Hungrybox: the Unkillable Demon Jigglypuff

This piece originally appeared in Glixel, Rolling Stone’s video game vertical, in 2017. I republished it, along with some other pieces lost to the annals of esports journalism history, on medium.com/bboongbboong.

"God, I'm crying a lot, I'm sorry," said Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma, one of five Super Smash Bros. Melee players known as "Gods" for their lopsided domination of the modern competitive scene. He wiped his eyes. Ten minutes earlier, he'd won DreamHack Winter 2015, earning $10,000. Though he’d been considered one of the best in the world since at least 2009, this was his first five-figure payout.

His interviewer, the ever-professional D'Ron "D1" Maingrette, hastened to reassure him. "It's fine! A lot of emotions are going through you right now."

"You know, my dad just passed away," said Debiedma. "It was my biological dad, and we – "

(Here Maingrette assumed the wide-eyed, pucker-mouthed universal expression of “Oh, shit.”)

Debiedma kept going. "I know it's personal stuff, but he told me: you'll never be the best. You'll be good, but you'll never be the best."

"Oh," said Maingrette.

"So," said Debiedma, raising a trembling arm, "I hope he sees me now."

Then he laughed. Or sobbed. It's hard to tell from the video.