The Story of Mang0: Melee's One True God

Every esport has superstars. But only a few have Gods.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the pantheon stands for competitive excellence. But not all Gods hold the same values.
Melee’s most beloved god isn’t calculating or distant. He’s a master of the game, but he’s also the spirit of the game.
There may be other Gods. But only one of them has the most devoted following.
And there will only ever be one Mango.
This is his story.
Written & Narrated by: Josh Bury (@ThrownGauntlet)
Edited by: Jason Durante (@JayJay_Durante)
Produced by: Daniel Rosen (@Daniel_Rosen) Miles Hackett (@Miles_Hackett) & Matt Massey
Thumbnail by: Bennett Grainger
Footage Courtesy of: pastebin.com/pgVXNYBm
Music used under license from Associated Production Music LLC (”APM”).
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[@mattm7908]

Only Mang0 would win smash con a day after this video released

[@ethanvue8754]

That’s the mango

[@badger297]

I mean theoretically, he's the only one that could seeing as the video is about him. If someone else won it, this would be inconsequential. Not tryna throw shade tho. Good vibes ✨

[@ryankennon6053]

Mang0 redemption arc in the script

[@TheCinemaphobic]

@@badger297 what a completely meaningless thing to say

[@DaxWyvrn]

@@badger297 We all love to gas him up in any way we can, even if we're rooting for another player; it's tradition at this point lmao

[@umbrahighwind1220]

This aged like a fine wine and it's only been a day.

[@nelsonvegagalleguillos7961]

Mang0 just won Smashcon true GOAT and an absolute leyend of the esports

[@SpoonsCourage]

won without dropping a set lesgoooooo

[@Greatermaxim]

Why is that important? Magnus Carlsen can play games without looking at the board and beat people. Adam Bozon can shoot in Goldeneye 64 like Michael Jordan shoots hoops in Basketball. Would they all like to swap games to see how well they do? Just asking.

[@shaicontrol]

@@Greatermaxim ok and why is that important? no one wants to fucking see magnus play basketball in the NBA. no one wants to see Michael Jordan play top 8 in a supermajor. No one wants to watch Mang0 play against super grandmasters. We want to see them compete at the highest level in their own fields because it is what they are good at and what they are passionate about.

[@Greatermaxim]

@@shaicontrol I did not ask the question. We already know he is good at Melee. How does that knowledge help us? There are enough videos on that. I would want to hear his thoughts on other games.

[@pikachu-gb8tp]

@@Greatermaxim nerd emoji

[@sebastianahrens2385]

It's already a good video a few seconds in because it shows Leffen getting four-stocked.

[@kevinamoras7904]

Poor pulp. Y’all really had to show mango destroy him for 3 clips in a row.

[@Myst1c_OW]

pulp lol, he beat him to a pulp

[@IAMMRONALD]

mangoku

[@dinospumoni5611]

Theres clips of Plup beating mango too.

[@andresrojas3432]

Yeah i feel really bad for plub

[@D3L3T3]

There's always that one unfortunate in these videos 🤧

[@roscodogg1289]

my goat, don't matter he's ranked 11. he'll just be the number 1 twice as much.

[@cawwhhs6487]

He's been number one undisputed since he won summit after armada retired can't ignore the man's career longevity long live the kid

[@kungjulio]

bars wtf

[@dragonplayz6606]

Mango too aggressive, that’s why he won against m2k, M2k should have played passive and punished his mistakes! Armada the goat!

[@cawwhhs6487]

@@dragonplayz6606 get out of 2019

[@dragonplayz6606]

@@cawwhhs6487 IBWD THE goat, keep coping! Eu > NA, mango not in EU

[@chickpea7828]

The timing on this video was insane.

[@BalboaBaggins]

"insane"

[@ccbg1210]

This is like both the best and worst time to release this video lol. He just got ranked 11th on the summer rankings but also won a major literally a day later. If that's not the mang0 I don't know what is LMAO

[@dylans191]

Coming from someone who does not follow the melee scene. Can you explain to me how they are like the "biggest tournament" and there are 20 people behind two dudes on a 90s TV with the prize pool of 1,000 dollars? Like the story is cool nonetheless but it doesnt seem like this is a big esport by any means.

[@thomaes751]

@@dylans191 "biggest" is usually based on prize pool, also i am dying at you trashing the "90s TV" lmao

[@dakmcdeezy6204]

@@dylans191 it’s moreso the fact that this is an entirely grassroots community that has a had a strong, INTENSELY competitive life for 2 decades. Melee history and Esports history are intertwined, and mango has been apart of both for the better half of 20 years

[@iamawin8272]

@@dylans191 it may not seem like it but the melee scene is still extremely competitive and considerably large 20 years after it’s release. None of the competitors play it for the money, they do it for the love of the game. The most recent tournament held 50k concurrent viewers on average which is rlly good for a fighting game tournament.

[@jer6579]

@@dylans191 Smash is a game that is community funded so its not like some big rich guys funding a huge event for thousands and thousands of people. Its usually a group of the players or youtubers in the scene that are running the events. Nintendo has nothing to do with it while other esport scenes have full dev support so the events are much smaller and pretty much everyone knows each other very well.

[@justingalin5559]

Melee powerhouse Hugs kills me man that’s a sentence I thought I’d never hear

[@IAMMRONALD]

put some respect on pink samus

[@mitchellholcomb1561]

Shit was true, though. People would say his style was boring, and he say, "You know what's really boring? Getting off the couch after one set. NEEEXXXT!"

[@DjGaiden]

Each year it seems like he’ll never get number 1 again until he does. I feel like 2023 won’t be any different.

[@-hichi-02]

Aged like milk

[@DjGaiden]

@@-hichi-02 Mang0 will be #1 again = “Aged like milk” Lmaooooooo

[@TheIronyoshi]

@@DjGaiden well he hasn’t been #1 in many years so idk how you think he will now

[@redlikerubes_]

and Mang0 just won Super Smash Con 2022! The Goat never quits!

[@westonwright5029]

Best part of this video for me. I remember where I was at my life during these clips, so nostalgic. Seeing mangos rise live was monumental in melee history. I don't play anymore but the competitive scene for melee always a spot in my heart.

[@SYao99]

17:20 "Both Zain and Mang0 were neck and neck for the title of NA's best"... *as we hear distant laughs in Sweden.

[@aidanklobuchar1798]

Visa issues undefeated.

[@Akeno_PvP]

There are 3 things guaranteed in life: Death, Taxes, Mang0 winning a tournament

[@santos7310]

growing up watching mango since 2013 in my early teens def formed my personality around him and melee now that im an adult i occasionally look back and revisit old vods of his and they never get stale. literally wrote my college essay when i was in high school about him. till the day i die i will always be a mang0 fan

[@valduuzz]

:mangoFan:

[@user-mk9lb3uh1y]

You also said disgusting things to the mom of a friend who plays jigglypuff?

[@apextaro4703]

Love this guy, glad you did a segment on him!

[@guyswithbadideas]

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone call hugS a melee powerhouse

[@pompousegg]

idk how you can make a video on the histoy of mango´s career and not mention armada at all and barely mention hbox. like those where his two biggest rivals throughout like a decade of his time playing melee

[@Sharphe]

Yeah all their stories are cooler with each other involved

[@sp0pie928]

maybe this is like the first iron man and its building to an avengers series w all the gods

[@JustSomeDinosaurPerson]

Armada and Hbox are also statistically better contenders for being the GOAT than Mang0 is at this point tbh Calling mang0 the "one true god" at this point is kind of insulting to the other players. Especially with how often the dude goes out like a Buster. Man had the least consistency of any of the five gods.

[@ploxxybb]

Mang0 from Multiverses? he was a pro smash player???? wow no wonder.

[@kidcode46]

He still is 😂

[@bbqseitan7106]

It’s safe to say that if Mang0 wasn’t a part of Melee history it would be very different right now

[@janicehaugen5826]

noooo really

[@richieh7476]

Kinda a shame you guys skipped over Royal Flush, I think that was the hypest Mang0 moment before covid hit

[@kingroosta]

They probably had it in an older edit, but had to cut it for time. Im guessing they were trying to shoot for 20 minutes. It's just a guess, though.

[@dayne0987654321]

Whatchu know about Mother’s Day mango

[@CraigPark]

Mang0’s best Pop Off/Down Air of all timeee

[@kingroosta]

@@dayne0987654321 "Whatchu know 'bout green eggs an' haaam!?"

[@picassobe]

Who's back after Mango won SmashCon? Lowest ranked player to ever win a super major XD

[@zidemelee]

Couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, mang0 deserves it

[@CristianGarcia]

IMO Armada and HBox were more dominant, especially HBox when he had more to prove because of all the hate he got.

[@tropik5724]

TRUE

[@victalfaithful2003]

You can't take away from the goat though

[@Yolkiooo]

I'll watch this in one sec, mang0's playing Axe rn

[@hydrosting]

It’s only been a day and this already aged well

[@alecbader7433]

The absolute microcosm of 12:12 with Alex and Mango beating each other up, Lucky laughing and cheering it on, and S2J looking stoned and still focussing on Mario Party is perfect.

[@DaxWyvrn]

It's a great time to be a part of the competitive melee scene, even just as a spectator - from witnessing so many players rapidly glow up, to seeing (most) fans being in such high spirits. It's a far cry from just a few years ago. Melee will always be sick, especially thanks to the ever-looming threat of new talent coming up to claim the throne.

[@stephenkang1029]

Sad that one of my favorite mango wins, big house 9, didn’t make it on the list during 2019! That marth vs falco 2 set grand finals had me in over my head

[@clay2889]

This was a great documentary. I only really got big into the smash scene during Ultimate, so I've got a lot of Melee history to learn about

[@TheOriginalCheeseballs]

When he gets old(I mean older) and his hair turns grey(and hopefully doesn’t fall out) he’ll actually have that stereotypical God look.

[@Heatedchaos117]

One of the greatest esports players of all time. Love Mango so much

[@RichieAnthonyGuitar]

Most of what I took from this is that I actually completely forgot that James Chen commentated melee at Evo 2013. And did he an excellent job at it despite barely knowing the game lol. Commentator GOAT.

[@Hollowdude15]

Great video man and mang0 is truly a melee's god :]

[@SheikAshii]

Perfectly Timed. This aged like WINE

[@DEPRESSEDD0G]

Still waiting for Story of JDCR vid

[@midnogreen8405]

You are old if you remember Mango without a beard and M2k with Hair Damn this good old 4 stock rules

[@KFN1A2A3]

Who's here a day later after Mang0 won smash con?

[@vapersmith7859]

Going to be honest I knew Mang0 had a Legendary story as I've almost never seen him lose a fighting game... This is it!

[@Greatermaxim]

Is he Chess or Boxing World Champion?

[@michaeledes1111]

Saw Mango for the first time at a Fresno toournament in like 2006 and have been a huge fan ever since. It's been glorious watching his life. He is the Bobby Fischer of Melee, the most creative and innovative player ever. And he continues to do so. Great video!

[@alex2005z]

So when is he going litterally insane?

[@michaeledes1111]

@@alex2005z hopefully never lol

[@cd5139]

Just hearing of him today. Nice video

[@xanova7032]

GOAT PROVED HIMSELF AGAIN @ SSC 2022 BABY

[@plasticbudgie]

Thought this was about Armada when i read the title! Mango is a legend also though.

[@limitedbom2206]

If you want to talk about "one true god", he was a top if not arguable best player in the mid/late 2000s, 2010s, and now in the 2020s. Nobody else has had that, Armada was definitely the greatest of his time, but he wasn't an arguable best in the world nearly as long.

[@stayfaded69]

And he wins. The kid does it again.

[@SkuIIKn1ght]

The kid, the goat, the buster

[@BombzofJager]

Damn they should have waited a week to post this, also this should have been a 3 season series of just mang0.

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

The timing of this was convenient. Right as the MPGR comes out placing him 11th and then the following day he wins a major. Or was SSC a super major? Either way so stoked for him. While he might not be my favorite player I think everyone is a mango fan when he is on stage.

[@PKMNTrainerVic]

Idk about for melee specifically but it was the third biggest ultimate tournament of all time in terms of entrants

[@evadekiryu5060]

It was just a regular major

[@gmoney4215]

when mango gets 2 videos you know he's good

[@maybeJace]

AND HE’S STILL WINNING

[@TaiSharTanner]

More melee content keep it coming!!

[@gnardo]

Need more footage from that day in the life interview with the c9 car

[@luadmo4117]

At 8:45 mang0’s hat falls off his head but he catches it from behind

[@xaviergarcia273]

mang0 is actually one of the most respectful winners. Watch all his wins, he gives his opponent's props and kind of seems empathetic actually. on his stream, its a different story though LOL which is understandable.

[@oscartoons.]

That is me at 2:30. Mango convinced me to make the drive to Vegas that year lol

[@chosnbot]

Who's here after he won smash con 2022?!

[@Uutalo]

And then he goes on to win the major the day after the video comes while double eliminating Hbox for the first time in like 4 years.

[@Mattznick]

Cloud 9 knows how to pick their players for any game

[@rk9515]

The thign about ther Kid the buster the goat he's still playing he could have quit a long time ago, but he still continues to play and place top 8 consitently. He's definitley the goat of Melee.

[@bfors8498]

Good timing on this video

[@SirGrimly]

Oh, Nintendo wishes that Brawl threatened the competitive integrity of Melee XD

[@1nf1nn1te]

i miss the old mango

[@marv8b]

Released just a couple days too early from Smash Con 2022 XD

[@HBOMBZ503]

Hey I'm sure this comment will be drowned out but I was hoping in the future you could do a series/video on Walshy the Halo 2/3 MLG player. Back when I was kid I loved him. His team Final Boss was a juggernaut and put Halo on the map for MLG. Lots of material to work with as anyone in the Halo community/ MLG commenters will remember him. Anyways Keep up the great work!

[@pwnstr23]

he added to the story less than 12 hours after yall posted this

[@jaredhansen5969]

And the GOAT continues to cement his legacy by dominating and winning Summit 14. Don't sleep on the Kid.

[@alexdeacon8476]

H-Box is still winning, too..I don’t think this a wrap, folks.

[@serioulee7507]

Love the Melee vids

[@belugasteel9700]

That’s why he’s the GOAT, the GOAAAAAATTTT

[@waves1all1day1er1day]

So surprising you guys didn’t already have a video on him but had one on Hbox.

[@jonahlewis9925]

Aimen with the AirPod the real goat of smash

[@DMPXedo]

That's Joseph "mang0, god of smash" Marquez, that's quality

[@fargo_cs]

Aimen meeting mang0 at the bottom of the stairs with his medal

[@tharetsku]

I miss the old mang0

[@FiveFourGuys]

Straight from the go mang0

[@tharetsku]

@@FiveFourGuys The best Falco Mang0

[@m0ppu]

the timing of this upload is unreal LMAO "fuck the rankings"

[@LeBrebaDuh]

IT WAS ABOUT TIME

[@wabyleversatil]

"Every E-Sport have Superstars, but only one have mang0"

[@cadecooley5144]

the mango joins the battefield

[@brightwolfz]

18:45 That photographer must be like "jesus, Mang0, please get out of the corner"

[@tropik5724]

The Goat of melee? that would be Armada, Mango will never reach the records Armada has set for melee.

[@VinnyZoomer]

Mang0 is melee.

[@oliverlopez3191]

and mango wins smash con a day after this video

[@D3L3T3]

Shout to Johnny

[@alanb1449]

I'd love to watch a vid on the MK twins. Feel like they're a unique story within the FGC

[@williams11372]

Mango goat moments are his mafia plays!!!!

[@matchress3832]

Never in my life did I think I would hear "Melee powerhouses Zen and... HugS????" LMAOOOOO

[@holymoly-pd2yy]

HugS was actually one of the best players back then. Not better than Ken or PC Chris or Mew2King but still really good

[@matchress3832]

@@holymoly-pd2yy oh I know the history, it's just hilarious to hear HugS being a "powerhouse" ROFL

[@smashdriven1640]

Mango is great. He’s got to be the funniest Melee player.

[@thoryon8819]

This was posted before we won Smash Con

[@joshuap.8366]

Melee is, and forever will be, sick!

[@DavidSchleigh]

I sometimes wish a lot of the old best players stuck with melee like mango did.

[@pokepines2516]

Yo let's go, my man finally won a major :>

[@pokepines2516]

Mang0 hbox grand finals in 30 years will be lit

[@reylorosales746]

Mango is a fukkn legend in the smash community, heard stories bout the kid since I can remember.

[@TheO416]

10:58 you guys doin my man plup dirty 3 combos on him in a row that was uncalled for >.

[@FirePuff12]

Mango fan since 2011, and for life!!

[@Ijir0]

BRO HE JUST WON SMASH CON 2022

[@Adam-kw6ht]

You should do a story on captan falcon players like wizzy, n0ne, and s2j. Like the history and how they play differently

[@nlittlecaesars1200]

This is a mango moment

[@hibiki8473]

How did they forget to mention how big the big house 9 was. Like that tourney win one of his best wins ever

[@morning___]

man i love mang0

[@taylorbee4010]

The literal most chill, hardest partying one of them all is winning everything lol It was m2k for so long