“No Melee has been nice”: Mang0 says he won’t be competing after ban is lifted

Super Smash Bros. Melee pro Joseph ‘Mang0’ Marquez told his fans on stream that he won’t be competing once his ban has been lifted.

In June 2025, Mang0 was dropped from Cloud9 and banned from most major Melee tournaments after getting intoxicated and acting inappropriately during a livestream. While his ban will be lifted this summer, Mang0 may not return to tournaments after all.

“I have no intentions of ever playing Melee again,” he said on stream (while playing Melee). “Unless I desperately need money. If you see me entering Melee, just know I desperately need money and everything went wrong, and League of Legends isn’t paying the bills anymore.”

Mang0 went on to say that not playing Melee professionally has been ‘great’ so far. He stated that he hasn’t really missed competing or traveling. The only drawback has been making less money, but his mental health has improved after traveling for a decade.

“I’m not playing without a sponsor,” Mang0 admitted. “I’m not paying out-of-pocket to win $80. I’m too old for that s-.”

It’s true that many Melee tournaments – even the majors – have very small prize pools. While even those in first only get a few thousand dollars at most, the other players don’t see much cash at all (or any) after competing all weekend. It’s an esport fueled by passion alone, and it seems Mang0 doesn’t have that fire in him anymore.

While Melee is off the table, Mang0 said that he does plan to drink again. He hopes to be sober for a year, but after that he wants to drink, admitting that he’s been ‘getting bored.’

When a fan told him to stay sober, Mang0 shot them down, stating that ‘some things are better with alcohol.’ While he’s learned the past few months that some things are fine without alcohol involved, there are some things, like celebrations, where he wants to continue drinking.

It’s likely not the answer that his fans or fellow Melee pros want to hear. Mang0 was known for his drunken antics at Melee tournaments, but the behaviour followed him onto Ludwig Ahgren’s stream. Multiple female streamers accused Mang0 of sexually harassing them during that alcohol-fueled stream.

The replies to the clip of Mang0 refusing to compete but wanting to drink again are full of concern. Many begged him not to drink, calling ‘moderation’ a slippery slope. Some fans even questioned if he was depressed.