Cloud9 has announced the release of professionalSuper Smash Bros. Meleeplayer Joseph “Mang0” Marquez after the player’s behaviour during a “Beerio Kart” livestream hosted by Ludwig Ahgren. Marquez had been a member of Cloud9 for over a decade, first signing with the organisation when he was 23 years old.
“Following an internal evaluation, we have made the decision to release Mang0,“the statement reads. “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.”
While the explicit purpose of Ahgren’s event was for content creators and livestreamers to get intoxicated and play Mario Kart World while socialising, Marquez became extremely drunk and began harassing other content creators.
Mang0 Has Been Dismissed By Cloud9
There are several viral clips of Marquez’s drunken behaviour,such as onewhere he stands beside Maya Higa and Emily “ExtraEmily” Zhang and humps a Toad hat while saying “End the stream,” despite Higa saying “No, no” and looking visibly uncomfortable during the act.
There are several other clips of Mang0 air-humping various objects near other streamers, such asQTCinderellaandWarwick “Zoil” Badmington.
Another clip, which attracted particular attention from observers, shows Marquez playing with Zhang’s hair and batting her head as she talks to the camera, which causes Ahgren to step in and remove Marquez from the situation.
The day after the event, Marquez madea post on X(formerly Twitter), saying, “Hate waking up and seeing I was a drunk dumbass. Don’t like using the drunk excuse because its childish but in the moment, I think everyone is as drunk as me and that’s usually not the case. I will privately apologise to anyone I made uncomfortable and hope I’m forgiven.”
Marquez has a well-documented history of alcohol abuse, dating back to when he was a teenage newcomer to the Smash Melee scene. In the past, Marquez has asserted that he would cut back on his alcohol consumption, but these commitments never seemed to stick.
“Couldn’t sleep… feel like I let so many people down,“a later post reads. “Talked to a few friends and just realised I have a problem. 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 / defend me. Sorry to everyone I’ve let down or hurt. I know it just looks like I’m trying to save face but 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. Sorry that I’m a f**k up but I will and can be better.”
After his dismissal, Mang0released another post, writing, “C9 dropping me. Probably getting banned from tourneys. Fking sh*t man. No one to blame but myself but man, never thought I could hit this low. Probably won’t hear from me for a while. I’m sorry everyone, I wish I was better. I had it all and fking tossed it in the trashcan.”
Marquez is one of the most popular professional Super Smash Bros. Melee players, having been enshrined in the “five gods” pantheon, the name given to a group of five players who were extremely dominant between 2009 and 2016. Marqez and Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma are the only members of this group still active.
Whether or not Marquez will be allowed by organisers to compete in future Melee events remains to be seen.
