The 16-year-old Leon “Khanada” Khim has made a name for himself as a Fortnite pro in his young years, but not a good one. In March 2020, he became a Fortnite pro for TSM and his career had a strong start. But then, everything went downhill. After a ban on Twitch, he wanted to stream on YouTube. But even there, he got kicked off the air after 20 minutes. He believes he either has bad luck or everyone hates him.
This was the career start of Khanada: This is a very young Fortnite player who became known in September 2019 for being with Twitch superstar Tfue in a trio. The now 23-year-old Tfue had parted ways with his old partners in a dispute and sought new young Fortnite players to make a splash in esports as a trio.
Great career start, but bad behavior
At that time, Khanada looked like one of the next big Fortnite players. He had won several solo tournaments and three cash cups. Khanada even got a professional contract with the huge US team “Team Solo Mid”. They signed him in March 2020 and proudly showcased his skills in a YouTube video.
The “Team Solo Mid” is the most valuable esports organization in the world, basically the “Manchester United” of esports. This is absolute top tier.
Twitch ban and expulsion from the team
This is how it went downhill for Khanada: Khanada somehow managed to mess up this great career boost he had at such a young age. Some young Fortnite players are extremely aggressive and toxic. They make money bets on games, engage in trash talk, and behave like a bull in a china shop. Apparently, this rubbed off on Khanada.
He was banned from Twitch for 3 days in 2019 for being in contact with the Fortnite outlaw Zayn, who plays for money. Apparently, Khanada became too influenced by Zayn in the months that followed and not enough by Tfue.
What caused the Twitch ban? Khanada was ultimately banned from Twitch in September 2020, right in the middle of a stream. Again, it was his temperament and a wager that led to his downfall.
He had engaged in so much trash talk that Twitch interpreted it as “threat of violence” and suspended his Twitch channel. Attempts to talk to Twitch and lift the suspension were in vain.
After being expelled from Twitch, his esports team TSM also parted ways with him. That was a significant career setback. Although both sides said the separation was “mutual,” it hurt.
This is how Khanada wanted to make a fresh start: Khanada thought: Well, since I’ve been banned from Twitch, I’ll go to YouTube. But his first live stream there ended after 20 minutes.
The stream was interrupted with the note: Khanada had violated community guidelines.
That was probably too much for the teenager. Khanada tweeted:
- He was banned for nothing
- He is the “unhappiest person” who has ever streamed
- Everyone hates him (via twitter)
He then reached out to the head of YouTube live streaming: He just wanted to stream. He missed it so much. Was there something that could be done?
Indeed, begging and pleading apparently paid off, and Khanada is now allowed to stream on YouTube again. Let’s see how long that lasts.
Some Fortnite pros are experiencing a career setback in 2021. The esport of the online shooter started strong in 2018 and 2019, but it shows that Fortnite as an esports has problems. Some esports organizations seem to be cutting and reallocating their budgets. Pro Vivid felt this too:
Fortnite: 21-year-old signs professional contract, gets released, ends career
