ZeRo permanently banned from Twitch after harassment allegations

Olivia Richman Published 24/07/2020

One of Super Smash Bros.’s most popular streamers, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, has been permanently banned from Twitch. 

The streaming platform appeared to make the decision after ZeRo admitted to sending sexually-charged and inappropriate messages to a minor when he was 19-years-old, though Twitch hasn’t made a public statement on the matter. 

The Smash community was torn when the allegations against ZeRo first arose. They’d come after a string of other serious accusations against other top players, and many of ZeRo’s fans felt that his accusations weren’t as damning. For a while, many were also claiming that ZeRo hadn’t even known that the girls were underage at the time, but that was later debunked by screenshots showing him acknowledging their age on Skype. 

Even though some within the Smash scene still feel that ZeRo flirting with a minor wasn’t enough to end his career, the former pro himself has stated that he plans to never return to tournaments. 

“I really want to atone, and I just want this discussion to stop. I’m not a good person, and it doesn’t matter how terrible my life was, I did terrible things and that’s the end of it. I don’t deserve for people to defend me,” ZeRo said in a TwitLonger. “I’m working right now to obviously lose my sponsorships or any type of thing like that. I’m obviously not making more videos in general as well.”

ZeRo’s sponsors did end up dropping him. He lost his partnership with Tempo Storm soon after his TwitLonger was published on July 4. 

The organization stated that they “appreciated” ZeRo’s “transparency” on the matter but chose to let him go since he did confess to having sexual conversations with a minor. They also said they connected ZeRo with “professional counsel.”

ZeRo currently has all of his tweets set to private. He has also ceased streaming and uploading YouTube videos, and has turned off comments on his most recently uploaded YouTube videos. 

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.

View full profile

Read Also

Twitch

Lacy Turns Off Twitch Ads — Here’s What the Streamer Has To Say Khizar Mundia Nick “Lacy” Fosco announced in a recent Twitch stream that he wants his viewers to enjoy his content and is turning off ads from all his future broadcasts. Lacy was last in the limelight when he announced that he was leaving CORE, the streamer organization that was primarily comprising the ex-FaZe boys. He then hosted a gaming marathon with Marlon “Mar3lg” Lundgren Garcia in September, and now Lacy is going ...

Twitch

Dan Clancy Reveals Twitch Uses AI To Link Streamers With Brands Khizar Mundia Ad revenue is a major contributor to a streamer’s overall earnings, and Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has explained how the platform is using AI to match brands to creators. Advertising is a major part of Twitch’s business, but the platform also needs to ensure creators meet brands’ suitability criteria. Clancy discussed how Twitch uses AI to identify suitable creators and flag those who don’t match a brand’s requirements during a ...

Twitch

Will Kai Cenat Grow His Twitch Subscribers in the Remainder of 2026? Khizar Mundia Twitch streamer Kai Cenat is one of the most popular personalities on the platform, with his number of followers climbing with every new event that he announces. However, his subscriber numbers have been less straightforward. The American went on an unexpected break after shattering Twitch subscriber records with his Mafiathon 3, but eventually returned with Streamer University 2026. The creator did become the most-subscribed Twitch streamer after his return, but ...

Dota 2

Yandex to repeat?: BLAST SLAM VIII preview, predictions, and more Michael Hassall If you can believe it, we’re already on the eighth edition of BLAST SLAM, as BLAST SLAM VIII kicks off tomorrow (Sep. 29) pitting 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams against each other in what promises to be the first big challenge of this young season. Let’s face it: At PGL Wallachia, we were missing a lot of the heavy hitters. No TI15 champs, no PARIVISION, not BetBoom, ...

News

New York Sues Polymarket Over Gambling Laws As Prediction Market Hits Back Michael Hassall The New York Attorney General, the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the State of New York has filed legal proceedings against prediction market giant Polymarket alleging it is an unlicensed gambling company. First reported by Reuters earlier today (Monday, Sep. 28), Polymarket immediately launched a countersuit challenging the lawsuit’s claim that they constitute a gambling company, and kicking off a legal battle that could have huge implications for ...

Twitch

iShowSpeed Answers Fan Questions: Opens Up About Mental Health and One Piece Khizar Mundia Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. recently did an extensive Q&A where he answered several fan questions, talking about things such as mental health and loneliness despite being massively popular, while he also debunked being a One Piece “larper”. iShowSpeed is arguably the biggest IRL streamer in the world right now, with 2026 being a major year for the creator. Whether it was livestreaming the 2026 FIFA World Cup or being listed ...

Dota 2

Unstoppable Yandex crush NAVI in one-sided PGL Wallachia finals Michael Hassall Team Yandex has swept the grand finals of the PGL Wallachia Season 9 Dota 2 tournament, defeating Natus Vincere (NAVI) in a 3-0 drubbing this past weekend (Sep. 27). As predicted, the revitalized Yandex, hot off the signing of former Team Falcons star Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, crushed their youthful opponents in a three-game sweep in the best-of-five finals. Here’s how it happened: After upsetting the star-studded LGD Gaming roster (albeit ...