Hungrybox wins Genesis X2 Melee Championship, ending major curse

Melee legend Juan ‘Hungrybox’ DeBiedma took home the Melee Championship at Genesis X2 over the weekend, ending a long-time drought for the top player.

After not winning a super major in nearly three years, Team Liquid‘s Hungrybox broke his curse with a convincing top-eight run and emotional victory. Playing his signature Jigglypuff all the way through the tournament, Hungrybox took down top players on his way to the gruelling Grand Final match against Alvaro ‘Trif’ Garcia Moral.

This is the first Genesis title Hungrybox has won in six years, the last being back in 2019.

Despite Nintendo’s unpopular esports track record, the Smash community has continuously fought to keep the scene alive. One of the big majors still standing is Genesis, which wrapped up this weekend. The top Melee players in the world headed to San Jose, California to prove themselves decades after the game was released.

Hungrybox was having an incredible run in the Winners Bracket, however, this all changed when he met Justin ‘Wizzrobe’ Hallett in Winners Semis. Wizzrobe has consistently defeated Hungrybox whenever they’ve met at a major and this time was no different. Hungrybox ultimately lost 3-0, leading Hungrybox to question himself on X.

This sent Hungrybox to the Losers Bracket, which proved to be no problem for the veteran Melee player. Back in the Finals Bracket, Hungrybox beat long-time rival Joseph ‘Mang0’ Marque, who has recently gained attention due to a video making the rounds on social media at the tournament.

Next up was a runback with Wizzrobe, a pretty emotionally tough moment that had Hungrybox looking quite tense before the match began. This Losers Finals match became one of the most exciting Melee matches of all time, with a final fifth match that had viewers at the edge of their seat.

Hungrybox ultimately ended the grudge match with a well-timed Rest when both players were at their last stock. The celebration after the win was one of Hungrybox’s most memorable, kneeling on the stage while screaming and pumping his fist into the air before shaking Wizzrobe’s hand.

It was then the Grand Final against Trif, the best Peach in Spain. It was an exhausting final fight that had a determined Hungrybox winning two matches, both of them a convincing 3-1. Near the end of the final match, Hungrybox began to cry as he realized he was going to beat Trif and win Genesis X2.

Commentators called it the “slowest pop-off we’ve ever seen,” with Hungrybox switching between sobbing and smacking himself to get back into the game. After the commanding victory, he collapsed onto the floor in tears.

Fellow Melee icon turned streamer Jason ‘Mew2King’ Zimmerman tweeted after the victory that he’d been putting a lot of effort into coaching Hungrybox for this moment. He wrote that he wanted to help him “reach his dreams of winning majors and being number one again.”

Hungrybox also tweeted after his championship win, telling his fans to “never give up” because there’s “always another chance.” He then announced the Hungry Games, a series of five online tourneys where his prize money from Genesis X2 would be put into the prize pool.