At the end of November, Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma wasn't able to properly celebrate his victory at Dreamhack Winter. Before ink could dry on the giant check, detractors already began their seemingly well-rehearsed vocalizations of why he was able to walk away with the win.

He won because of his coach.

So and so was playing bad.

It's PAL, he wouldn't have won in NTSC.

Jigglypuff is better than you guys think -- Puff carries him.

Battle of the Five Gods didn't silence the doubters, but Hungrybox is fine with the chatter. He wanted to give the critics something else to discuss.

"[Battle of Five Gods] was my chance to beat perhaps the two best Fox players in the world back-to-back in NTSC without a coach in Puff's worst matchup," he said. "It was basically an enormous f--- you to those [detractors] and it felt pretty good. I'm not stopping this anytime soon. I feed off of it now. I get happy reading or hearing these kinds of things. It's just massive motivation and it's proof that my work is paying off. What used to be a boulder on my shoulders is now ammo for me. That's the benefit of getting your mindset to the same level as your fingers." Editor's Picks ZeRo: the undisputed king of Smash 4

With huge wins over both Joseph "Mango" Marquez and Adam "Armada" Lindgren, the conversation has started to shift ever so slightly. Is Hungrybox the top American player in Super Smash Bros. Melee? That debate will rage on, but there is no questioning that he is currently the most polarizing.

The road to this point has been one he's walked for nearly nine years.

"When I started competing, I think I was around 14 years old," he said. "I chose Puff because I saw my brother use Rest in Smash 64 one day when I was walking by his room and I thought it was the coolest thing. It's kind of a blur because it was a long time ago but I remember choosing Puff against my friends and using the 'PUFF' tag and just resting everyone. My friends got so mad but it was also [exciting and funny] for them."

The tag may have changed, but the reactions haven't. Every up-tilt, up-air has the crowd groaning and ready to explode at a Rest followup. People in the stands are either screaming with jubilation or let loose an exasperated groan when they see him take control of a situation, especially off stage. In this current era of Melee, many felt that an era of multicharacter mastery was on the horizon. We've even seen Hungrybox dabble with Fox, Falco and even Ness, trying to stay one step ahead of his opponents. That isn't necessary anymore.

"Puff will always be my main and my go-to character," he said. "Any doubts or suspicions I had of Puff not being able to be the main [character of choice] of the best player in the world were completely washed away these past few months. I'm gonna take her to the absolute top. I just know the character too well at this point. It's like an old familiar friend."

As we head to a future that many expect to be dominated by Fox players, what has helped Debiedma become the antithesis of expectations? For one, modern advancements, such as the "20XX Hack Pack" have done wonders for his performance. A second set of eyes, particularly the ones of Luis "Captain Crunch" Rosias, have been even more noteworthy.

"Luis and I used 20XX for an entire week to train for DreamHack," Debiedma said. "I can't really emphasize just how important it was. We [became enthralled in] the science behind [Smash Directional Influence], which catapulted me to an entirely new skill level. We optimized edgeguards using the frame-by-frame feature. We grinded out tech-chase combos using the position quick-reset feature. Although I don't use it to practice now, it did exactly what it intended, pushing a character to its capable limits. I highly recommend it to everyone, but I will say that it becomes more relevant as you approach the top level. I think it's very important that you really grasp fundamentals first and get better at the game first before using it religiously.

"The fact that we have all these different means of studying and learning Melee through videos, guides, and archived footage means that every time you attend a tournament you have to bring something new to the table. Hence in a lot of tournaments, you're going to see top players display not only a master of the fundamentals that were established ... but also an entire slew of experimental approaches, optimized edgeguards/combos and extreme reaction time. Being the last solo floaty main at the top level means that I had to reconsider my punish game completely: I need to be able to kill Fox/Falco with just one grab on any stage; I need to open up Marth and Sheik to the most rest opportunities possible; I need to juggle Falcon with any chance I get and be very careful of my spacing around Peach and ICs. Sometimes this results in a 'non-flashy' playstyle that irks most people, but I have very high confidence in knowing that this style is basically the best way to play these matchups. You're making the most of all the chances you're given."

Yet, the paradigm shift when it came to his mental game is the one that has paid -- and will continue to pay -- the most dividends.

"The big difference between Genesis 3, DreamHack and now is my ability to control my mindset and emotions," he said. "I think it was the one thing holding me back from greatness ... Even my first set against Mango at Five Gods, where he was basically outplaying me heavily, I never once felt nerves or fear. I did sweat a bit, basically from the focus from the entire day. But when you know that you can't be bogged by fear or nerves, that really allows you to blossom into a new level. What's even better is that it isn't something an opponent has a counter for. An in-game strategy always has a counter-strategy. But an out-of-game strategy is like your own personal set of tools that no one can beat. It's honestly the best thing."

"I am the Jigglypuff," Hungrybox said. "I'm that threatening, annoying, back-air spamming character that looms around in the bracket that people root against. And I love it. It's my role." Robert Paul

So, is Hungrybox the top American player currently? The debate surged last year as he proved that he is far more than a speed bump on the way to victory. He is a contender who is very capable of winning major events.

"I think I've earned that title," he said. "I'm not a guy to compare opinions. I've always gone by facts, numbers and results. If I'm ranked second in the world, then that's what I tell people. If I'm ranked fifth, then that's what I tell people.

"I would say Mango is the biggest threat for me in America, which isn't surprising. Occasionally I might lose to M2K, or maybe Lucky or SFAT, but I think I've really improved my entire approach to the game, so I've become a lot more confident against every American Fox [player]. Even against Mango, I know how to approach him and what works against him and what doesn't. Losing to him for five straight years definitely paid off! It gave me the wake-up call to put my foot down and actually try to use science/logic to figure out how to win -- every time. And that's the thing with Mango. He's simply that good with Fox that there really is no preparation for him. You have to "practice" the Mango match-up in the actual set itself!

"I wasn't expecting to win the first set against Mango - I had to learn what he played like first and I was okay with losing it. Obviously I still tried to win but the more important factor for me was gonna be that 2nd set, which was my chance to get momentum back. Momentum in this game is massive. Absolutely massive. So I have the American title for the moment, and my last step is to get the World title. I really believe I can do it. If it's any year it's happening, it's this one."

2016 won't just be a year of improved results for Hungrybox, if he has his way. It's also going to be a year where he finds inner sanctity.

"I think I needed to be a lot more honest with myself and my competitors. Not to say that my persona as Hbox is fabricated. What I do on stage and how I play is simply what I feel in the moment because I allowed myself to get consumed by the moment, consumed with the prospect of glory and winning, and really there's simply more to life than that ... I didn't want to be consumed anymore by the pressure or fame or expectations or rivalry. And so I had to learn how to love Melee again. I had to learn how to love competing again. I needed to not only realize that Melee isn't about me or one player, but also be glad that it isn't!

"Sometimes it's better to be a piece of the puzzle rather than the picture the puzzle depicts. Everyone has their role. I am the Jigglypuff. I'm that threatening, annoying, back-air spamming character that looms around in the bracket that people root against. And I love it. It's my role. It's my niche. When you learn to embrace what you really are it allows you to excel everywhere else."