In the fighting game community, a “salty suite” was when players would stream high-profile grudge matches in a hotel room, where there would be copious amounts of trash talk, side betting, and alcohol.
In the Smash community, this would become a recurring event at major tournaments, where players who had beef with each other could finally settle it in Smash. Money is almost always involved but the most important thing is pride; for some players, their careers were defined by a salty suite match.
And without a doubt, Chillindude vs. Leffen is the most famous salty suite match ever. It involved Fox dittos, a diss track, a lost color, and following through on a promise.
Chillindude Vs. Leffen
The Backstory
The rivalry began when Leffen started talking smack on Twitter, calling out the Super Smash Bros. Melee signings for Team Liquid and Team Curse (which was later acquired by Liquid.) This didn’t sit well with Chillindude, one of the players for Curse, and he went in to defend himself.
Chillindude was directly in Leffen’s line of fire now, and Leffen proceeded to saying that “calling [Chillindude] a has-been is very generous of me.” Chillindude, not one to back down from a fight, challenged Leffen to a money match in Fox dittos at Apex 2015.
Let’s make something clear; Chillindude and Leffen were not on the same level. Chillindude was still a strong top 50 player, but Leffen was a rising star who had taken multiple sets off the best players in the world. In fact at Apex 2015, he would be the first player to take a set off of each of the “Five Gods of Melee” where he would ultimately finish in 3rd place.
But Chillin was a longtime veteran who was confident in the Fox ditto, and the slight chance at making Leffen eat his words was too good to pass up. The stage was set: a first-to-5 set at the Apex 2015 Salty Suite. To raise the stakes even further, since both players used the default Fox skin, it was decided that whoever lost the set would never use the default skin in tournament again.
Trash Talk And Diss Tracks
In the days leading up to Apex 2015, the trash talk between players would only make the salty suite match that much more hype. The weekend before at Paragon 2015, Leffen was asked what the final set count would be for him vs. Chillin, and Leffen didn’t sugarcoat anything:
The days went on and on and it was the night before the salty suite at Apex 2015. By then, people thought that Leffen’s interview would be the last of the trash talk before the two sorted it out in-game.
Oh, how wrong we were.
That night before the salty suite, the Smash community was blessed with a Chillindude rap; specifically, a diss track hyping himself up and roasting Leffen for getting tossed by Samus players, among other things. The rap is now an integral part of Smash history, and it’s a large part of why this set is the one of the most famous grudge matches ever. “Respect Your Elders” as it’s called is one of great creations of the Smash community:
When the salty suite finally came around, the massive crowd at Apex 2015 roared when Leffen vs. Chillindude was announced. Just how would this match, between two very different players, actually go?
Chillindude Vs. Leffen – Apex 2015
The short answer is: very poorly for Chillindude.
Chillindude got swiftly 5-0’d, meaning Leffen fully followed up on his promise. There were definitely moments where it looked like Chillin might steal a game, but overall the set was just a clinic of one player clearly being superior to the other. Leffen also rode the villain train all the way to the station, constantly laughing during games and playing in a deliberately disrespectful way; using bad moves on purpose, taunting plenty, and just overall goofing around during the set.
Despite the one-sided nature of the set, it was absolutely worth watching due to the backstory, the environment, the crowd, and the trainwreck nature of it all. It is more than a grudge match; it is a performance art. And with over 800K views on YouTube, you could be the next one to experience Chillindude vs. Leffen:
The Aftermath
Leffen would go on to become one of the top players in Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as a strong force in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and DragonBall FighterZ, on top of creating a popular stream on Twitch, while Chillindude would maintain a strong following through his own stream, his role as a top commentator, and his days as a competitor.
In 2016, it was revealed that Leffen had allowed Chillindude to use the default Fox skin again, and by all measures it seemed like they had buried the hatchet. They would go on to play again in a tournament set in 2018, where Leffen would once again defeat Chillin (although Chillin would pull out a Samus of his own, a callback to a line in his diss track.)
The salty suite match was definitely not a career-ender for Chillin, and both players went on to have their respective roles within the Smash community. It’s without a doubt the greatest grudge match in Smash history, although Leffen’s beef with Salem made for a close second.
