The 28-year-old Twitch streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys is one of the most well-known female gamers in the world. In July, she participated in a charity event where a gaming date with her was auctioned off. One of the highest bidders with a bid of $200,000 (about €185,000) was allegedly billionaire Mark Cuban. Now, the streamer confronted the famous man about his supposed bid.
Where do we know Mark Cuban from? The investor Mark Cuban became a millionaire early on, at 32 years old, by founding and selling a software company and stock speculation.
His big payday came in 1999 when he was in his early 40s and sold a company he founded to Yahoo for $5.7 billion—a deal that Yahoo would soon regret. However, the deal earned Cuban a reputation as a clever financial genius.
Sports fans know Cuban primarily as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, where the most successful German in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki, spent his career.
Most people, however, will know Cuban from his role in the American “Shark Tank,” where he has been one of the defining figures since 2011. Young entrepreneurs looking for a cash injection present their new ideas and companies to him, the “finance shark.” Cuban and his colleagues ask questions, evaluate the ideas, and scout for weaknesses. In the end, they decide whether they want to invest in the idea or pass on the deal.
Germany also has successful female streamers, and we present three to you:
Did Mark Cuban really bid €185,000 to play with Pokimane for an hour?
This is what Pokimane confronted: In July 2024, Pokimane was part of a charity auction. You could bid on a gaming date with her: The highest bidder could play for an hour with the “Queen of Twitch.” At that time, the bids skyrocketed at first, also because jokers under false names bid insane amounts: There were bids over $500,000.
In the end, however, a bid of $30,700 won.
One of the alleged mega-donors had bid $200,000 under the name Mark Cuban.
Pokimane wanted to know from Cuban during a talk show if the bid was really from him. He had just announced that he had bid at auctions before, and Pokimane saw her chance:
Have you ever (chuckles) bid money to play video games with someone? Maybe with me? I bet no, but someone – I held a charity auction – someone somehow bid $200,000 under your name. It was totally crazy!
Cuban responded smoothly: “No, that was not me. I would have paid any amount of money in the world. So you know it wasn’t me because the bid was way too low.”
Pokimane melted in her chair, while the other talk guests applauded or otherwise signaled that they liked the answer.
What are the comments? Cuban’s statement is viewed on Twitter as a “weird Flex,” as strange boasting.
Some men also seem to find it a bit unfair that a billionaire has such an easy time making Pokimane melt. Most women, it is said hurt, would react like this to a billionaire.
Of course, the “Pokimane Tier 3 Sub” meme comes into play again. Pokimane was long the leading streamer on Twitch, and she was accused of being successful only because she exploited lonely men: The biggest streamer on Twitch is said to exploit lonely men for money
