outdriving Biff with top speed. However 3 lightnings acquired by Biff cost Leyla some races and she ended up in a 5-4 loss to her UK team mate. This was the typical style of SMK with weaponry randomness, however both competitiors did well landing ahead of the foreign competitors and Leyla acquired a Silver medal which was a great achievement on a short notice comeback.

She passed the Quarter Finals with ease to meet Andrew Redman in the Semi-Final who was the 2nd fastest player there on Time Trial ability. The racing was very fierce, but Leyla landed with a close 4-3 win and should have expected a slightly easier final. On the other side of the bracket Biff had advanced past Lindsay which came as a surprise. The final between Leyla and Biff took place. Leyla was comfortably advancing by outdriving Biff with top speed. However 3 lightnings acquired by Biff cost Leyla some races and she ended up in a 5-4 loss to her UK team mate. Leyla was awarded a Silver medal in this case which was a great achievement.

== Super Mario Kart UK Championships 2010 & 2011 ==

== Super Mario Kart UK Championships 2010 & 2011 ==

Leyla participated in the one time only UK Championships for Super Mario Kart. On 2nd October 2010 there was a huge event in Fairfield Halls, Croydon South London which had 28 competitors from all over the UK, even as far as Scotland. Leyla placed 16th overall in this event with the Time Trial one try mode being her strongest placing at 14th. The 2011 Championship was a much smaller event held at her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]]'s; it consisted of a focus group of 10 players only, a blend of Champion level UK players, intermediate and casual level. Leyla placed in 6th Place overall at this event. She has expressed interest at attending a World Championship in future although she has limited experience in all areas of mutliplayer modes in SMK.

Leyla participated in the one time only UK Championships for Super Mario Kart. On 2nd October 2010 there was a huge event in Fairfield Halls, Croydon South London which had 28 competitors from all over the UK, even as far as Scotland. Leyla placed 16th overall in this event with the Time Trial one try mode being her strongest placing at 14th. The 2011 Championship was a much smaller event held at her Uncle [[Sami Cetin]]'s; it consisted of a focus group of 10 players only, a blend of Champion level UK players, intermediate and casual level. Leyla placed in 6th Place overall at this event. She has expressed interest at attending a World Championship in future although she had limited experience in all areas of mutliplayer modes in SMK at this time.

== Mario Circuit 1 sub 1'03" project in 2011 ==

== Mario Circuit 1 sub 1'03" project in 2011 ==

Leyla returned to Time Trial in February 2011 to finish some unfinished business on Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial which was to reach a Non-NBT 1'02" time. After a tough session she was able to land a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1hr1sKmyMo (1'02"98 course time)] <- Vid link.

Leyla returned to Time Trial in February 2011 to finish some unfinished business on Mario Circuit 1 Time Trial which was to reach a Non-NBT 1'02". After a tough session she was able to land a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1hr1sKmyMo (1'02"98 course time)] <- Vid link.

== 2012 Time Trial Return and Rise to the Women's World Title on PAL ==

== 2012 Time Trial Return and Rise to the Women's World Title on PAL ==

Another comeback in 2012 led Leyla to improve more of her weaker records in Time Trial. Eventually she managed to reach her first Women's World Record on 7th January 2012 on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsWfXy3htYI Choco Island 1 lap with 0'12"78 ] <- Vid link. This has since been improved further.

Another comeback in 2012 led Leyla to improve more of her weaker records in Time Trial. Eventually she managed to reach her first Women's World Record on 7th January 2012 on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsWfXy3htYI Choco Island 1 lap with 0'12"78 ].

Following this she continued to play between January to March working through all the weaker tracks and learning new strategies including platform jumps on Ghost Valley 1 and 3, and pushing some fast times on tougher tracks. She has hit many Women's World Records. On 11th March 2012 Leyla Hasso has passed Sue Cladingboel to become the UK's Fastest Female Super Mario Kart player and ranked 2nd in the World on PAL. One week later Leyla drove some more great times and passed Tanja Bronnecke (Germany) to become the fastest Female Super Mario Kart Player in the World for PAL version.

Following this she continued to play between January to March working through all the weaker tracks and learning new strategies including platform jumps on Ghost Valley 1 and 3, and pushing some fast times on tougher tracks. She has hit many Women's World Records. On 11th March 2012 Leyla Hasso has passed Sue Cladingboel to become the UK's Fastest Female Super Mario Kart player and ranked 2nd in the World on PAL. One week later Leyla drove some more great times and passed Tanja Bronnecke (Germany) to become the fastest Female Super Mario Kart Player in the World for PAL version.