The HungryWall Part 2: A Detailed Match Analysis

Evo2014: the big kahuna of Melee Tournaments, featuring an astounding 970 entrants, and pride on the line for the top contenders. Both Armada and Hungrybox had plenty to prove this time around with Armada falling short at Evo 2013, and Hungrybox having a shroud of public doubters. In the final day, Hungrybox and Armada were set to play each other once again after Hungrybox “upset” PPMD in the Quarter’s section of bracket, and Armada defeating Fly Amanita in his.

After losing with Fox at CEO, Hungrybox tried his hand with Falco to fight the young, bottle drinking, adolescent Link. In a predictable fashion, Armada dominated Hungrybox’s Falco with a clean two stock, displaying impressive sword combos on the grand stage. Facing elimination the best of 3 set, Hungrybox switched to his main, Jigglypuff. This time around, he dominated Armada with a 2 stock victory in game 2 and 3 stock victory to close the set. In a shaky loser’s bracket, Armada advanced to Loser’s Finals to try to avenge his loss in Winner’s against Hungrybox. Armada took an early 2-0 set lead, beating Hungrybox’s Jigglypuff and Fox in two consecutive games. With Hungrybox’s facing elimination once again, he switched to Jigglypuff. In a somewhat dominant fashion, Hungrybox defeated Armada in 3 straight games to take the set, even making an amazing comeback in game 5 to seal the set. At Evo, Hungrybox was an impressive 5-1 in the Jigglypuff – Young Link matchup.

So just how did Hungrybox adjust to overcome the troublesome link between the two?

A Deeper Look

As mentioned in part 1, the matches between Hungrybox’s Jigglypuff and Armada’s Young Link have been historically close. The game count between the two don’t show the time outs or the victory margins of Armada’s wins. Needless to say, Hungrybox is a strong player with amazing fundamentals who probably needed a few more tools to win the matches against Armada. Let’s look at some adjustments that Hungrybox made at Evo.

Fighting Bombs

Table 1: Per Game Statistics in 2014

Table 1 shows the impact of bombs in determining the winner. When Armada wins, he averages an astounding 2.25 bomb kills (Bomb –> KO hit), and a 33% success rate on bomb hits. These numbers drop significantly when Hungrybox wins with the success rate decreasing in half down to 16.1%. Armada also struggled in finding bomb kills in his losses.

The bombs are the strongest part of Young Link’s game; it’s a great zoning tool and also combos into aerials. At 65%+, the bomb can link into Young Link’s down air for guaranteed kills, a rarity for many characters against Jigglypuff. In previous matches in 2014, Armada destroyed Hungrybox’s Jigglypuff with bombs, racking up both damage and kills off of them. At Evo, Hungrybox turned Armada’s bombs into a non-factor, reducing Armada’s options to accumulate easy damage and kills. Let’s look at how Hungrybox positioned himself.

Horizontal Spacing

Whenever Armada held a bomb far-away from Hungrybox, Hungrybox stubbornly stayed outside of the bomb’s range. Previously, Hungrybox tried to weave in and out and got hit by a fair share of bombs. Although keeping his distance allows for Armada to pick up a second bomb right away, he no longer gave direct openings to Armada. Hungrybox played these situations much more patiently, inching towards Armada whenever it was safe.

Vertical Spacing

If Armada was above Hungrybox, Hungrybox shielded for extended periods of time to make sure the bomb didn’t hit him. Knowing that Young Link’s grab is slow, he knew that he could get away with extended use of his shield.

Crouch Cancelling

Even if the bomb managed to hit, Hungrybox always made sure to crouch cancel the bomb to ensure that Armada could not get a continuation hit.

Hungrybox’s tactical adjustments paid dividends, not allowing Armada to freely rack up damage or direct KO opportunities.

Hungrybox Zoning

New Hitboxes (Puff UAIR)

At Evo, Hungrybox figured out that Jigglypuff’s Up-Air, if timed correctly, beats Young Link’s Down-Air. This information shifted the match significantly, no longer allowing Armada free reign in the air. It was previously thought that Young Link’s sword could beat out any of Jigglypuff’s move, forcing her to maneuver from the sides to fight Young Link. Now, with his newly discovered counter, Hungrybox was able to approach from underneath, making it difficult for Armada to land. Armada’s jumps near Jigglypuff had to be done with caution to avoid these checkmate situations, giving him less opportunities to draw bombs without risking damage. Furthermore, this added a new layer of risk for Armada whenever he decided to go to the top platform, a former incontestable zone for Jigglypuff. This played a larger role throughout their sets than many realize.

Edgeguards

Hungrybox was more confident than ever to convert on edgeguard situations. Maybe it was his carefree attitude that gave him the confidence to out-space Armada’s moves offstage. Nonetheless, his edgeguarding game was impeccable against Young Link as seen in these 3 gfycats above. Back in 2011 when Hungrybox first encountered Armada’s Young Link, Hungrybox used to allow him to recover for free due to his lack of character knowledge. It’s interesting to see how much he’s evolved in each aspect of his game  from almost 3 years ago up til now.

Mental Fortitude

This is a more “intangible” factor. Watching the demeanor of both Armada and Hungrybox showed a stark contrast in mindsets. On a large stage with thousands of people watching, it’s very easy to succumb to the audience pressure. In previous years this may have gotten to Hungrybox, however at Evo he seemed to take a care-free approach to the top 8. Doing so allowed him to focus on his game, and not so much on the outside distractions. Although I can’t fully talk about Armada’s mindset, it seemed like there was heavy pressure that he put on himself to perform that clearly affected his performance and potential. It’s undervalued how important it is to have a strong mindset during a high-pressure set, and Hungrybox did a great job in retaining his.

Conclusion

Although Hungrybox made some key adjustments to win at Evo, it is still too premature to say that Hungrybox will outright beat Armada’s Young Link at future tournaments. Their sets have always been close, and it will be interesting to see if Armada studies his sets to figure out how to deal with Hungrybox. It’s possible that he decides to replace his Young Link with a character such as Fox, or grabbing the Puff by the horns with Peach. With Big House 4 around the corner, it’s likely we see them dance once again on stage.