C9 Mang0 opens CS case on the way to stage, ends up winning Smash tournament

What a GOAT.

C9 Mang0 entering a stage for Smash tournament.
Photo via Robert Paul for EVO

Fans opening Counter-Strike 2 cases are a common sight at competitive tournaments. But in a surprising twist, Cloud9’s Mang0 opened one at Super Smash Bros. Melee Tipped Off 15.

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On June 16, the 32-year-old legend took to the stage at Tipped Off 15 in Marietta, Georgia for yet another Smash tournament semifinal in his career. While he was walking past the crowd, a fan asked him to open a CS2 case. Mang0 did so without hesitation and failed loot anything valuable, but that was the last time he’d be unsuccessful for the tournament.

It’s tough to see which specific case Mang0 opened, but by the looks of it, he dropped a Nova on the fan’s account. The shotgun itself is hardly ever used by professional and casual CS2 players, which makes its skins some of the most common and cheapest in the game. At the time of writing, there are only a handful of Nova skins on the Steam Market that are worth over $100, and many of them don’t drop from cases anyway.

While Mang0 had bad luck opening the case, he certainly didn’t for the rest of the tournament. After taking the stage, the 32-year-old came out victorious at the winner’s bracket of Tipped Off 15’s playoffs, then swept the grand final.

The win in Marietta secured Mang0 over $3,000 and gave him another trophy to add to his already-stacked cabinet. The American has been active since 2007, and over these 17 years, he has boasted over 30 major tournament wins. He’s been playing under C9’s banner since 2014, and his domination of the scene has earned him the title of one of the greatest Super Smash Bros. Melee players of all time.

Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.