During an eSports tournament in Maryland, USA, the winner of the tournament was hit with a dead crab. After his finals victory in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Team Liquid player Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma was almost struck by the dead animal and did not find it funny at all.
What happened at the tournament? At “Pound 2019,” several players competed in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Smash Bros. spin-off for the Gamecube from 2001. Despite the age of the game, it still has a large and active community.
The event took place from April 19 to 22, and besides Melee, the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was also played. The winner of the singles tournament was Hungrybox, who defeated Cloud 9 player Joseph “Mango” Maquez to earn nearly $3000 in prize money.
However, one fan was apparently not happy about this. Shortly after his victory, Hungrybox narrowly avoided being hit in the head by a crab thrown from the audience. He picked it up and turned to the audience in outrage.
Who is Hungrybox? Hungrybox has been a well-known name in the Super Smash Bros. Melee community for several years. He is among the best players in the world, but he is also one of the most unpopular.
The community’s discontent with Hungrybox stems from his playstyle. Hungrybox prefers the character Jigglypuff for his matches, a character that many consider “against the meta.”
One peculiarity of Jigglypuff is also to slow down rounds. With the ability to put opponents to sleep, Jigglypuff can often decide when and how fights take place. Hungrybox is therefore known for a slow playstyle and as a “camper,” which many fans find boring.
For his strong reaction, Hungrybox later apologized on Twitter, even though most fans were not angry with him but could understand him.
This is how the organizers feel about it: During the incident, the event’s moderators expressed outrage and called on the fans to show some respect. Throwing a dead crab is unacceptable.
The thrower was soon identified and banned from the event. Although the organizers did not want to reveal the name publicly, they intended to share it with other eSports organizers.
They want to ensure that the crab thrower is permanently banned from any events to show that such behavior will be addressed.
The streamer bites back
Update 4/28: Hungrybox has apparently processed the situation by eating a crab live on stream (via dexerto).
Shortly after the clip went viral, in which he complained about the crab throw, Hungrybox apologized on Twitter for his outburst.
How would you deal with the crab thrower?
While such scenes appear in the USA, eSport is still growing in Germany:
