Super Smash Bros pros are defending Kazuya main Michael ‘Riddles’ Kim after he threw his controller at Genesis 9.
Team Liquid’s Riddles has emerged as Canada’s top player with frequent top 8 placements at majors including a first-place finish at The Big House 10.
Although Riddles was projected to go far at Genesis 9, the 19-year-old had a disappointing finish, being eliminated quite early following a loss to French Lucina player Nassim ‘Leon’ Laib.
Shortly after the unexpected loss, Riddles slammed his controller on the ground in frustration, prompting some backlash and a debate about “top player privilege.”
Smash pro Riddles responds to slamming controller
Current Smash pros and ex-stars rallied to support Riddles almost instantly after the controller toss.
Zombra, one of the top ROB players, questioned why people were “invested” in Riddles spiking his controller.
“There’s gotta be something more important in your pathetic lives than writing paragraphs about a dude showing frustration in competition,” he blasted.
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Why r people so invested in a riddles controller spikeThere's gotta be something more important in ur pathetic lives than writing paragraphs about a dude showing frustration in competition
— Zomba (@ZombaSalvatore) January 22, 2023
Recently-redeemed ZeRo, one of Smash 4’s GOATs, revealed that plenty of players have done the same if not worse behind the scenes after they get off-stream. He also questioned why so many people were making a big deal about the incident.
Riddles throwing his controller after a loss is w/e and the vast majority of your favorite smash players have done that behind the scenes as they get off the stream (and way worse)I don’t know why anyone truly cares it’s normal to get mad in competition but that’s social media
— ZeRo (@zerowondering) January 22, 2023
Even Melee star IBDW stepped up to support Riddles, expressing how how “nobody cares if a baseball player breaks their bat” and added that such frustration was common in traditional sports.
Riddles himself broke his silence after Kotaku published an article about the incident, once again saying that it wasn’t a big deal, while also throwing shade at the outlet.
Nobody cares if a baseball player breaks their bat, shit happens all the time in traditional sportsNever got why people cared so much
— CLG | Cody Schwab (@iBDWSSBM) January 27, 2023
“When I recover from [illness], instead of interacting with trolls I’m gonna better myself in life instead of wasting my time interacting with people who don’t know sh*t. Hold me to that,” he said. “One final f**k you though Kotaku.”
one final fuck u tho @Kotaku
— Liquid | Riddles (@RiddlesMK) January 27, 2023
Unfortunately for Riddles, with a lack of majors in February, he’s going to have to wait until March to redeem himself at Collision 2023 against the best in the world including MKLeo, Tweek, Light, and fellow Liquid star Dabuz.
The event will be one for the ages, however, as all singles matches in Melee and Ultimate will be Best of 5 – something normally reserved for the end of a bracket.