There is trouble in the German-speaking Twitch community. The casino streamer Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer has issued a copyright strike against a live stream by “AlphaKevin” on Twitch, interrupting it with a ban. AlphaKevin reacted to a video by Scurrows during the stream. The casino streamer felt threatened in his existence by a statement from the streamer. A dispute is erupting over the strike: Scurrows is now even threatening to take the matter to court.
How did the ban come about?
- The German Twitch streamer and YouTuber Oliver “AlphaKevin” Guthe reacted to a video by Scurrows in a Twitch stream on September 4.
- Scurrows initiated a copyright strike.
- AlphaKevin’s channel was temporarily banned from Twitch as a result. The stream was interrupted midway. At that time, AlphaKevin had 1,316 viewers. This was a record number for the streamer: Never before had the streamer had so many simultaneous viewers on his Twitch channel “EchterAlphaKevin”.
This is a popular format on YouTube and Twitch. Content creators like Asmongold or xQc have become huge with this content because it allows for a lot of content production with little effort. This format became immensely popular on Twitch during the legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
Scurrows felt threatened in his existence by the statement
Why did Scurrows do that? As revealed in a YouTube video by Tobias Huch (via youtube), who spoke with those involved, Scurrows was upset by a statement in AlphaKevin’s stream:
- From Scurrows’ perspective, AlphaKevin expressed doubts about whether Scurrows is evading taxes by stating a false residence with “Madeira”.
- AlphaKevin said: “I want them all to lose their money”.
- Scurrows subsequently felt threatened in his existence and claimed copyright over the video that AlphaKevin reacted to.
- AlphaKevin was then banned from Twitch live on camera and received a 48-hour ban.
Scurrows had successfully litigated his way back to the platform after a 3-year ban from Twitch. He trusts in the power of the judiciary:
“Streamers should never strike each other”
Why is such a strike taboo? Among streamers, it is considered bad form to strike other streamers, as they lose their source of income as a result.
The German streamer Staiy explains: It is “sneaky”; streamers should “never” strike each other:
Also, streamer Tanzverbot, who is involved in a conflict with Scurrows, adds: “Dude, this is so ridiculous. From now on, he should just not react to anything anymore. We can also strike.”
Scurrows says: “Which code of honor? – There is no honor present”
How does Scurrows see it? Scurrows wants nothing to do with such a code of honor. He says in an Instagram story (via insta):
- He has been insulted by AlphaKevin and Tanzverbot for 3 months.
- At Gamescom, he was even attacked.
- They are calling for his Twitch ban.
- Now they have “the authorities and police” involved to harm him.
- They wish for him to lose everything.
Then he issues a strike because AlphaKevin “reacts to a video without permission” – and it is said: “Scurrows breaks the code of honor.”
According to Scurrows, there is “no honor” at all with AlphaKevin and Tanzverbot.
Twitch, by the way, also has very nice sides:
Streamer appeals against ban, is released – Scurrows announces lawsuit
This is how AlphaKevin reacted: The streamer AlphaKevin, on the other hand, appealed against the strike and quickly regained his channel from Twitch. The ban was lifted.
This is evident from statements by Scurrows, which AlphaKevin shares on Twitter.
If such an objection occurs, the copyright holder has the option to enforce his objection legally. This is exactly what Scurrows now apparently wants to do:
Who is right or not, that would have to be decided by a court. And I think I will now take the next step. Through the lawyer.
Scurrows
Scurrows wants to fight for his rights, even against the majority
In another post on Instagram stories, Scurrows sounds even more determined. He says that people will not bring him down. He fights for his rights. He has always done so.
Why are the two in conflict? Scurrows belongs to a group of casino streamers: The group has been criticized repeatedly for their streams by a group of opinion bloggers in recent months.
At gamescom 2022, there was a physical altercation.
These are evidently aftershocks of this conflict:
