31-year-old Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker is primarily known on Twitch for his political commentary. He is considered a “clean guy” and positions himself as quite left-wing, so it may come as no surprise to learn that he declined a poker sponsorship. Moreover, the streamer had no moral objections.
What kind of streamer is he? The political streamer HasanAbi is an outspoken critic of gambling on Twitch and has even advocated for a ban. His stance has apparently brought him under the radar of the streamer Tyler “Trainwreck” Niknam.
Trainwreck became hugely successful with gambling on Twitch and seems to have taken a liking to HasanAbi. He repeatedly labels the political streamer as a hypocrite.
If you want to see who was actually big before HasanAbi and Trainwreck, take a look at the video:
How did these statements come about? Currently, the two are at odds because Trainwreck mocked a donation of 50,000 US dollars that HasanAbi contributed to a charity event he organized for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. He claimed it was only a very small part and only represented a small portion of his income, according to Trainwreck.
In a stream on March 21, HasanAbi addressed the criticism and explained that he simply doesn’t earn as much as Trainwreck. During this, the streamer also mentioned the rejected deal of 500,000 $.
As a political commentator, you simply don’t earn that much
How does HasanAbi defend himself? The streamer reveals that despite comparable viewer numbers, he simply doesn’t earn as much as Trainwreck. In the last 365 days (as of 22.03.2023), HasanAbi averaged 30,456 viewers, while the gambling streamer is at 27,155 (via sullygnome).
What’s the reason for this? HasanAbi explains that he often declines large sponsors, hence his streams have comparatively little advertising. In fact, he even once rejected an offer of 500,000 $. We’ve embedded the clip for you here:
A half million dollars for a poker game
What was that offer about? As the streamer reports, he was offered a half million dollars for a single poker stream. He apparently didn’t decline it out of moral objections but because he didn’t want to embarrass himself:
I don’t even have a damn problem with poker. I just don’t know how to play.
That he even talks about the offer is an absolute exception, says HasanAbi; it is “the first and last time.” However, the streamer assures his viewers that it was a genuine offer.
HasanAbi’s reluctance to talk about money is understandable, as it has proven to be a delicate topic for the streamer. This is because the opponent of capitalism has a penchant for the finer things in life, such as expensive cars and large houses – which regularly incites his critics.
