Search online for ‘Ethan Yau’ and you’ll find the name ‘Rampage’.
Search for ‘Rampage’ and you’ll find the definition: ‘violent or excited behavior that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive’.
It should perhaps come as little surprise, then, that a recent streak of play that many would describe using those exact words has seen Yau’s bankroll take a tumble - along with his confidence. It’s against this backdrop that he announced yesterday he won’t be playing in Hustler Casino Live’s Million Dollar Game later this month.
“I need $1,000,000…”
Yau posted a video in late April titled “I need $1,000,000…”, trying to sell action and raise funds for the HCL game’s seven-figure buy-in. The game, scheduled for May 28-31, is expected to feature the likes of Tom Dwan, Alan Keating, Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates and Doug Polk, among others.
The video drew criticism, and has since been restricted/deleted. Given Yau’s recent poor run of form, a large section of his fans have turned on him for what they see as an attempt to exploit his fanbase to fund his high-stakes action; action which many feel he is not equipped to handle. He’s recently been charting his attempts to win back the million dollars he lost in the first few months of 2024.
Yau’s fellow poker YouTuber Alex Duvall put together a great overview of the situation.
Losing six figures, borrowing two
The past weekend saw Yau post the following message, which again set the comments section alight with messages of both support and criticism.
Yau’s journey from low stakes to the nosebleeds has been a particularly fast one. Starting out playing $1/2 in 2018, his stakes have risen along with his subscriber count, blowing up in the past couple of years. With more than 50k followers on X, close to 300k YouTube subscribers and a couple of Global Poker Award wins, Yau has earned his time in the poker spotlight.
That attention brings with it highs and lows, and we at PokerOrg certainly hope he’s able to withstand the haters, survive the downswing and get back to winning ways as soon as possible. And if it’s not in a game with a million dollars on the line, that’s just fine by us.
For more background on Rampage and his journey to poker stardom, check out this exclusive interview with PokerOrg’s Mo Afdhal from late last year.
Feature image courtesy of the WPT
