Team Liquid competes in a lot of titles but few of them are quite like Super Smash Bros. This game is one of the first ones that we joined when we expanded outside of Starcraft and we were one of the first major esports teams to jump in after the Smash Doc caught fire. Though we are not leaving all of Smash Bros. (not by a longshot) we are leaving the competitive side of Ultimate and saying goodbye to two players that we’ve really come to hold dear over the years they’ve been on the team. (Seriously, everyone here has so much good to say about them.)

In order to commemorate their time here at Team Liquid, we have a few farewell letters to share in addition to our farewell video. We want to thank Riddles and Dabuz for putting their heart into the competition, the content, and the Team Liquid community. We also want to thank every fan who cheered for us and for them over the years. Please keep cheering for them as they find new victories under new banners. 

A letter from Hungrybox

Dear Smash Community,

When I was made aware that Liquid wanted to try being a force in Ultimate, they entrusted me with selecting who I thought was the best unsigned talent in the scene. I knew for a fact that Riddles was on the cusp of becoming the next big threat, and Dabuz’s legacy across all the Smash titles made him an easy selection.

I know that in esports things change rapidly — new games and new opportunities are constantly presenting themselves to the hardest workers as long as they are willing to commit. I have no doubt that both of these incredible competitors have a bright future ahead of them no matter what game or avenue they decide to partake in.

I am thankful Liquid trusted me in choosing them to be on the team, and the friendships I fostered with them will remain firm regardless of the color of jersey they wear. Thank you Samuel and Michael for the incredible years.

—Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma

A letter from Samuel Dabuz

Dear Smash Community,

Team Liquid was freaking awesome.

They picked me up at a time where I was about to give up on the dream of making Smash a living, where I was getting amazing tourney results but I couldn't turn any of that into sustainable income. Then I got a random friend request on FACEBOOK from Liquid Crunch, and I had a chance to go full-time in Smash for the first time in my life. It's been 6 years since that moment.

At the time I was going to every event & traveling the world for freaking SUPER SMASH BROS. Being around for early Ultimate was an amazing time; the game wasn't perfect, but it was fresh, exciting, and fun, and my competitive drive was at its highest. I was a top 10 player and I attribute a lot of my success and enjoyment to TL.

I remember how cool visiting the Alienware facility was. I remember how much fun people had doing content there like the in-facility Rube Goldberg machine. I got a glimpse into how big esports teams work. I remember eating delicious food cooked by a PRIVATE chef. I remember getting to talk to Steve, one of the CEOs of Liquid. I remember winning Thunder Smash and Steve DMing me just to say congratulations. It was a great vibe where the goal was to build each other up and bring esports to a new level.

When COVID hit, it sucked. I was still putting up top 10 results, and I had figured out the answer to a lot of my own hurdles. Suddenly, all that momentum was halted & my lifestyle drastically changed. I wouldn't have blamed Team Liquid at all for dropping me but they embraced the situation. I was able to focus on creating entertaining & educational Smash content when we were all home with nothing to do.

The first couple of years back to offline tournaments was MAGICAL. I put my heart and soul into SSBU, working hard to make Liquid and my fans proud. The people that make up TL, such as Kory “Symbolic” Arruda, were constantly checking in and chatting with me; there was never any doubt in my capabilities. I had strong results, staying solidly in the top 20 with a shift in my roster, going from mostly Palutena & Olimar to tri-maining Rosalina, Olimar, and Min Min to keep up with meta.

It wasn't just me, of course; they gave the same level of assistance for Riddles, taking a chance on a player who I thought had a lot of potential, and it led to great results. They brought on L4st as a coach to continue our improvement, and it helped us focus. They've worked with Hbox for a long time, and we've seen his success both in game and with content like Coinbox. We all have a lot to thank Team Liquid for.

When the offline circuits collapsed at the end of 2022 and the peak of Ultimate was over, Team Liquid stuck with me. Nintendo's treatment of SSBU is that of discarded trash. We had the end of patches early, a meta that was becoming increasingly frustrating, Nintendo's draconian tournament restrictions, no substantial dev support, significant social issues in the smash scene — it was looking grim. I saw most of my friends at events drift away from Smash, which hurt my motivation to compete. Despite that, I continued to get strong results with CEO & Smashcon 2023 as some of my peaks. I never did get that major win but Liquid always supported me.

By 2024 I was sick and tired of Ultimate. I hated playing, watching, and even talking about the game. I was burnt out. TL, being full of supportive and understanding people, gave me the go-ahead to mostly take a break from Smash until 2025. This meant I wouldn't be officially ranked in Smash for the first time in over 10 years. 

In the meantime I poured serious effort into Street Fighter 6. I didn't do crazy well in that game, but I also outplaced my seed at almost every major I attended, including 129th out of 5279 entrants at EVO 2024. I'd say that's pretty good for my first Street Fighter game! More importantly, I was having FUN competing for the first time in over a year.

This year I'm back to competing in Smash regularly, even Top 8-ing at my first major — Luminosity Make Big Moves. Ultimate still has a lot of issues but I've been able to enjoy it and practice like I used to.

I'll always appreciate Team Liquid for doing everything they could to help me pursue my passion of being a pro player, content creator, brand rep, and more these past 6 years. I still plan to compete and make myself and the people who support me proud.

#LetsGoLiquid

—Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby

A letter from Senior Managing Editor Austin Ryan

Dear Smash Community,

I’ve written a lot of goodbyes for Team Liquid over the years, for players and for entire scenes — PUBG, Apex, Rocket League, Clash — but this one is the hardest yet. I came into esports through League of Legends but I fell in love with it through Smash Bros. No matter where I go in esports, the astounding level of creativity and care for the game always draws me back.

Few players showed that care for the game and the scene more than Riddles and Dabuz — and you could tell that for how much that staff at TL loved these two players. I recently hosted a panel with my colleagues at TL and when someone asked who our favorite players were to work with, Riddles and Dabuz both came up (along with Hbox too). Working on Smash content was always a blast for me because I knew Riddles or Dabuz would give it their all — just look at Riddles’s announcement video! I know that so many people at Team Liquid feel the same.

For my part, I’ll miss the many hour-plus long discussions I’d have with Dabuz on Smash, esports, and even economics. I learned so much about Ultimate, and Smash in general, through talking about the game with him and I still feel that the interviews he gave us turned into some of our best and most thoughtful articles and content. There are few players in the scene more willing and more capable of articulating the game they play than he is and much as I’ll miss having that talent at TL, I know that it will serve him well in the future. 

To the whole Smash community, I believe you should view this announcement as more than just a team releasing two players at the end of a Smash game’s lifespan. I worry about the economic outlook for Smash — you might want to worry too. It is hard to see longterm, stable routes to monetization in an esport so stymied by its developer. 

Smash 6 may not be an easy savior for the scene either, especially given that the current tariffs and economic situation in the United States may put a much lower ceiling on the game’s competitive scene. The next few years might be lean and present tough questions for competitors, creators, and teams. It may take more protracted battles for Smash to be the competition that it can (and should) be. Still, Smash will always have its community; a community that, no matter what anyone says, is as talented, tight-knit, and creative as they come; a community that can make anything possible. 

—Austin “Plyff” Ryan