Melee God and Smash icon Joseph “Mang0” Marquez had an amazing turn to form earlier this year, often referred to as the greatest Melee player of all time due to his ability to place incredibly well so consistently since 2013 when the MPGR began. Since then, Mang0 has appeared in every top five except one (Summer 2018 MPGR), even taking the first place spot in 2013, 2014, and 2021.
The Smash community was shocked when Mang0 missed the top 10 in the first time in history, coming in 11th in the Summer 2022 MPGR. While still a top player, it seemed like Mang0 was starting to slip as players like Jake “Jmook” DiRado and Codey “iBDW” Schwab have started to rise. This is due to a number of factors, like Mang0’s inconsistent practice schedule and tournament entries. But the ranking still hit Mang0 hard.
Presenting the next batch of players ranked 30-11 on the Summer 2022 MPGR!
Click the link below for more information including individual write-ups and player cards.
➡️https://t.co/wRgrcW4Evl pic.twitter.com/XDVFnWMIl9
— PGstats.com (@pgstats) August 10, 2022
Mang0 reacts to placement in Summer 2022 MPGR
The MPGR have continued to carry a significant weight in the competitive Melee scene. Since these rankings come from statistics, outcomes, and placements, most people accept the placements with little argument. It’s no surprise that Mang0 was emotional after seeing himself not only no longer in the top five, but not even top 10.
“Okay. F*** Panda. F*** Nintendo. They had me in the first half when they called me the GOAT, but f*** ’em,” Mang0 said in an emotional tweet.
Mang0 then decided to drop from Super Smash Con, one of the biggest super majors in 2022 thus far, blaming the community. He said that the Smash community rewards people for “doing nothing,” adding that he would rather stay home and get wasted for five days. He still plans to enter Big House, but is clearly not in the mood to compete this close to the MPGR dropping.
After Melee players started to respond to his tweets, Mang0 decided to delete them. He followed up with another tweet that said it’s pointless to tell anyone how he feels on “this worthless site.”
Fans react to Mang0’s tweets
While some Smash fans clearly had some harsh words and trolling for Mang0, many sympathized with the GOAT and felt he had made some good points within his emotional tweet. Some felt that Mang0 was onto something when he said that people were getting rewarded for “doing nothing.”
“Yeah I really don’t get where the whole ‘punishing players for being active’ thing is coming from anyway since that is not happening. They aren’t punishing bad results that are outliers (or at least it doesn’t seem so, need to see placement of Cody and Hbox to confirm for sure),” one fan wrote after another pointed out that some tournaments weren’t counted while other placements were.
Added another: “Fair enough feeling a [little] pissed when you’re the one providing more content for the scene by attending more events, and not only do you not get credit for it, you actually get punished instead.”
MPGR season was from March 1st to July 11th, so your Phantom and Wavedash placements weren't considered. No online. That's 4 placements for you and 3 for Plup and Leffen. I don't think they should be ranked much higher than you but they have better wins and losses than you man.. pic.twitter.com/i78ixrPF6b
— Galaga (@Galaga122) August 11, 2022
Despite many Smash fans sympathizing with Mang0, the Melee God still decided he was not in the mood to attend Smash Con.
“Not going to Smash Con. F*** you,” he tweeted.
The top 10 of the Summer 2022 MPGR drops later today, revealing iBDW, Hungrybox, and other top contenders’ exact placements.
Published: Aug 11, 2022 12:33 pm