Ice Poseidon (27) is the name of the probably worst streamer to have ever roamed Twitch. MeinMMO reports on him, why he is still banned from the streaming platform, and who he has left behind as an heir.
Paul “Ice Poseidon” Denino was known for hosting streams where he sought social interactions with strangers. His viewers celebrated his open, direct style and how he interacted with other people.
On Twitch, it was not allowed to stream IRL content during Poseidon’s time, around 2016, but only to showcase video games live. The mobile game that was popular at the time, Pokémon GO, was his means to stream IRL without breaking Twitch’s then-current rules.
When IRL became its own category and Twitch allowed streaming outside of games, Ice had a significant advantage over his streaming competitors. He had already gained experience and built a large community.
This is how Ice Poseidon shaped his streams: Poseidon placed great importance on his community being at the forefront in his streams; thus, he allowed the community a lot of influence over his streams and even his life:
- The community was allowed to decide what he did.
- His viewers knew exactly where he lived and were allowed to visit him at home.
- The fans could choose where he would move when he relocated.
- They could approach him on the street at any time.
- Poseidon had to complete challenges posed by the community.
His viewers were practically always with him and knew 99% of the time where Denino was. This attracted many toxic individuals who only wanted to troll the streamer and cause him harm.
The IRL King is dethroned by Twitch forever
These problems arose from the streaming concept: Because the fans always knew where Ice Poseidon was and where he lived, it made him a perfect target for “swatting”.
In swatting, an emergency call is made to the police, stating that a serious threat is coming from a person or that a crime has been committed. As a result, a SWAT team appears at the house of the mentioned person, surrounding the supposed perpetrator with drawn weapons.
Swatting eventually became a popular means to instill fear in streamers or to play a supposed prank out of boredom. This also happened with Poseidon.
What led to Ice Poseidon’s permanent ban on Twitch? The streamer was swatted over 40 times and was temporarily banned from Twitch on several occasions.
His permanent ban occurred on April 28, 2017, after a SWAT team was called to a plane in which Ice Poseidon was sitting. The caller claimed that Denino had smuggled a bomb on board.
This deployment of the special forces caused such a stir that it was even reported in the American news.
Ice Poseidon switched to YouTube and Mixer
What did Ice Poseidon do after his permanent ban? When Ice could no longer return to Twitch, he decided to go to the competition. YouTube would be his new platform, where he took most of his Twitch fans with him. He continued to be very successful there.
On August 1, 2019, Poseidon decided to try Mixer. Mixer was then an emerging streaming platform from Microsoft and became his new home.
On Mixer, he built a new, less toxic audience that he could keep for a year, until the site shut down on July 22, 2020.
After the end of Mixer, Denino made a statement on Twitter with an open letter to Twitch, asking to be unbanned:
Ice says he has become older and more mature. He has learned from his mistakes and wants a second chance from Twitch. The streaming service has remained silent about this statement, and to this day Ice Poseidon is banned from Twitch.
What is Ice Poseidon doing today? Denino still actively uses his Twitter account and rarely streams on his YouTube channel. When he does stream on YouTube, he follows his IRL concept and films himself during social interactions or in his home (via YouTube).
However, Ice writes that he is searching for a goal in life and doesn’t quite know what to do. He feels unfulfilled and lonely (via Twitter).
How much of Ice Poseidon is seen on today’s Twitch? Even though the streamer has been banned for four years, Ice Poseidon today seems like a pioneer of Twitch in 2021. The platform has shifted significantly in the direction that the streamer preferred back in 2016:
- Interaction with the chat is today the success model of the most successful streamers on Twitch like xQc
- Provocative content is also a success model in 2021, as seen with streamers like Amouranth, Tfue, MontanaBlack or again xQc
- Former employees and acquaintances of Ice Poseidon, like Mizkif, are now among the most successful and influential streamers on Twitch; they are his heirs.
1st Heir: Kaitlyn Michelle “Amouranth” Siragusa
Who is Amouranth? Amouranth (via Twitch) is the most popular streamer on Twitch with her pool and ASMR streams, but also the most hated. She is known for appearing extremely revealing in her streams and licking her microphone when viewers pay a certain amount.
Amouranth is not shy about anything and has been banned multiple times from Twitch for revealing content. With her provocative strategies, she is among the most successful female streamers on Twitch (via sullygnome):
- Number of followers: 4,598,053
- Average viewers: around 10,000
- Nearly 20,000 subscribers
What did she have to do with Ice Poseidon? Amouranth mentioned in an interview with Kotaku that she sees herself as an heir of the former IRL king (via Kotaku). She also had brief contact with Ice Poseidon himself and is a friend of the streamer Mizkif, Denino’s second heir.
According to Amouranth, she and Mizkif are “the spawn of the same king.”
2nd Heir: Matthew “Mizkif” Rinaudo
Who is Mizkif? Mizkif (via Twitch) has been on Twitch since 2016. He primarily streams in the “Just Chatting” category or games like Super Mario 64, Rust, and LoL.
He also once held a subathon, which had the rule that the stream would be extended by a certain amount of time if viewers subscribed to his Twitch channel or donated money.
Mizkif, just like Amouranth, is among the largest streamers on Twitch and has the following successes (via sullygnome):
- Number of followers: 1,605,787
- Average viewers: around 23,000
- About 23,000 subscribers
What did he have to do with Ice Poseidon? Mizkif was the cameraman for Ice Poseidon starting in 2018 and is thus part of Ice Poseidon’s inner circle. According to Ice Poseidon, he has hardly any contact with Mizkif today as he is always so busy.
Mexican Andy unbanned on Twitch after 4 years
Who is Mexican Andy? Mexican Andy is a former stalker of Ice Poseidon who appeared repeatedly in his streams. Andy vehemently denied that he was a stalker and said that he only happened to run into Denino.
Through his appearances in Ice’s streams, Mexican Andy became increasingly known and created his own Twitch channel, on which he streamed successfully.
However, he was also banned from Twitch because he was part of Ice Poseidon’s group and violated the platform’s policies.
Will Ice Poseidon return to Twitch? After Andy was unbanned from Twitch after 4 years on October 22, 2021 (via Twitter) and now streams under the pseudonym “Scufious” (via Twitch), some hope that Ice Poseidon will also be unbanned.
He could be part of a wave of streamers that Twitch re-releases years after their original ban. Some speculate that Twitch is trying to keep the growing competition from YouTube Gaming at bay: YouTube has recently lured away some big Twitch streamers.
But even his heirs do not believe that the king of IRL streams will return to Twitch.
Mizkif is sure: Denino will never be unbanned from Twitch (via Dexerto). Mizkif says: Ice Poseidon could support an orphanage, even that would be interpreted as if he had set the orphanage on fire first in order to later extinguish it.
