Super Smash Bros legend Hungrybox is bringing Melee back to EVO in the form of a $1,000 challenge.
Team Liquid’s Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma is one of the world’s best Smash pros, earning the title as one of the 5 ‘Gods’ of Melee alongside Armada, Mew2King, PPMD, and the currently banned Mang0.
Although Smash hasn’t been officially at EVO since 2019, Hungrybox found a way to run his own Melee side-event at the year’s biggest fighting game tournament.
On July 30, HBox revealed he would be live at the event, taking on (mostly) anyone who steps up to play him, and there could be a huge chunk of money on the line.
Hungrybox brings Smash back to EVO… sort of
According to the Jigglypuff main, competitors will be able to pay $5 to compete against him in Melee for the chance to win a jackpot.
The jackpot will start at $100 and grow with each player he defeats, adding $5 to the pot each time.
The challenge will only end if the pot reaches $1000 or if someone manages to slay the Melee God.
With the pot starting at $100, Hungrybox will need to win 180 games in a row for the challenge to come to an end in a way that sends him home with a grand in hand.
However, there is one big caveat: top-ranked Melee players aren’t allowed to challenge him, as Debiedma is hoping that a random player will show up and pull off a major upset.
“I want some secret boss to suprise everyone, take a game off me and walk home with $$$$,” HBox said.
Hungrybox isn’t the only one to offer a big prize for beating him in singles. In 2021, a dentist went viral for giving customers a free cleaning if they were able to beat him in Smash Ultimate.
Although Smash may not be officially back at EVO, that doesn’t mean the event organizers have given up on Nintendo’s platform fighter.
Last year, EVO General Manager Rick Thiher told Dexerto that he was hopeful that Smash will return down the line, adding that he is “always happy to host Smash” and “happy to engage with that community.”
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