Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments usually have decent payouts for those in the top five, sometimes even top ten places. But a recent Community Effort Orlando Series tournament (CEO) saw player Hungrybox earning only $75 for his spot in fifth.
For comparison, he earned $903 for the fifth-sixth spot in the Apex 2015 singles and $1,650 for first place in CEO 2019. That year, those in fifth and sixth took home $99, while seventh and eighth place players got $66. It seems standard for the CEO tournaments, although much lower compared to other similar Super Smash Bros. outings.
"Someone teach me Brawlhalla," Hungrybox said in response. Interestingly, this is the first CEO tournament Hungrybox hasn't won since 2015. Back then, he managed to land second place behind Armada, while this year he was beaten out by Panda, Chem, Magi, and the winner Plup. Plup earned $1,120 for first place, while Magi got $448 for second, Chem $291 for third, and Panda $156 for fourth.
$75 likely won't cover the entry fees either if CEO 2021 was anything to go by—last year, it was $70 for early entrance, $80 for normal, and $90 for late. Others joke in the comments that it'll barely cover petrol costs, let alone entrance. But as one commenter points out, "At least the payout was fast," eh?
If you don't know, Hungrybox is a 29-year-old professional Super Smash Bros. player and esports commentator who has been competing since 2007. He's won a few tournaments in that time such as Apex 2010, MLG World Finals 2015, EVO 2016, The Big House 7 2017, the Big House 8 2018, and Genesis 6 2019. He's even managed to get into the top five Melee players every year since 2013.
Hungrybox was also nominated for the best Super Smash Bros. streamer in the 2022 Streamer Awards. But perhaps his most notable success is coming fifth in CEO 2022 for a payout of $75.