When It Comes to the Crunch

Super Smash Brothers Melee is one of the remaining competitive single player games in esports. Along with FGC titles such as Street Fighter or Guilty Gear, Melee is a competition of execution, mind games, and man to man combat. Team Liquid’s very own Luis “Crunch” Rosias however, has a different viewpoint on the title, which has been expanding at an incredible rate over the past several years.





As the first official Melee coach, Crunch is the man behind the camera giving guidance to Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma in the most successful of all these partnerships thus far. Hungrybox is arguably the number one Melee player in the world right now, and after coming off a first place finish at EVO this year, Crunch is feeling hopeful about their future as a duo.



When the two started working together, Hbox was struggling with his game. Under the weight of Fox (the widely accepted best character in SSBM), Hbox felt that Jigglypuff (his only choice of character) simply didn’t have what it takes to compete at the highest level, to a point where he even considered retiring from competition. Crunch sees the improvement from that point until now as a direct outcome of their hard work together.





While this is easier said than done, Crunch found confidence in his connection with Hbox both inside and outside of the game. The two had been lifelong friends, and even rivals at a point through middle school when they were first introduced to the game.



Herein lies one of the strongest aspects of Crunch and Hbox’s working relationship: Crunch’s affinity to the strongest Puff in the world. Not only has Crunch watched Hbox’s entire growth as a player firsthand, he has picked apart and analyzed hundreds of hours of his game footage. Crunch understands Hbox as he is within the game. His habits, his tricks, his exploits—all of these things make up Hbox’s competitive presence, and in many ways are a product of Crunch’s design.





Crunch’s role as a coach goes beyond in-game polishing, however. Melee is a game that is highly demanding both technically and mentally, all at a blistering pace. If two top players are battling it out it often comes down to who is in the better state at that time, or who can play at a higher percentage of their possible skill. This is an incredibly hard thing not only to achieve but maintain over the course of a weekend. Players have to contend with tournament schedules running for 12+ hour days, little sleep, and stressful conditions. This forces Crunch to place a high priority on his mental and out-of-game training for Hbox.



On top of Crunch’s need to keep Hungrybox functioning at his best, he himself is familiar with the high emotions that come with the competition. As a duo that has put so much time and effort into their craft, Crunch feels just as responsible for the outcome as Hbox himself.



Looking to the future, Crunch anticipates a need for organized coaching as the infrastructure in Smash increases. The game has grown at unprecedented rates within the past five years, from the huge popularity of The Smash Documentary to the first teams that began to pick up top players. Beyond just its heightened production and entry into esports, the competition in Smash is as breakneck as ever with players able to dedicate their entire lives to improving thanks to sponsorships and team support—coaching is the logical progression.





With a laugh, Crunch remarks on the changes in the community. They've come a long way; from all day Melee and ping pong sessions with his middle school rival, to the Las Vegas Convention Center at EVO 2016 with his teammate and best friend, surrounded by screaming fans. Even after such a strong year, there’s more to come from Liquid Smash’s dynamic duo, and after Hbox’s decision to leave his job and pursue Melee full time, the bar has been set even higher for CrunchBox.