The Smash community has been left torn after Super Smash Bros. Melee God Joseph ‘Mang0’ Marquez was let go from Cloud9.
Mang0 was released from esports organisation Cloud9 on June 23rd after the top Smash pro harassed women attending Ludwig Ahgren’s Beerio Kart World Cup event while heavily intoxicated.
“No one to blame but myself,” wrote a distraught Mang0 on X (formerly Twitter). “But man, never though I could hit this low. Probably won’t hear from me for a while. I’m sorry, everyone. Wish I was better. I had it all and f—ing tossed it in the trash can.”
Why Was Mang0 Released From Cloud9?
Cloud9 released an official statement announcing it was dropping its Melee player, Mang0, after a drunken incident on Ludwig’s stream. It read: “Regardless of tenure or accomplishments, the behaviour demonstrated is entirely unacceptable and directly conflicts with our organisation’s core values.
“We maintain a zero-tolerance stance regarding harassment or any other form of inappropriate conduct.”
Mang0 had been with Cloud9 for over 10 years. He replied directly to the organisation’s statement on X, aplogising for his actions and stating that Cloud9 had been ‘amazing’ and will always ‘have a place in my heart.’
Over the weekend, Ludwig held a Mario Kart tournament on stream. The long-time Smash supporter invited content creators like Mang0 to partake in the event. Unfortunately, Mang0 started to drink heavily at the booze-focused hangout and began to act inappropriately with the female streamers. This included humping near their faces and then humping a cardboard cut-out of himself, eventually pushing it into a nearby woman.
Following the incident, Ludwig was quick to ban Mang0 from all upcoming events. Mang0 responded by telling his fans he had spoken to friends about his drinking problem and promised to stop cold turkey.
Mang0 has a long history with abusing alcohol, even at Smash events. In the past, however, his antics have left the Smash community entertained, like the time he got security called on him at Genesis X2 after Juan ‘Hungrybox’ DeBiedma’s win. The FGC is used to chaotic behaviour at events and this was seen as just another funny moment.
However, this time it seems Mang0 had taken it too far.
“Couldn’t sleep,” Mang0 tweeted. “Feel like I let so many people down. Everyone has coddled me for so long and kinda looked the other way when it came to my drinking. Don’t want anyone to feel bad for me or defend me.
“I genuinely feel so awful about it. All I’ve done is reflect on my life and realised I’m a broken human. I will try and redeem myself over time as I always do. Gonna stop drinking immediately and get it together.”
The Smash community reacted with sadness over the situation. Many felt that the consequences were too severe for what Mang0 had done and expressed pity for Mang0 over losing Cloud9 and likely being banned from tournaments. Some even mentioned rehab assistance rather than being dropped, noting that his whole career could be ruined now.
However, others felt that the Smash scene has had far too many sexual harassment allegations and that Mang0 was only adding to the long list of scandals. The amount of Smash fans not seeing an issue with his behaviour concerned some in the community.
Said Melee pro Jeffrey ‘Axe’ Williamson: “Very disappointed with all of the stuff I’m seeing about Mang0. I hope this is the wake-up call he needs to improve himself.
He’s a role model to the entire Melee community, and especially to his son. I love the guy but It’s time to be responsible.”
