Despite having gotten more competitors in the past few years, Twitch continues to be one of the most popular streaming platforms with some of the biggest streaming stars on there. However, they also have a long list of banned streamers.
Fortunately for creators, most bans on Twitch, typically given for community guidelines violations, range from 24 hours, a few days, a week, or, in the most serious cases, 30 days. However, there is one type of ban that any streamer dreads: an indefinite suspension.
As the name implies, there is no set end date on these bans, and although Twitch can lift it at any time, it is often always considered permanent, except in a few rare cases when these streamers are allowed to return.
But, as of 2024, some of the biggest streamers to ever broadcast on Twitch are still serving long indefinite suspensions, unlikely ever to return. These are the most infamous Twitch bans believed to be permanent.
Top 5 most famous Twitch bans
5. MethodJosh
A popular World of Warcraft streamer, MethodJosh was permanently banned in 2019. Twitch did not disclose the reasons behind his ban, as they rarely do with any suspension, to protect the privacy of users.
However, it was later revealed, in 2020, that MethodJosh had been accused of inappropriate behavior, rape, and sexual misconduct by a number of women.
4. Phantoml0rd
Phantoml0rd was a big name in the Twitch community, best known before his ban for CS:GO gambling content – which was also to be his downfall. In 2016, he was permanently banned, after it was revealed that Phantoml0rd was the owner of the website he often promoted and played on, without disclosing it.
However, this ban became even more notorious due to the legal case that followed. Phantoml0rd sued Twitch for damages, and secured victory in 2021 – although he only won $20,000 in damages, not the $100 million he had initially sued for.
3. Adin Ross
At the time of his permanent ban, Adin Ross was more popular than any other streamer on this list at their time of theirs. He was averaging over 60,000 viewers, and was a constant hot topic in the Twitch community.
In February 2023, Twitch suddenly put it all to a stop by issuing a permanent ban on Adin’s account. Although Twitch did not disclose the reason at first, a Twitch spokesperson told Dexerto that the ban was caused by failing to moderate hateful conduct in his chat.
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Adin moved to rival platform Kick following his ban, where he is currently the most-watched streamer. However, he recently went on stream to beg Twitch to unban him.
2. Ice Poseidon
One of the great innovators on Twitch, Ice Poseidon is often credited with making IRL (In Real Life) streaming immensely popular on Twitch. Throughout 2016 and 2017, his channel was a hotbed for viral (and controversial) moments. But, this also bred a toxic community, Poseidon later admitted.
Ice was banned in 2017 after a swatting incident on a plane after he shared what gate he was flying from. A viewer called in a bomb threat, leading to a police response and Ice being removed from the flight. Twitch permanently banned his channel as a result, as sharing information like this was an obvious safety risk.
1. Dr DisRespect
No surprise here, the most infamous Twitch ban is that of Dr Disrespect. Before his ban, the self-proclaimed ‘face of Twitch’ was a bonafide streaming superstar, and had just signed a new bumper contract with Twitch a few months earlier.
The Doc was permanently banned from the platform in June 2020. The circumstances around his ban are still shrouded in mystery, as neither Twitch nor Dr Disrespect’s team have ever publicly confirmed the reason for his ban. This secrecy has led to continued speculation and controversy around the circumstances of his indefinite suspension.
Now, Dr Disrespect streams on YouTube, and is still as popular as ever, but his massive Twitch community was shut off forever in the blink of an eye, and remains the most high-profile and controversial permanent ban to this day.
There are many other famous permanent Twitch bans, some of which were in fact lifted after a number of years. But all five of these streamers are still not permitted to broadcast on the Amazon-owned platform, and likely never will be.
However, in late 2023, the platform revealed it’s looking into giving permabanned streamers “another chance” before allowing some permanently banned streamers to apply to be unbanned — although with some exceptions.
Not only that, but the platform’s executive has also recently vowed to improve its ban system and provide more transparency to the streaming community.