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== Style and public image ==
== Style and public image ==
=== Playstyle ===
=== Playstyle ===
Largely credited with elevating the ''Melee'' community's perception of [[Jigglypuff]]'s viability in competition and setting the standard of how to play the character, Hungrybox relies heavily on a defensive, [[counterattack]]-centric playstyle revolving around avoiding his opponent until he finds an opportunity to attack and capitalize on their mistakes; it is considered a "high-risk high-reward" playstyle, as Hungrybox's usual goal is to eventually hit his opponent with "Rest", a move unique to Jigglypuff which inflicts abnormally high knockback on opponents and is able to take the opponent's stock at much lower damages than other moves of its responsiveness. The move has a very small range, making it hard to land without setting up a combo that finishes with it and, regardless of whether it successfully hits or not, it leaves Jigglypuff asleep and completely vulnerable to enemy attack for three seconds afterwards; as such, failure to hit the opponent via "Rest" can result in drawbacks such as massive damage inflicted on Jigglypuff via combos or, if damage is already high, in an instant kill. Even if the move is successful and takes a stock, Jigglypuff might not wake up fast enough to avoid getting attacked and potentially killed in return upon her foe respawning, leaving Hungrybox little room for mistakes during a game.<ref name="KotakuOpponentGiveUp">{{cite news|url=http://kotaku.com/worlds-best-jigglypuff-player-makes-opponent-give-up-in-1680434766|title=World's Best Jigglypuff Player Makes Opponent Give Up in Smash Tourney|last=Hernandez|first=Patricia|work=Kotaku|access-date=2017-07-26}}</ref><ref name="EverybodyHatesJigglypuff">{{cite news|url=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/esports-juan-hungrybox-debiedma-everybody-hates-jigglypuff |title=World's Best Jigglypuff Player Makes Opponent Give Up in Smash Tourney|last=DeBiedma|first=Juan|work=[[The Players' Tribune]] |date= August 3, 2018 |access-date=December 5, 2020}}</ref><ref name="BTNInterview"/><ref name=MediumUnkillable/>
Largely credited with elevating the ''Melee'' community's perception of [[Jigglypuff]]'s viability in competition and setting the standard of how to play the character, Hungrybox relies heavily on a defensive, [[counterattack]]-centric playstyle revolving around avoiding his opponent until he finds an opportunity to attack and capitalize on their mistakes; it is considered a "high-risk high-reward" playstyle, as Hungrybox's usual goal is to eventually hit his opponent with "Rest", a move unique to Jigglypuff which inflicts abnormally high knockback on opponents and is able to take the opponent's stock at much lower damage percentages than other moves of its responsiveness. The move has a very small range, making it hard to land without setting up a combo that finishes with it and, regardless of whether it successfully hits or not, it leaves Jigglypuff asleep and completely vulnerable to enemy attack for three seconds afterwards; as such, failure to hit the opponent via "Rest" can result in drawbacks such as massive damage inflicted on Jigglypuff via combos or, if damage is already high, in an instant kill, since Jigglypuff is the second lightest character in the game and is prone to losing stocks quickly as a result. Even if the move is successful and takes a stock, Jigglypuff might not wake up fast enough to avoid getting attacked and potentially killed in return upon her foe respawning, leaving Hungrybox little room for mistakes during a game.<ref name="KotakuOpponentGiveUp">{{cite news|url=http://kotaku.com/worlds-best-jigglypuff-player-makes-opponent-give-up-in-1680434766|title=World's Best Jigglypuff Player Makes Opponent Give Up in Smash Tourney|last=Hernandez|first=Patricia|work=Kotaku|access-date=2017-07-26}}</ref><ref name="EverybodyHatesJigglypuff">{{cite news|url=https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/esports-juan-hungrybox-debiedma-everybody-hates-jigglypuff |title=World's Best Jigglypuff Player Makes Opponent Give Up in Smash Tourney|last=DeBiedma|first=Juan|work=[[The Players' Tribune]] |date= August 3, 2018 |access-date=December 5, 2020}}</ref><ref name="BTNInterview"/><ref name=MediumUnkillable/>


Hungrybox claimed in 2013 that he "got good using gimmicks" and that his hands were not fast enough for technical skill.<ref name="the natural">{{Cite AV media|title=The Smash Brothers: Episode 8 - The Natural |publisher=EastPointPictures |first=Travis |last=Beauchamp |year=2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZqiJgo7Nec}}</ref> Liking ''Melee'' for its "unorthodox value", he claimed in 2014 that he disliked traditional head-to-head [[fighting game|fighting games]].<ref name="BTNInterview"/> In 2014, he stated: "In my playstyle, I'm a greedy novel editor — I'll catch every last mistake or typo you make, and punish you harshly for it."<ref name="BTNInterview"/>
Hungrybox claimed in 2013 that he "got good using gimmicks" and that his hands were not fast enough for technical skill.<ref name="the natural">{{Cite AV media|title=The Smash Brothers: Episode 8 - The Natural |publisher=EastPointPictures |first=Travis |last=Beauchamp |year=2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZqiJgo7Nec}}</ref> Liking ''Melee'' for its "unorthodox value", he claimed in 2014 that he disliked traditional head-to-head [[fighting game|fighting games]].<ref name="BTNInterview"/> In 2014, he stated: "In my playstyle, I'm a greedy novel editor — I'll catch every last mistake or typo you make, and punish you harshly for it."<ref name="BTNInterview"/>
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Hungrybox's match against Zac "SFAT" Cordoni in the losers semifinals at [[Evo 2017]] attracted controversy after Hungrybox called his coach, Luis "Crunch" Rosias, over for advice in between games, which was as a violation of the event's "No Coaching After Pools" rule; as the discussion between Hungrybox and Crunch was ongoing, Gordon "G$" Connell, a friend of SFAT, approached and mocked the other two by mimicking a coach-like discussion with SFAT. As the result, Evo considered that both players had violated the rule, and let the match's original result, a win for Hungrybox, stand; both players nevertheless received a [[Penalty card#Yellow card|yellow card]] as punishment for their actions.<ref name="coaching hbox">{{cite web|last1=Van Allen|first1=Eric|title=Yellow Card Ruling On Melee Coaching Stirs Controversy|url=http://compete.kotaku.com/yellow-card-ruling-on-melee-coaching-stirs-controversy-1796956065|website=[[Kotaku|Compete]]|date=16 July 2017 |access-date=2017-07-16}}</ref> This upset part of the fans, who believed that, as SFAT was not actually being coached, he should have won by disqualification. Others pointed out that, according to the official Evo ruleset, if such an incident is not reported at the time it took place, then it is ignored, and that, as neither Hungrybox nor SFAT reported the other, neither should have been carded in the first place.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.evo.gg/|title=Evo 2021|website=www.evo.gg}}</ref> Hungrybox eventually lost the following round, the losers finals, against Mango, finishing 3rd in the tournament while SFAT placed 4th as the result of his loss.<ref name="coaching hbox"/><ref name="SmashBoardsRankings"/>
Hungrybox's match against Zac "SFAT" Cordoni in the losers semifinals at [[Evo 2017]] attracted controversy after Hungrybox called his coach, Luis "Crunch" Rosias, over for advice in between games, which was as a violation of the event's "No Coaching After Pools" rule; as the discussion between Hungrybox and Crunch was ongoing, Gordon "G$" Connell, a friend of SFAT, approached and mocked the other two by mimicking a coach-like discussion with SFAT. As the result, Evo considered that both players had violated the rule, and let the match's original result, a win for Hungrybox, stand; both players nevertheless received a [[Penalty card#Yellow card|yellow card]] as punishment for their actions.<ref name="coaching hbox">{{cite web|last1=Van Allen|first1=Eric|title=Yellow Card Ruling On Melee Coaching Stirs Controversy|url=http://compete.kotaku.com/yellow-card-ruling-on-melee-coaching-stirs-controversy-1796956065|website=[[Kotaku|Compete]]|date=16 July 2017 |access-date=2017-07-16}}</ref> This upset part of the fans, who believed that, as SFAT was not actually being coached, he should have won by disqualification. Others pointed out that, according to the official Evo ruleset, if such an incident is not reported at the time it took place, then it is ignored, and that, as neither Hungrybox nor SFAT reported the other, neither should have been carded in the first place.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.evo.gg/|title=Evo 2021|website=www.evo.gg}}</ref> Hungrybox eventually lost the following round, the losers finals, against Mango, finishing 3rd in the tournament while SFAT placed 4th as the result of his loss.<ref name="coaching hbox"/><ref name="SmashBoardsRankings"/>


One of the most infamous moments in ''Melee'' history took place in April 2019 at Pound 2019, when, after Hungrybox won the ''Melee'' Singles tournament by defeating Mango in the Grand Finals, a member in the crowd, presumably upset by his win, threw a dead [[crab]] at Hungrybox, barely missing him. After a moment of incredulousness, an infuriated Hungrybox picked up the crab and shouted at the crowd, demanding to know who threw it and to and "show some respect." The individual in question was later identified and ejected from the building, with a Pound official announcing that they had been permanently banned from future Pound events and that their name would be privately disclosed to other ''Smash'' tournament organizers.<ref name="PolygonAssaultsCrab"/><ref name="VPECrab"/> Hungrybox then apologized on Twitter for losing his temper, later stating: "I was just so disappointed. I looked down and I’m like 'who threw this? Why would you throw this at me?{{' "}}, later making fun of the incident by eating a crab during a [[Live streaming|live stream]].<ref name="PolygonAssaultsCrab"/> The crab incident became [[Viral phenomenon|viral]] and was relayed by a variety of media outlets, quickly becoming a [[internet meme|meme]] within the ''Smash'' community.<ref name="PolygonAssaultsCrab"/><ref name=ESPNDeadCrab/>
One of the most infamous moments in ''Melee'' history took place in April 2019 at Pound 2019, when, after Hungrybox won the ''Melee'' Singles tournament by defeating Mango in the Grand Finals, a member in the crowd, presumably upset by his win, threw a dead [[crab]] at Hungrybox, barely missing him. After a moment of incredulousness, an infuriated Hungrybox picked up the crab and shouted at the crowd, demanding to know who threw it and to "show some respect.", questioning if they knew how hard he works. The individual in question was later identified and ejected from the building, with a Pound official announcing that they had been permanently banned from future Pound events and that their name would be privately disclosed to other ''Smash'' tournament organizers.<ref name="PolygonAssaultsCrab"/><ref name="VPECrab"/> Hungrybox then apologized on Twitter for losing his temper, later stating: "I was just so disappointed. I looked down and I’m like 'who threw this? Why would you throw this at me?{{' "}}, later making fun of the incident by eating a crab during a [[Live streaming|live stream]].<ref name="PolygonAssaultsCrab"/> The crab incident became [[Viral phenomenon|viral]] and was relayed by a variety of media outlets, quickly becoming a [[internet meme|meme]] within the ''Smash'' community.<ref name="PolygonAssaultsCrab"/><ref name=ESPNDeadCrab/>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==

Revision as of 12:24, 15 November 2024

Hungrybox
Hungrybox on July 29, 2017 at Get On My Level 2017
Current team
TeamTeam Liquid
Games
Personal information
NameJuan DeBiedma
Nickname(s)Hbox
Clutchbox
Clutchgod
Born (1993-06-21) June 21, 1993 (age 31)[1]
Argentina[2]
NationalityArgentinian and American
Career information
Games
Playing career2007–present
Team history
2013–2014CLASH Tournaments
2014–2015Team Curse
2015–presentTeam Liquid
Career highlights and awards
  • CEO champion (2010, 2011, 2016–2019)
  • DreamHack champion (2015, 2017, 2017, 2018, 2019)
  • 3× Get On My Level champion (2015, 2018, 2022)
  • 3× Smash Summit champion (2017, 2018, 2020)
  • EGLX champion (2016, 2018, 2019)
  • 2× Smash 'N' Splash champion (2016–2017)
  • 2× Pound champion (2016, 2019)
  • 2× Shine champion (2017, 2019)
  • The Big House champion (2017, 2018)
  • 2× GameTyrant Expo champion (2017, 2018)
  • 2x Low Tier City champion (2018, 2019)
  • Revival of Melee 2 champion (2009)
  • Apex champion (2010)
  • MLG champion (2015)
  • Paragon Orlando champion (2015)
  • Battle of the Five Gods champion (2016)
  • EVO champion (2016)
  • Genesis champion (2019)
  • Mainstage champion (2019)
  • Wavedash champion (2022)
  • Riptide champion (2022)
Twitch information
Channel
Followers487,500

Last updated: April 12, 2024

Juan Manuel DeBiedma (/dəˌbˈɛdmə/;[3] born June 21, 1993), better known by his alias Hungrybox, is an ArgentineAmerican professional Super Smash Bros. player, streamer, tournament organizer and commentator.[4] Recognized as one of the greatest and most successful Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time, he is one of the "Five Gods of Melee" along with Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mang0" Marquez, and Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, and is regarded as the greatest Jigglypuff player in history. He is also an active competitor in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and has been a member of Team Liquid since 2015, becoming its co-owner in December 2021. He is currently ranked as the 8th best Melee player in the world for 2023.

Hungrybox has won over thirty major Melee Singles tournaments between 2009 and 2022, including editions of Apex, The Big House, CEO, DreamHack, EVO, GENESIS, the MLG National Championship, and Smash Summit. He has been ranked one of the top ten Melee players in the world every year since formal rankings began in 2013, achieving the top rank a record three consecutive times from 2017 to 2019; retroactive rankings establish him as a top ten player in the world every year since 2009, and rank him number one for 2010.[5][6] A 2021 list compiled by PGstats ranked DeBiedma as the third-greatest Melee player of all time after Mang0 and Armada.[7] Despite his "God" status, he is considered one of the most polarizing figures in the Melee community, in part due to the unpopularity of his defensive, counterattack-centric playstyle among part of the community.

Born in Argentina, DeBiedma grew up in Orlando, Florida, and became a U.S. citizen in 2017. Hungrybox has also competed in Super Smash Bros. games subsequent to Melee, and won both Project M and Ultimate tournaments.[8][9] Although primarily known as a Singles player, he also has an extensive career in Melee Doubles, and partnered up with a variety of other players, most notably Mew2King and Justin "Plup" McGrath, both of whom he won major Doubles tournaments with; he has been managed by his lifelong best friend Luis "Crunch" Rosias for the entirety of his career. He also regularly acts as commentator, and is the creator of the mostly-online The Box series of Super Smash Bros. tournaments created in 2020, which include Coinbox, the biggest online Ultimate tournament series.[10][11][12][13][14]

Early life

Juan Manuel DeBiedma was born in Argentina on June 21, 1993, to Juan Daniel Debiedma, a diplomat for Argentina, and Lucia Violante, a flight attendant.[2][15][1] He has two older brothers, Gaston, the oldest, and Fermin.[16] In the mid-1990s, DeBiedma's family moved to Orlando, Florida, after which Violante became a real estate agent.[2][1]

DeBiedma played piano and sang a capella while growing up.[1] He discovered video games at a young age, particularly enjoying the Super Mario Advance series, and started playing Melee when he was little after the stepson of one of his father's co-workers introduced him to the game.[1] He would also often play Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Fermin.[16] DeBiedma and his lifelong best friend and future manager, Luis "Crunch" Rosias, met in fifth grade in Orlando, and would often play Melee together.[15] He originally used Ness as his main character, but switched to Jigglypuff after realizing the effectiveness of the "Rest" move.[16]

His eventual nickname, "Hungrybox", came from middle school after he failed to forge his mother's signature, producing a drawing instead. He kept on recreating the drawing when bored in class, eventually resulting in a "hungry box" character resembling a box with eyes and a jagged mouth.[1]

DeBiedma was abandoned by his father Juan Daniel when he was 15 years old; they last saw each other July 20, 2008, when Juan Daniel dropped him off at the venue for the Brawl tournament Fast 1 before flying back to Argentina.[15][1]

Esports career

Early career (2007–2013)

DeBiedma discovered the Super Smash Bros. competitive scene sometime between 2006–2007 and started to perform at small local tournaments in 2007.[17][2] In July 2008, he volunteered to host several players at his parents' home for the upcoming 122-player Brawl tournament named Fast 1. He himself took part of the tournament, finishing in 25th place.[15][18]

In 2009 at a local Tampa tournament, Twilight Showdown 6, he placed 3rd for the first time in any tournament, earning $27.50, his first prize money; he recognizes this as the first moment he considered becoming professional.[2] After finishing in 7th place at Revival of Melee on March 7, Hungrybox placed 3rd at GENESIS for Melee on July 11, his first high placement at a major Melee tournament, while placing 97th on Brawl the following day.[18] Hungrybox won his first-ever tournament at Revival of Melee 2 on November 21, 2009.[18] He then went on to place in high positions repeatedly on tournaments, with Apex 2010 on August 8 marking his first win in a major tournament.[18]

For the following years, Hungrybox remained one of the top Melee players, and established himself as the best Jigglypuff player in the world. Results in major tournaments included placing 2nd at both Apex 2012 and The Big House 3 in 2013.[18] He won both the Singles and Doubles tournaments at CEO 2010 (with ChuDat in Doubles), and then again at CEO 2011 (with Linguini in Doubles).[citation needed] In parallel, he continued to compete on Brawl, to lesser success, and on the Brawl mod Project M, winning several minor tournaments.[18]

Early "Five Gods" Era (2013–2017)

In 2013, Evo, the most prominent fighting game event worldwide, announced Melee as part of the Evo 2013 line-up, after the game had only previously been featured at Evo 2007.[19] The event is considered the full beginning of the "Era of the Five Gods" (or "Platinum" Era), which marked a surge in prominence and popularity for the Melee competitive scene, and its near-total domination by five players: Hungrybox, Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman, Joseph "Mango" Marquez, and Kevin "PPMD" Nanney, with every Melee tournament ranked Supermajor (the highest rating for a Smash tournament) or Major (the second-highest) for several consecutive years being won by one of the "Gods", and them rarely losing to anyone but another "God".[19][20] At Evo 2013, Hungrybox finished in 3rd place, losing to Wobblez in the losers finals after a controversial finish; in parallel, he took part in a Melee Doubles Evo side-event, teaming up with Mew2King to win the tournament.[18]

On July 3, 2013, Hungrybox was picked up by team CLASH Tournaments alongside fellow Super Smash Bros. player Aziz "Hax" Al-Yami.[21] On April 17 of the following year, he left CLASH Tournaments and joined Team Curse.[22] On January 6, 2015, Team Curse merged with Team Liquid, leading Hungrybox to be picked up by Team Liquid along with his teammate Kashan "Chillin" Khan, joining other Smash Bros. players Ken Hoang and Daniel "KoreanDJ" Jung.[23]

In 2014, Hungrybox placed top three in nine Melee tournaments, including a victory at Fight Pitt V.[24] At Evo 2014, he reached the Grand Finals for the first time, losing to Mango and finishing in 2nd place; he once again won the Doubles side-event, this time teaming up with Justin "Plup" McGrath.[25]

In 2015, Hungrybox won the Melee Singles tournament at Paragon, defeating Mew2King in the Grand Finals.[26] At Evo 2015 in July, he finished in 2nd place, losing to Armada in the Grand Finals; the following month, he announced that he would be becoming less active in competitive Smash, as he began his career as an engineer.[16] At Paragon Los Angeles, his next tournament after Evo, he finished 3rd in Melee after being eliminated by Mew2King with a score of 2–3.[27][28] In parallel to his Melee career, he competed on the newly released Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to little success; at Paragon Los Angeles in 2015, the largest Project M tournament in history, Hungrybox finished 4th after being defeated by Mew2King 3–1.[18]

DreamHack Winter 2015 from November 26 to November 29, 2015, marked Hungrybox' first time winning both the Singles and Doubles tournaments at a Super Major event, winning Singles by defeating Armada 3–1 in the second set of Grand Finals after losing 3–0 in the first set, and Doubles by teaming up with Axe to defeat DaJuan "Shroomed" McDaniel and McCain "MacD" LaVelle 3–1 in the grand finals. His win in the Singles tournament earned him $10,000, his first five-figure payout; he broke into tears during his post-match interview.[18][1] In early 2016, Hungrybox won two additional singles Super Major tournaments, Pound and CEO 2016.[18]

On July 17, 2016, Hungrybox participated in the Evo 2016 Melee tournament and reached the Grand Finals for the third consecutive year, against Armada for a second consecutive time. In the Grand Finals, Hungrybox won two consecutive best-of-five sets, both with a score of 3–2, to win Evo for the first time in his career.[29][30]

The following October, Hungrybox competed at The Big House 6, where he placed 5th, losing to Armada in the losers quarter-finals; although he had been juggling his entire e-sports career with full studies and/or working, Hungrybox, disappointed by his performance, decided to quit his job as process engineer for WestRock to become a full-time professional player for the first time.[31][32]

Domination of Melee (2017–2020)

Hungrybox at Evo 2018

In 2017, Hungrybox won multiple tournaments, including the Supermajor tournament The Big House 7, and four Super Major tournaments: Shine 2017, DreamHack Austin 2017, DreamHack Denver 2017, and Smash Summit 5; for the latter, he set a new record for most money won in a single Melee tournament, receiving $29,315.30 as prize money.[33][34][35]

In 2018, Hungrybox continued to consistently rank high on tournaments, winning a total of 18, including three Supermajors: Shine 2017, CEO 2018, and The Big House 8.[18][36] At Evo 2018, Hungrybox lost to Armada in the losers semifinals and ranked 4th. Hungrybox would go on to score five consecutive tournaments wins at the end of the year, including the Singles tournament at Smash Summit 7 on November 15.[36][37]

In February 2019, Hungrybox won GENESIS 6, his first GENESIS win after participating in all five previous editions of the Singles Melee tournament.[38] He went on to win more Majors, including Pound 2019, Low Tier City 7, CEO 2019, Shine 2019, and Mainstage.[38][1]

Following the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in December 2018, Hungrybox started entering Ultimate tournaments as part of events in which he was also competing as a Melee player; his Ultimate endeavors were less successful. In his first Ultimate tournament, the 385-entrant Ultimatum on December 29, he finished in 65th place.[39] At GENESIS 6, the biggest Ultimate tournament at that point with 2105 entrants, Hungrybox placed 193rd in Singles, and 257th in Doubles with Kashan "Chillindude" Khan.[40] His best Ultimate ranking for 2019 was at Mango's Birthday Bash, where he finished in 7th place; in addition, he performed as a Melee player, finishing 2nd in both singles and Doubles tournaments (teaming up with Zain for the latter).[41]

COVID-19 and Ultimate (2020–2021)

Hungrybox won GatorLAN Spring 2020, before finishing 2nd at GENESIS 7 after losing to Zain in the Singles Grand Finals, while teaming up with him to rank 5th in Doubles.[42][43][44] He went on to win Smash Summit 9 in February.[42] At CEO Dreamland, he won both the Singles tournament, and the Doubles tournament with Kilmer "mayb" Varela.[45]

He won his first Ultimate tournament by finishing 1st in The Salad Online 13's Ultimate Singles bracket.[46][47]

Starting in March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Smash community to either cancel events or move them online. Due to Melee not having an online mode, the Melee community became de facto inactive, apart from tournaments using a fan-made online mod of Melee. Hungrybox failed to win any for the rest of the year.[48][49] He achieved his worst Melee placement in 13 years in July at LACS 2, finishing 13th.[17] The following November at Perfect Series 3: ONLINE on November 3, he finished in 17th place.[49]

Return to in-person competition and organizer (2021–present)

From July 15 to July 18, 2021, Hungrybox took part in the Melee Major tournament Smash Summit 11, the first offline Super Smash Bros. Major in North America since Frostbite in February 2020. At the end of the three-day singles tournament, he took third place, losing to Zain in the winner's finals and then to eventual tournament winner Mang0 in the loser's finals.[50][51] He and Plup also took 2nd place in a special single-elimination doubles tournament where players could only pick each character once per set, losing to Mang0 and SFAT in the finals.[50] Mang0's first-place prize in the singles tournament of $46,700 surpassed the all-time record of $29,315 Hungrybox had earned for winning Smash Summit 5 in 2017.[52]

At Riptide on September 10–12, 2021, Hungrybox took third place in the singles tournament after losing to iBDW in Winners Finals and to Plup in losers finals. He and Plup also won the doubles tournament.[53] Hungrybox and four of his fellow Team Liquid members became co-owners of the team in December.[54]

On July 3, 2022, Hungrybox won Get On My Level 2022 in Canada, marking his first Singles major won in two and a half years since his last major win at Smash Summit 9 in February 2020; he would later score his second major win of that year at Riptide in September in the United States.[55] He would ultimately be ranked 5th in the world for Melee in 2022 (the first official yearly rankings since 2019's due to COVID-2019), officially losing his rank as top player in the world and receiving his lowest Melee ranking since 2014.[56] OrionRank (a group with rankings larger than UltRank, the main ranking entity for Ultimate, which is limited to 100 players) also ranked him the 199th Ultimate player in North America for 2022.[57]

Style and public image

Playstyle

Largely credited with elevating the Melee community's perception of Jigglypuff's viability in competition and setting the standard of how to play the character, Hungrybox relies heavily on a defensive, counterattack-centric playstyle revolving around avoiding his opponent until he finds an opportunity to attack and capitalize on their mistakes; it is considered a "high-risk high-reward" playstyle, as Hungrybox's usual goal is to eventually hit his opponent with "Rest", a move unique to Jigglypuff which inflicts abnormally high knockback on opponents and is able to take the opponent's stock at much lower damage percentages than other moves of its responsiveness. The move has a very small range, making it hard to land without setting up a combo that finishes with it and, regardless of whether it successfully hits or not, it leaves Jigglypuff asleep and completely vulnerable to enemy attack for three seconds afterwards; as such, failure to hit the opponent via "Rest" can result in drawbacks such as massive damage inflicted on Jigglypuff via combos or, if damage is already high, in an instant kill, since Jigglypuff is the second lightest character in the game and is prone to losing stocks quickly as a result. Even if the move is successful and takes a stock, Jigglypuff might not wake up fast enough to avoid getting attacked and potentially killed in return upon her foe respawning, leaving Hungrybox little room for mistakes during a game.[58][59][2][1]

Hungrybox claimed in 2013 that he "got good using gimmicks" and that his hands were not fast enough for technical skill.[60] Liking Melee for its "unorthodox value", he claimed in 2014 that he disliked traditional head-to-head fighting games.[2] In 2014, he stated: "In my playstyle, I'm a greedy novel editor — I'll catch every last mistake or typo you make, and punish you harshly for it."[2]

Hungrybox has earned the nickname "Clutchbox" due to his frequent clutch performances, pulling off comebacks when in difficult positions, particularly when in the middle of losing sets or after being sent to a losers bracket.[61][32]

Public perception

Hungrybox is unanimously seen as one of the best players in Melee history, as well as the best Jigglypuff player in the game's history.[58][16][62] However, he has remained a polarizing figure for Melee fans and players all throughout his career, with part of the community criticizing his playstyle as annoying and too slow and Jigglypuff as an unpleasing character to watch; he has also been accused of hurting the community, with some alleging that his playstyle was driving viewers away.[62][63][64][16][1][15] ESPN stated in 2016: "There is no question that Juan 'Hungrybox' Debiedma is the most polarizing figure in the realm of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Ten years deep as a competitor, he's seen fans discount him, his performances, and his character selection, some even believing that he's killing the game with each set."[63] In another article in 2019, they stated that he "has been the recipient of a significant amount of hate throughout his career."[62]

Hungrybox also attracted criticism for his tendency to loudly and flashily celebrate his wins (called "pop-offs" within the community), which some considered disrespectful to his defeated opponents.[16][15] According to Hungrybox, the Melee community's partial rejection of his playstyle started very early in his career, claiming that "people didn't like that at all" when he started placing high in local tournaments in 2008.[16]

He has admitted to suffering from the way part of the community treats him, also stating that the community's perception of him was a factor in him starting to drink excessively in 2017 and resuming having a day job despite being the No. 1 Melee player in the world.[64][15]

In the Grand Finals of DreamHack Austin 2017 in which he faced Daniel "ChuDat" Rodriguez in several highly contested games described by ESPN as "high-level spectacle", Hungrybox won the final game, and therefore the tournament, by camping and avoiding contact with ChuDat's Ice Climbers until the clock ran out, giving Hungrybox the win due to his statistical advantage in stocks and damage ratio. [65] Bleeding Cool reported the event with the headline "DreamHack Austin Champion Wins In The Most Pathetic Way Possible".[65] In April 2018, Hungrybox claimed on Twitter that a stranger attracted his attention while he was shopping at Walmart earlier during the day, before saying "Fuck you and your family Hungrybox", as well as "some other stuff about [him]".[66]

Controversial tournament events

Hungrybox's match against Zac "SFAT" Cordoni in the losers semifinals at Evo 2017 attracted controversy after Hungrybox called his coach, Luis "Crunch" Rosias, over for advice in between games, which was as a violation of the event's "No Coaching After Pools" rule; as the discussion between Hungrybox and Crunch was ongoing, Gordon "G$" Connell, a friend of SFAT, approached and mocked the other two by mimicking a coach-like discussion with SFAT. As the result, Evo considered that both players had violated the rule, and let the match's original result, a win for Hungrybox, stand; both players nevertheless received a yellow card as punishment for their actions.[67] This upset part of the fans, who believed that, as SFAT was not actually being coached, he should have won by disqualification. Others pointed out that, according to the official Evo ruleset, if such an incident is not reported at the time it took place, then it is ignored, and that, as neither Hungrybox nor SFAT reported the other, neither should have been carded in the first place.[68] Hungrybox eventually lost the following round, the losers finals, against Mango, finishing 3rd in the tournament while SFAT placed 4th as the result of his loss.[67][18]

One of the most infamous moments in Melee history took place in April 2019 at Pound 2019, when, after Hungrybox won the Melee Singles tournament by defeating Mango in the Grand Finals, a member in the crowd, presumably upset by his win, threw a dead crab at Hungrybox, barely missing him. After a moment of incredulousness, an infuriated Hungrybox picked up the crab and shouted at the crowd, demanding to know who threw it and to "show some respect.", questioning if they knew how hard he works. The individual in question was later identified and ejected from the building, with a Pound official announcing that they had been permanently banned from future Pound events and that their name would be privately disclosed to other Smash tournament organizers.[64][66] Hungrybox then apologized on Twitter for losing his temper, later stating: "I was just so disappointed. I looked down and I’m like 'who threw this? Why would you throw this at me?'", later making fun of the incident by eating a crab during a live stream.[64] The crab incident became viral and was relayed by a variety of media outlets, quickly becoming a meme within the Smash community.[64][62]

Personal life

After abandoning his family and returning to Argentina in 2008, Hungrybox's father Juan Daniel passed away from a heart attack in late 2015. This was shortly before Hungrybox won both the Singles and Doubles Melee tournaments at DreamHack Winter 2015, earning his first five-figure payout and marking his first time winning both Singles and Doubles at a Super Major tournament; in a post-win interview, he broke into tears and opened about his father's lack of support.[15][1] Conversely, Hungrybox credits his mother Lucia Violante for being consistently supportive since the beginning.[15]

Hungrybox's lifelong best friend and manager is Luis "Crunch" Rosias, whom Hungrybox credits with training him and helping him develop his skills at Melee, most notably in how to win against Fox, who is often considered the best character in the game, and has a notoriously favorable matchup against Hungrybox's character, Jigglypuff.[15]

While competing professionally in Melee, DeBiedma continued to be a full-time student, graduating Freedom High School in 2011, and the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 2015; after getting his degree, he relocated from Jacksonville, Florida to Buford, Georgia, and then again to Demopolis, Alabama, in order to find work that could still allow him to continue his full-time Super Smash Bros. career.[2][69][70][15] In 2015, he began working as a process engineer for WestRock, but quit his job the following year after underperforming at The Big House 6, in order to pursue a full-time eSports career.[31][15] In March 2018, however, the decline of his mental health in 2017 following a break-up led him to take a regular job once again at ServiceNow in Florida; his feeling that the Melee community's perception of him was deteriorating also weighed heavily on him and was a factor in this decision.[71][15] In June 2019, after winning CEO for the fourth time, he announced that he would be leaving the workforce to pursue eSports full-time once again.[72]

On August 15, 2017, DeBiedma became a U.S. citizen.[73]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2022 The Streamer Awards Best Super Smash Bros. Streamer Nominated [74]
The Esports Awards Esports Content Creator of the Year Won [75]
2024 The Streamer Awards Best Fighting Games Streamer Nominated [76]

Notable tournament placings

Only Majors and Supermajors are listed.

Offline tournament Online tournament

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Tournament[77] Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Revival of Melee March 7–8, 2009 7th 4th Colbol
GENESIS July 10–12, 2009 3rd 13th Hax
Revival of Melee 2 November 21–22, 2009 1st 4th Cactuar
Pound 4 January 16–18, 2010 2nd 17th Uuaa
CEO 2010 June 5–6, 2010 1st 1st ChuDat
Apex 2010 August 6–8, 2010 1st 4th Hax
Revival of Melee 3 November 20–21, 2010 5th 2nd Hax
Pound V February 19–21, 2011 3rd 3rd Hax
CEO 2011 June 10–12, 2011 1st 1st Linguini
GENESIS 2 July 15–17, 2011 4th 2nd Hax
Apex 2012 January 6–8, 2012 2nd 2nd Plup
Zenith 2012 May 26–27, 2012 4th 3rd Hax
IMPULSE June 30-July 1, 2012 3rd 2nd Kage
The Big House 2 October 6–7, 2012 2nd 2nd Chillin
Apex 2013 January 11–13, 2013 5th 2nd Plup
Zenith 2013 June 1–2, 2013 2nd 2nd DoH
Evo 2013[note 1] July 12–14, 2013 3rd 1st Mew2King
The Big House 3 October 12–13, 2013 2nd 1st Mew2King
Revival of Melee 6 November 16–17, 2013 2nd 1st Mew2King
Apex 2014 January 17–19, 2014 5th 3rd Plup
Shuffle V February 22–23, 2014 2nd 1st Mew2King
Revival of Melee 7 March 8–9, 2014 3rd 2nd Darc
CEO 2014 Prologue March 28–29, 2014 1st
Get On My Level 2014 May 10–11, 2014 2nd 1st Mew2King
MLG Anaheim 2014 June 20–22, 2014 7th 5th Plup
CEO 2014 June 27–29, 2014 3rd 2nd Plup
Evo 2014[note 1] July 11–13, 2014 2nd 1st Plup
Tipped Off 10 September 20–21, 2014 1st 1st Plup
The Big House 4 October 4–5, 2014 9th 2nd Plup
Paragon 2015 January 17–18, 2015 1st 1st Plup
Apex 2015 January 30–February 1, 2015 5th 1st Mew2King
Bad Moon Rising March 14–15, 2015 1st 1st DoH
MVG Sandstorm April 18–19, 2015 4th 3rd Silly Kyle
Press Start May 9–10, 2015 4th 1st Mew2King
Get On My Level 2015 May 30–31, 2015 1st 1st Hax
CEO 2015 June 26–28, 2015 5th 2nd Leffen
Evo 2015[note 1] July 17–19, 2015 2nd 3rd Plup
Paragon Los Angeles 2015 September 5–6, 2015 3rd
MLG World Finals 2015 October 16–18, 2015 1st
DreamHack Winter 2015 November 26–28, 2015 1st 1st Axe
GENESIS 3 January 15–17, 2016 3rd 4th Axe
PAX Arena January 29–31, 2016 1st 2nd Mew2King
Battle of the Five Gods March 17–19, 2016 1st
Pound 2016 April 2–3, 2016 1st
Smash Summit 2 April 21–24, 2016 2nd 2nd Plup
Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo April 29–May 1, 2016 1st 2nd Leffen
DreamHack Austin 2016 May 6–8, 2016 2nd
Get On My Level 2016 May 20–22, 2016 3rd 3rd Leffen
Smash 'N' Splash 2 June 11–12, 2016 1st 5th Wobbles
Low Tier City 4 June 18–19, 2016 1st 2nd ESAM
CEO 2016 June 24–25, 2016 1st 1st Mew2King
WTFox 2 July 1–3, 2016 5th 4th Iori
Evo 2016[note 1] July 15–17, 2016 1st 2nd Mew2King
Super Smash Con 2016 August 11–14, 2016 2nd
Shine 2016 August 26–28, 2016 4th
The Big House 6 October 7–9, 2016 5th 5th Mew2King
Canada Cup 2016 October 28–30, 2016 2nd
Smash Summit 3 November 3–6, 2016 2nd 5th Plup
UGC Open December 2–4, 2016 3rd 4th Mew2King
Don't Park On The Grass December 17–18, 2016 2nd 3rd Swedish Delight
GENESIS 4 January 20–22, 2017 4th 5th Mew2King
Smash Summit Spring 2017 March 2–5, 2017 2nd 5th Axe
Smash Rivalries April 8–9, 2017 1st 2nd Mew2King
DreamHack Austin 2017 April 28–30, 2017 1st 5th ESAM
Smash 'N' Splash 3 June 2–4, 2017 1st 7th Professor Pro
CEO 2017 June 16–18, 2017 1st
Game Tyrant Expo 2017 June 2–4, 2017 1st 4th ChuDat
Shine 2017 August 25–27, 2017 1st 9th Crunch
The Big House 7 October 6–8, 2017 1st 4th ChuDat
DreamHack Denver 2017 October 20–22, 2017 1st 1st ChuDat
Smash Summit 5 November 2–5, 2017 1st 5th Wizzrobe
GENESIS 5 January 19–21, 2018 2nd 2nd ChuDat
EGLX 2018 March 9–11, 2018 1st 5th Crunch
Smash Summit 6 May 3–6, 2018 4th 4th 2Saint
Get On My Level 2018 May 18–20, 2018 1st
Smash 'N' Splash 4 June 1–3, 2018 2nd
CEO 2018 June 29–July 1, 2018 1st 2nd mayb
Evo 2018 August 3–5, 2018 4th
Super Smash Con 2018 August 9–12, 2018 3rd 3rd Mew2King
Shine 2018 August 24–26, 2018 2nd 4th ChuDat
DreamHack Montreal 2018 September 7–9, 2018 1st
The Big House 8 October 5–7, 2018 1st 2nd ChuDat
Canada Cup 2018 October 26–28, 2018 1st
Game Tyrant Expo 2018 November 2–4, 2018 1st
Smash Summit 7 November 15, 2018 1st 2nd Bananas
Genesis 6 February 1–3, 2019 1st 2nd ChuDat
Pound 2019 April 19–21, 2019 1st 3rd ChuDat
Get On My Level 2019 May 17–19, 2019 5th
Smash 'N' Splash 5 May 31 – June 2, 2019 2nd 5th ChuDat
Smash Summit 8 June 13–16, 2019 5th 3rd iBDW
Community Effort Orlando 2019]] June 28–30, 2019 1st
Super Smash Con 2019 August 8–11, 2019 2nd 3rd ChuDat
Shine 2019 August 23–25, 2019 1st
DreamHack Montreal 2019 September 6–8, 2019 1st
The Big House 9 October 4–6, 2019 5th
EGLX 2019: Rising Stars October 20, 2019 1st 1st Mew2King
Mango's Birthday Bash December 7–8, 2019 2nd 2nd Zain
GENESIS 7 January 24–26, 2020 2nd 5th Zain
Smash Summit 9 February 13–16, 2020 1st
CEO Dreamland March 13–15, 2020 1st 1st mayb
Pound Online April 24–26, 2020 2nd
LACS 2 July 26, 2020 13th
Smash Summit 10 Online November 19–22, 2020 7th
LACS 3 December 19–20, 2020 9th
Galint Melee Open January 9–11, 2021 1st
Smash Summit 11 July 15–18, 2021 3rd 2nd Plup
Riptide 2021 September 10–12, 2021 3rd 1st Plup
Galint Melee Open: Fall Edition - North America December 4, 2021 1st
Smash Summit 12 December 9–13, 2021 7th
LACS January 29–30, 2022 5-6th
GENESIS 8 April 15–17, 2022 5th
Pound 2022 April 22–24, 2022 2nd
Smash Summit 13 May 12–15, 2022 3rd
CEO 2022 June 24–26, 2022 5th
Get On My Level 2022 July 1–3, 2022 1st
Super Smash Con 2022 August 11–14, 2022 2nd
Shine 2022 August 26–28, 2022 3rd
Riptide 2022 September 9–11, 2022 1st 1st Plup
The Big House 10 October 7–9, 2022 5th
Ludwig Smash Invitational October 21–23, 2022 2nd
Smash Summit 14 November 3–6, 2022 4th
Apex 2022 November 18–20, 2022 3rd
GENESIS 9 January 20–22, 2023 5th 1st Plup
MAJOR UPSET April 1–2, 2023 4th 1st Plup
Battle of BC 5 May 19–21, 2023 7th
LACS 5 July 7–9, 2023 4th
Fête 3: By the Sea July 14–16, 2023 3rd
Get On My Level 2023 July 21–23, 2023 5th
The Big House 11 October 20–22, 2023 7th
GENESIS X February 16–18, 2024 7th 2nd Zamu

Project M

Tournament[78] Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Zenith 2012 May 26–27, 2012 1st
MELEE-FC10R Legacy August 12–14, 2012 1st 2nd Kage
Zenith 2013 June 1–2, 2013 2nd
The Big House 3 October 12–13, 2013 7th 1st Mew2King
Apex 2014 January 17–19, 2014 25th
Shuffle V February 22–23, 2014 2nd 3rd Nintendude
CEO 2014 Prologue March 28–29, 2014 5th
CEO 2014 June 27–29, 2014 9th 4th Armada
Tipped Off 10 September 20–21, 2014 9th 3rd Mew2King
The Big House 4 October 4–5, 2014 13th
Forte 2 December 20–21, 2014 1st
Paragon 2015 January 17–18, 2015 3rd
Paragon Los Angeles September 5–6, 2015 4th 1st-6th Oracle
Smash'N'Splash 2 June 11–12, 2016 33rd 5th Westballz
Low Tier City 4 June 18–19, 2016 5th MrLz
WTFox 2 July 1–3, 2016 1st 1st Mew2King
EVO 2016 July 15–17, 2016 9th
Super Smash Con 2016 August 11–14, 2016 3rd
Smash 'N' Splash 3 June 2–4, 2017 9th
Smash 'N' Splash 4 June 1–3, 2018 25th
Low Tier City 7 July 12–14, 2019 33rd

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Tournament[79] Date 1v1 placement
GENESIS July 10–12, 2009 97th
Apex 2014 January 17–19, 2014 65th
Get On My Level 2014 May 10–11, 2014 17th

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Tournament[80] Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Super Smash Bros. Invitational June 10, 2014 2nd
CEO 2015 June 26–28, 2015 97th 3rd ZeRo
FC Smash 15XR: Return July 4–5, 2015 17th 2nd ZeRo
WTFox 2 July 1–3, 2016 25th

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS

Tournament[81] Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Tipped Off 10 September 20–21, 2014 3rd
Fight Pitt V November 1–2, 2014 4th

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Tournament Date 1v1 placement 2v2 placement Partner
Ultimatum[39] December 29, 2018 65th
Smash Conference United January 5, 2019 25th 17th Crunch
GENESIS 6 February 1, 2019 193rd 257th Chillindude
Frostbite 2019 February 23–24, 2019 193rd
DreamHack Montreal 2019 September 7–8, 2020 25th
Mango's Birthday Bash[41] December 7–8, 2019 7th
GENESIS 7[44] January 24–26, 2020 257th
Frostbite 2020 February 21–23, 2020 257th
CEO Dreamland[45] March 13–15, 2020 65th 49th Jebailey
CEO 2021[82] December 3–5, 2021 129th

Media

DeBiedma's early Melee career was documented in an episode of the 2013 documentary series The Smash Brothers.[83] He also is present in another documentary about the competitive Smash scene called Metagame.[84] Hungrybox has been a vocal advocate for the competitive Super Smash Bros. scene, praising the technological advancements created for Melee, and criticizing Nintendo for their lack of support towards the community.[85][86] On January 26, 2020, YouTuber EmpLemon uploaded a video entitled "there will Never Ever be another Melee player like HungryBox" detailing key moments in Juan's career and his impact on the Melee community.[87]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d The Doubles tournament was a side-event organized by Evo in parallel to the event, but not technically part of the event itself.

References

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