In Las Vegas the biggest Melee tournament of all time was played out between some of the greatest players the game has ever seen. In the end, overcoming all the odds and defying his difficult path to top 8, Team Liquid’s Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma broke his bridesmaids curse, and finally took home Evo gold.
In becoming chamion, Hungrybox conquered not just the other gods but a string of would be godslayers, ending Joseph “Mango” Marquez’s dream of a third Evo title, halting Justin “Plup” McGrath’s dominant run just short of Grand Finals and finally disarming Adam “Armada” Lindgren with a string of incredible edgeguards and rests that tore the championship right out of the swede’s powerful clutches. In the end, the best Puff in the world proved that, for now at least, he’s the best there is.
Clutchbox Reigns
Hungrybox’s victory was made all the more remarkable by the fact that he lost to Plup in his very first match in top 8. Plup, who seemed set on taking the whole thing after putting both Mango and Hungrybox into losers, dominated the set, taking it 3-1 and giving the distinct impression that Hbox was, as some had been suggesting after his fifth place finish at WTFox 2, in a rut of bad form.
In response, Hbox came out firing against Tempo Storm’s most recent acquisition, Johnny “S2J” Kim, and swept the set in what felt like moments, putting S2J out of the tournament at fifth place and setting up a semi-finals match against Mango. He met Mango’s attacking style with aggression of his own, and though it seemed that Mango was striving to adapt mid set, he couldn’t do enough to stop Hungrybox quenching the dream of a third Evo title.
In Losers Finals Hbox had his chance at a runback against Plup, who had put him into losers. It was an opportunity to showcase the adaptation and refinement that has become a hallmark of Hungrybox’s success in 2016, and he took it with both hands, dropping the first game before romping to three consecutive wins and a match with Armada.
Armada against Hungrybox has quickly become the gold standard matchup in 2016, which has seen the duo meet in Grand Finals time after time. This though, will likely go down as one of the greatest sets in Melee history, swinging momentum back and forth almost arbitrarily, with both players changing styles and adapting mid-game, let alone mid-set, and, more than anything else, Hungrybox’s incredible calm under pressure. The Grand Finals went ten whole games, with Hungrybox clutching out a tight first set to reset the bracket with one of the most unlikely rests we’ve seen, and claiming victory in an flawlessly executed edgeguard that has become the trademark of the new and improved Hungrybox.
For some time, Hbox has been trying to prove that he is a part of that upper echelon in his own right – more than just the best player of an unusual character, but the one of the very best players in the world. Over the last few years he has fallen just short time and again, and the outpouring of emotion when he finally broke through that barrier made it quite clear how much it meant to him. It was impossible to watch that passion and not celebrate with him, no matter who you were rooting for.
Plup falls agonisingly short again
Even so, it’s hard not to feel bad for Plup who, for the second year in a row, ran aground on just one God of Melee too many. Armada, the only member of the pantheon that Plup has yet to vanquish, once again proved too strong, beating Plup in Winner’s Finals and sending him to await a rampaging Hungrybox in Losers finals. Hungrybox proved too strong, or at least Jigglypuff’s crouch did.
Although he has pushed a little further on from last year, not being able to push through that last barrier must have been crushing. With only a few tournaments under his belt following a short break from the game, Plup nevertheless played dominantly throughout, putting Mango and Hungrybox into losers before finally running out of steam. He’s proving once again that he is one player who is consistently a threat to everyone in the game, and you have to imagine that it’s just a matter of time until claims a victory over Armada to complete his collection of holy scalps.
For now, he’ll have to settle for third at the biggest Melee tournament at all time. In the future, however, this may well be the catalyst for even further improvements. From his face at the awards ceremony, it’s clear that he’s not satisfied with third place.
There’s life yet in the veterans
For a game that has more than 15 years of competitive play under it’s belt, it’s no surprise when great players appear to best tournament favourites and rock the boat. This year was no different, with the likes of Ice Climber veteran Jeremy “Fly Amanita” Westfahl coming out of hiatus to challenge the best in the world on the grandest stage of them all. And, though the new blood continued to push and challenge the reigning champions, some veterans had the chance to shine, and they took the opportunity with both hands. Julien “Zhu” Zhu, Daniel “Chudat” Rodriguez and Kashan “Chillin” Khan – with a combined 35 years of tournament experience between them – all had blistering tournaments, with Zhu in particular having a phenomenal run through losers that it eventually took Mango to end.
Chudat made his own waves following the announcement of his brand new sponsorship from VGBC, taking out Zac “SFAT” Cordoni on his way to a very solid 17th place in the first year since 2013 since there was no Ice Climbers in top 8. Meanwhile, Chillin took out young gun Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallet in two straight games on his way to 17th, eventually losing to Michael “Nintendude” Brancato, the highest placing Ice Climbers at 13th.
Melee this year was a keen reminder that the veteran players – at least those who are not one of the Gods – still have plenty of hype and top level gameplay to offer. Just because there are a slew of newer names looking to make their names at the top level, doesn’t mean that the most experienced have nothing left to offer. Zhu’s fantastic run through losers was among the most entertaining sequences of the tournament, and though he fell just short of the fairy tale top 8 placement, there’s little doubt that it will still be talked about for years to come.
Bringing the hype to Mandalay Bay
On Sunday, Melee took the penultimate spot of the evening, letting the top 8 duke it out in front of thousands of fans who swarmed the Mandalay Bay arena and cheered their throats raw for their favourite players. Just hours before Street Fighter V was set to cap the day’s play, Melee provided a healthy appetiser, with some of the best sets we have ever seen making top 8 an experience that won’t be soon forgotten. Sets like Westballz against S2J and Mango taking on PewPewU were incredible duels that left the loser in seventh, and not one went down without a fight. Westballz and S2J in particular played one of the most memorable sets of the tournament, trading stocks and momentum and blistering and sometimes dizzying pace.
That the Grand Finals between Hungrybox and Armada went a full ten games was a fitting finale to which more than 219,000 viewers tuned into from around the world. On Twitch these numbers were unmatched throughout the weekend and, for a while at least, a game released in 2001 was one of the most viewed games on Twitch. Only Street Fighter V, with both Twitch and ESPN viewing figures combined, could topple Melee’s numbers – and even the most staunch Melee fanatics would have to agree that it was a worthy champion.
It would seem that once again Melee put on a show that rated among the very best of the tournament. Viewers from around the world tuned in to watch Gods and Mortals battle it out, and a new Evo champion being coronated. There’s little doubt that the images and videos that this weekend have spawned will resonate for years to come, and the images of Hungrybox after his victory could well become some of the most iconic Melee imagery in the world.
With more players and viewers than ever, there seems to be little doubt that Melee will be making a return to the big stage next year, and already there are plenty of tantalising questions to ponder. Will Hbox be the first of the gods to retain his title? Can Mango finally seal the threevo? Or will Plup manage to break down the barriers the Gods have erected and seal his place in Melee history? It’s been a fantastic 12 months of Melee since Evo 2015. Let’s hope the next year is even better.
Feature image courtesy of Stephanie Lindgren eSports Photographer / @vexanie
