Streaming superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has been banned from Apex Legends and nobody could make sense of why.
Ninja logged on to play Apex with his Fortnite partner, Team SoloMid’s Malachi “Reverse2k” Greiner, on December 16 when the Mixer streamer saw a message pop up, notifying him that his account had been banned. What made the ban even more random was that Ninja had not played Apex Legends in six months.
When the notification first popped up, Ninja had a look of disbelief. The usually talkative streamer was at a loss for words for a good few seconds.
“I guess they don’t want me to play the game, dude,” Ninja joked. “What a waste of my night right now.”
Upon reading the surprising news, Ninja asked Respawn Entertainment to unban him on Twitter. The official Twitter account told him to check his DMs, but the rest of his fandom were left in the dark on the circumstances.
In a stream last night, Ninja opened up about the weird situation while playing Fortnite.
“That Apex ban is definitely not clickbait, I was banned last night,” he said. “We queued up into the game, and as we found the match, it kicked me out, twice. I was like ‘maybe it was just a one time thing,’ but then we queued up again, got into a match, and it was like ‘you’re banned.’ Which is very strange to me!”
Reverse2K speculated that it could have been an “accident” on Respawn’s end, which Ninja agreed with, noting he “hasn’t done anything.” He then joked that it’s been a year since he “hacked on the game.”
Ninja then looked back on his time on Apex Legends fondly, claiming if he had stuck with the game he’d be one of the best players right now. But because of the game’s small competitive scene, Ninja said he’s glad he stuck with Fortnite though it is unclear if he’s aware of Apex Legends’ recently announced $3 million Global Series.
So far, Respawn has not come forward publicly with an explanation for Ninja’s ban, and the streamer hasn’t touched upon the topic since.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
