Former League of Legends professional turned streamer Pobelter was briefly banned from broadcasting on Twitch today for what he claimed was because he made a “Hawk Tuah” joke while losing a League game mid-way through his Sept. 19 stream.
The grave mistake, as Pobelter described it, came as he was playing Ryze mid lane and preemptively planning on doing what most League players tend to do when they’re strong: Roam the map, help wave clear, and take turrets. Just before the streamer was about to split push, he threw out the joke—”Hawk Tuah, split on that lane”—was nearly immediately banned.
The ban nearly immediately went viral on X (formerly Twitter) after Pobelter revealed the alleged ban reason, mostly because people were stunned that he was banned for “making such a terrible joke.” Some said they “couldn’t stop laughing at the fact he was suspended for a pop-culture reference when a good portion of Twitch’s site is “basically soft porn.” As one fan said, Pobelter seemed to have now “hawked his last tuah,” though the ban was lifted later the same day.
Jokes aside, the viral “Hawk Tuah” meme was, for some reason, flagged for breaching Twitch’s content guidelines, with the ban allegedly set up to be permanent. Pobelter’s account block was lifted soon after though, with the League star barred from broadcasting for less than an hour; exactly 58 minutes and 16 seconds, according tracking site Streamer Bans.
This must have been a huge relief for the League streamer; not only is he a Twitch Partner, but he’s about to make his first-ever appearance as a dedicated streamer at the 2024 TwitchCon on Saturday, Sept. 21. It wouldn’t have been the best look—and would have been a little awkward—if he was a banned Twitch Partner attending TwitchCon, and hosting a meet and greet to boot. The speed of the ban lifting suggests everything’s okay, so long as he doesn’t try to “hawk” another “tuah” in his future streams or even say it at the event proper.
The exact reason for the ban and what Pobelter did to breach Twitch’s content guidelines has yet to be revealed, leading many fans to claim it was “such an odd ban.” They’re not wrong, especially considering Twitch has slowly developed into a streaming platform where you’ll encounter inappropriate content like underdressed hot tub streamers as soon as gaming.
This surprise ban for Pobelster does pose a really good question of whether Twitch’s content guidelines and how streams are moderated are up to scratch. If saying jokingly saying something as simple as “hawk tuah” can get you banned on the platform, why isn’t more being done to remove the almost R-rated streams that are now plaguing Twitch?
Twitch has yet to comment either way on the League star’s suspension today.
