Everyone hold onto your teeth. Daniel Negreanu is back on Twitch.
GGPoker announced the controversial player’s return to the streaming platform in a Tweet. That made for a fitting full-circle since it was Twitter that broke the story of his ban back on the 27th of June.
Since that was a first-time offense, it was never likely to be permanent. And it is hardly in Twitch’s interest to keep out high profile streamers like Negreanu.
But after a few months, it started to look like he might miss the rest of the WSOP.
A toothsome scandal
Negreanu was banned following one of his rants. It could almost have gone unnoticed with the year he's having.
This time around an online troll insulted Amanda Negreanu multiple times in the Twitch chatbox. Rather than kick the guy out and move on, Negreanu fed the trolls spectacularly.
In a forty-second display of oratorical dexterity, he dropped a couple of dozen bleep-ables and conjured up a string of visually startling images of sexual and physical violence.
It took a few days for Twitch to decide if this was in keeping with their corporate values. Then they iced Negreanu out.
For those who viewed his recent behavior as poor form, the reinstatement feels like a slap in the face. Certainly, his apology did not go very far in convincing the poker world that he was serious about cleaning up his act. He cracked wise about cracking teeth and offered his opinions on the impracticality of rectal dentition as corporal punishment.
But there is no such thing as bad publicity. Which at this point may feel to some like Negreanu and GGPoker’s entire marketing strategy.
Negreanu, Inc
Negreanu is not broadcasting from his personal Twitch account at the moment. The last video on that the DNegs Poker account remains the July 23rd broadcast of event #23.
That was just a few days before the banhammer came down.
Negreanu’s new broadcasts have been going up on GGPoker’s official Twitch. This has raised some questions about whether he and GGPoker are breaching terms of service again. Banned broadcasters are not allowed to use other accounts.
However, when clicking onto the DNegs Poker account, it appears to be reinstated. Even if it remains idle for now. @Twitch__Poker has even welcomed him back on Twitter. So all seems well.
So far he has managed to keep his nose clean. With the additional stress of the WSOP behind him soon, perhaps we will see a more balanced Negreanu on this new channel.
