Ser Winter, Zuckles banned from OTV Rust server for playing hard

Olivia Richman Published 10/01/2021

More popular streamers are being banned from the now-infamous OfflineTV Rust server.

OfflineTV originally created a Rust server for 50 of the biggest names in Twitch content creation, including Felix “xQc” Lengyel and Imane “Pokimane” Anys. Despite it being a great source of entertainment for their followers, many streamers have continuously faced frustration with the server, even causing Pokimane to leave when she was no longer having fun due to the competitiveness of xQc and other streamers.

Recently, a number of streamers have started getting banned from the OTV Rust server. The first to announce their ban was Ser Winter. He tweeted that he did have “a lot of fun” playing on the server, but it’s now the “end of an era.”

Guys, the Rust OTV servers are great for our community right now, and I did have a lot of fun on there, but it’s the end of an era. I’ve been humbly banned, which is completely fair and fine. I said I wasn’t going to go back anyway after today. Enjoy the loot, Tank Girl :)
— Ser Winter (@SerWinterGaming) January 9, 2021

A few fans pointed out that Ser Winter allegedly ended his last stream by saying he’d be back on OTV’s Rust server the next morning, meaning he wasn’t as done with it as he claimed in the tweet. The “I was going to leave anyway” vibe of the tweet definitely had the streaming community chuckling.

Other streaming fans appeared frustrated with the news. Like xQc, Ser Winter had apparently become too competitive for some members of the server. Ser Winter apparently earned his ban by being cut-throat when competing against other members of the server. They pointed out that Ser Winter was simply just playing the game how it was meant to be played. But others noted that Ser Winter may have been being a bit too harsh towards new players, sort of acting like a “smurf” account in a competitive game.

Ser Winter responds to OTV Rust server ban

Despite his original polite tweet about the ban, Ser Winter seems to agree that he was unfairly kicked from the server. He later shared a tweet that appeared to throw xQc under the bus for being toxic and overly competitive on the allegedly “vanilla” server. Like others in the streaming community, Ser Winter seemed to think xQc was given special treatment despite the ongoing controversy. Meanwhile, Ser Winter was left permanently banned from OTV Rust for similar offenses.

The Twitter video also showed other content creators mocking Ser Winter for being a “try-hard” in the game and purposefully targeting him for raids.

Heard some people hadn’t seen what REALLY happened on the OTV server…
(part of the intro for the video) pic.twitter.com/7tFkX1W1aW
— Ser Winter (@SerWinterGaming) January 10, 2021

Zuckles joins list of streamers banned from OTV Rust server

Even though Ser Winter clearly felt targeted by other members of the server after his ban, he wasn’t the only one to get kicked from Offline TV’s Rust server for playing too competitively. Streamer Zuckles announced a ban the same day.

No longer allowed to play on the OTV Rust server, content was fun while it lasted, apologies if I ruined anyone’s rust experience
— Zuckles (@Zuckles) January 10, 2021

Fans of Zuckles immediately came to his aid on Twitter. Followers aired frustration with the ban, stating that Zuckles was simply playing Rust how it was meant to be played. Some felt that veteran gamers were being attacked, while new players who didn’t have the skill to be competitive were getting favored.

Others pointed to xQc once again, arguing because he is still in the infamous OfflineTV Rust server. For many in the streaming community, it seemed that OfflineTV was favoring bigger names like xQc because of the attention it would bring to their own streams. Meanwhile, more skilled Rust players like Zuckles were getting banned for taking similar action.

xQc has yet to make any response to any claims that he’s been given special treatment by OfflineTV.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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