If you learn one thing from watching a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament that happens around some form of a controversial situation within the community, you will always get the same feeling: Melee is eternal.
Sitting 21 years into the lifespan of a game Nintendo likely never intended to see being played this long and still pulling viewership comparable to or greater than the franchise’s newest title, Melee has taken on an identity of its own—for the most part, in spite of the company that made it.
Mainstage 2022, for example, wasn’t supposed to be the final Major event of the Smash community’s year but ended up becoming a Supermajor due to the Smash World Tour suddenly being canceled due to some interactions with Nintendo—and Panda to some extent. And with the subsequent backlash hitting Panda due to its CEO’s actions, players went from having two big final events to none.
For Melee-heads who have been around for years, this is nothing new. Circuits have never really been a thing on the scale the SWT and Panda Cup were working to make them but large tournaments being canceled is familiar territory. This is why Mang0, fresh off of winning Mainstage, spoke for pretty much the entire community in his winner’s interview.
“Just remember one thing. You can try to take our Melee away,” Mang0 said. “You can take my controller, my Gamecube, my CRT. I’ll tell you something, I’ll play Melee in my fucking mind. As long as Melee lives, I will play.”
He echoed sentiments shared by many other players such as Hungrybox prior to the event while the SWT drama was just beginning to unfold, specifically in that it doesn’t matter what stage the game is being played on.
Melee players know that their scene is strange and leans more toward being a janky mess compared to other, more esports-centric titles—and they wouldn’t have it any other way. At the cost of big money entering the scene, the general feeling is that passion for the game and wanting to compete for the top spot is enough for most players.
“If you take it all, we’ll fucking play in a garage [with] 20 people there,” Mang0 said. “Hot, sweaty, gross, me versus Zain behind a 7-11 for 25 bucks. And that’s what it’s always going to be. The money, the fame—anybody who wants to be a top player gives no fucks about that. So if you try to shut us down, you’ll never shut us down. You think you might, but I promise you with all of my soul you’ve got nothing on the Melee community.”
As Mang0 eloquently puts it, Melee players are the cockroaches of esports. You can try to exterminate them, but they will never stop coming back.
