Warzone streamer Zack ‘ZLaner’ Lane was all geared up to participate in the game’s Twitch Rivals tournament on July 20, until Twitch reportedly told him he was “not eligible” to compete.
ZLaner has been one of the fastest growing Warzone streamers of late, in part thanks to his collaborations with Dr Disrespect, whom as we all know is blacklisted from Twitch like Voldemort is from Hogwarts.
On July 20, just before the $75,000 Warzone Twitch Rivals tournament got started, ZLaner revealed on Twitter that he was told by the streaming site he was “not eligible for Twitch Rivals.”
I was pumped to run it up with @KaleiRenay & @ClutchBeIk today but received this message, day of…
“ZLaner is not eligible for Twitch Rivals today”
– Twitch staff pic.twitter.com/BPkOjRusZc
— OpTic ZLaner (@ZLaner) July 20, 2021
There were all kinds of rumors flying around as to the reason why ZLaner was barred, including his affiliation with Dr Disrespect. Some Twitch staff even said it was because he wasn’t a Twitch partner, but seeing as how he’s an affiliate with the site, that explanation might not make sense.
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Esports journalist Jake Lucky tweeted that the alleged reason for the ban was none other than ZLaner’s Dr Disrespect cosplay and, just to add further fuel to the rumor, the streamer himself even liked the tweet.
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It seems Twitch Rivals have made ZLaner ineligible to compete in their upcoming Warzone event… because of his Dr Disrespect cosplay
What a frikin day on the timeline
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) July 20, 2021
Would Twitch really shut out ZLaner just because he streams with the Two Time though? Doc didn’t say anything himself, but like any good friend he did retweet Lane’s image of him in cosplay to make it clear he’s got his duo’s back.
ZLaner did say recently that he wasn’t even considering an option to stream exclusively with Twitch, because he wouldn’t be able to stream with Doc anymore. Whether that had any bearing on the site’s July 20 decision is unknown as well, but at this point there doesn’t seem to be a concrete answer for why he was DQ’d.
This is still a developing story, and Dexerto has reached out to both ZLaner and Twitch for comment, and if either knows the exact reason he can’t compete. As soon as we have more info we’ll update this article, so check back soon.