5 times IShowSpeed held the internet's attention in 2022

Darren "IShowSpeed" is one of the most popular YouTube streamers, with over 13 million subscribers. Hailing from Ohio, the streamer is known for his obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo and creates largely football-related content.

But his meteoric rise to the top of YouTube streaming has not come without controversy. His career began with a permanent Twitch ban which guided him to YouTube. 2022 has been an attention-grabbing year for 17-year-old, as IShowSpeed has made headlines for several reasons.

Unpacking IShowSpeed's highs and lows in 2022

1) Indoor fireworks

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On his July 4 stream, the YouTuber made the mistake of lighting a Pikachu firework inside his room, thinking it was meant to be lit indoors. He soon discovered that wasn't the case, as it continued to burst periodically and prompted Darren to run out of the room hysterically.

As the stream continued, the fire started catching onto other things and came dangerously close to setting off the rest of the fireworks lying near his streaming setup. It was sheer luck that no other fireworks lit up. As the smoke cleared out, Darren was happy to find that nothing significant had been damaged. This event went viral and got the Twitch community discussing the incident for days.

2) Victim of swatting

Darren was the victim of swatting in August, as the police were called on the streamer while he was outside his house. The tense situation was recorded live as cops came into the backyard, handcuffed the streamer and his friend, and escorted them to the station.

A swatting incident was reported by popular 'Just Chatting' streamer Adin Ross a day ago. He helped Darren post bail and guided him through the legal process. Fortunately, the incident did not cause any physical harm to anybody involved.

3) Attends Manchester United match in hopes of seeing Ronaldo

As one of the world's most popular football content creators, his appearance at the November 11 game between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford generated a lot of chatter within the community. Some of it spilled over to mainstream media, which started taking note of his presence.

Before the start of the match, official commentators even remarked that IShowSpeed had flown in from America to see his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, but was disappointed as the Portuguese football star was not part of the lineup for the day.

The brief coverage by Sky Sports was enough to set Twitter abuzz, as the streamer had more than 150K concurrent viewers on his stream before the match started. However, this increased coverage landed him in more hot water.

4) Removed from Sky Sports channels

His failure to meet Ronaldo in the first match prompted him to visit Craven Cottage for his favorite team's next Premier League clash. He was once again disappointed that Ronaldo was not in the lineup. However, there was a crucial difference in Sky Sports' match coverage as IShowSpeed appeared in the pre-game show.

The streamer met with several reporters and did a photo op with the Fulham jersey. Darren's hilarious interaction with sports commentator Geoff Shreeves went viral. The official Sky Sports account even shared it on various social media.

All the clips, however, were later removed without any information. Other news agencies reported that Sky Sports had taken down all content with IShowSpeed after older clips of misogynistic behavior re-emerged.

5) Shocking misogyny in Valorant stream

IShowSpeed's most controversial news from 2022 was his wildly misogynistic rant that esports personality Jake Lucky publicized on Twitter in April. Valorant subsequently banned Lucky for this act. The clip was widely condemned by streamers and the gaming community for blatant denigration of women.

In the clip, the streamer can be heard agitatedly hurling verbal abuse at a fellow teammate, who had identified as female in voice comms. After some of his team started criticizing his skill in Valorant, the streamer replied by calling her a bi*ch and made inflammatory comments like, "get off the f*cking game and do your husband's dishes." IShowSpeed has since apologized.

About the author

Richik has been specializing in streamer content at Sportskeeda for over 2 years. He also manages a group of writers who craft relevant news and features about content creators on platforms like Twitch, Kick, and Rumble. Prior to Sportskeeda, he interned at The Ken and worked as a reviewer at Blacksof where he fact-checked educational content.

Richik’s love for writing, researching, and archiving, along with his inquisitive nature and longstanding love for video games led him to pursue a career as a gaming journalist. He relies on primary sources for accurate information and ensures that his drafts are proofread, fact-checked, and well-researched.

As a child, Richik spent many a summer vacation playing the 1994 Road Rash with his cousins. Although more of an FPS and open-world fiend now, Richik enjoys single-player RPGs with compelling storytelling, such as The Last of Us franchise, and regularly teams up with his friends to play multiplayer titles like Valorant on PC.

Richik enjoys watching streamer and former esports athlete Shroud, and also finds inspiration in MrBeast's journey to become one of the most well-known content creators worldwide. Interviewing English-Somali YouTuber Sharky, a member of the renowned Beta Squad, was a career highlight for him.

When not writing, Richik likes to read, watch a movie or a game of football.

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Edited by Srijan Sen