Super Smash Bros. Melee pro bobby big ballz may have ended his esports career after openly drinking and driving while live on his Twitch channel.
During a stream on Sept. 5, bbb made a short run to 7/11 to grab a few things, including some wine, with his broadcast still going. While driving back, bobby opens up a glass of wine and takes a sip before putting his hands back on the wheel, stating that he “feels like Michael Jackson, I feel like the king of pop.”
This resulted in a channel ban a few hours after a 10-hour stream, with his channel being listed as “currently unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.” Bobby has since stated that this is an indefinite ban and will likely heavily impact his competitive career in Melee.
“[I] feel nothing like the king of pop anymore…,” bbb said. “[The] Twitch ban is indefinite which means you won’t see me at any tourneys online or offline. RIP bbb 1998-2023 c u in another lifetime boys.”
Unless something changes, bbb will essentially be banned from playing in any major Smash tournament that streams to Twitch. This is due to a clause in Twitch’s community guidelines that disallows any streamer to “knowingly feature or advertise a suspended user.”
In the recent SSBMRank for Summer 2023, bbb was named the 35th best player in the world, a ranking he has basically held since 2019. Now, it is likely he will be barred from competing in any tournament with a significant presence in the competitive scene because of an action he claims “doesn’t classify” as drunk driving on a three-minute drive home.
Bobby goes on to say he is “not a role model,” that his streams are for entertainment, and that he uses drinking as a way to “cope with life” as his “truth.” Most recently he called this a “moronic demise” that “is absolutely my fault.”
Most of the active Melee community is scolding him for that approach, asking him to get help for his potential problem, and reminding everyone else who somehow thinks defending drunk driving in any capacity is a good idea. In 2021 alone over 13,000 people died in “alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This also isn’t the first time bbb has been the subject of problematic behavior, as he was dropped from his sponsor Even Matchup Gaming in July 2020 after making various sexist and LGBTphobic comments toward members of the Smash community, which he later apologized for.
Bobby will have opportunities to appeal this ban, but even if he does resume content creation on another platform, not being allowed on Twitch streams will bar him from all Majors that use the streaming service.
Published: Sep 7, 2023 04:01 am