Theresa Gaffney
Smash legend Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma announced a partnership this week with New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell to host “The Box” – an ambitious 8,192 person Smash Ultimate tournament featuring a $10,000 prize pool.
The Team Liquid player joined forces with the NFL player after Bell posted feelers on Twitter earlier this month about organizing an online Smash Ultimate tournament. Bell is a known gamer, and especially loves the Smash Brothers franchise. He competed in a local tournament himself in January, not afraid to put his skills to the test. Bell initially wanted to put up a $1,500 prize pool for his own tournament, but interest in the event pushed him to raise the stakes. That’s when Team Liquid stepped in.
With Hungrybox’s team taking the helm, the event shaped up to be a three-day $10k prize pool initiative starting May 8th, open to thousands of players in North America (US, Canada, and Mexico only). Many global fans are bound to be disappointed, but the NA scene is delighted, with one player taking to Twitter to say “This is a huge step in the right direction.”
After the official announcement went out, Bell said that The Box would be “the tourney of the year,” and Hungrybox is called it potentially “the sickest online event the Smash world has seen.”
While online Smash competition has its downfalls due to connectivity issues, there’s no way to do a local event during social distancing. As of this posting, over 6,360 entrants seem to agree that this is the best solution for the scene and have already entered to play in the tournament.
You can also join the fray by registering for the event on Smash.gg. Good luck!
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