Twitch ban pushes Hasan to big live viewer numbers on YouTube
Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker has taken his political commentary to YouTube after his seventh Twitch ban, and he immediately stirred up major live viewership on the platform in doing so.
Twitch streamer Hasan’s channel was taken down on January 29, 2026, while he was in the middle of a heated sociopolitical rant. The broadcast cut out abruptly, leaving viewers stuck on a loading screen, only for it to then become clear that his Twitch account had been suspended indefinitely.
Less than a day after the ban, Hasan moved his streaming to YouTube, where a new broadcast quickly posted big viewership numbers just after going live.
Why was HasanAbi banned on Twitch?
HasanAbi’s January 29 stream ended with his seventh Twitch ban, after a rant about domestic protests and federal law enforcement shifted into a broader discussion that included remarks on recent events around the globe.
During the stream, Hasan used terminology that is banned under Twitch’s Community Guidelines rules around language that is considered hateful. That led to the channel being taken offline mid-broadcast.
The streamer addressed the ban on his X account, criticizing Twitch for what he portrayed as its selective approach towards bannable language. He later announced that he would continue streaming on YouTube, including coverage of his attendance at an ongoing protest.
The ban drew mixed reactions from viewers, with some calling it deserved while others defended the streamer. Meanwhile some streamers, including Adin Ross, openly celebrated the ban.
However, it’s important to note that the suspension is not permanent. Hasan’s Twitch channel is only temporarily disabled, making it completely inaccessible for now, but the streamer has confirmed that the Twitch ban will last only for “a couple of days.”
Hasan’s live YouTube stream brings in big viewership
After Hasan’s ban, the popular Twitch streamer moved his livestreaming to YouTube, going live on the platform for the first time in many years. Technically, this was his first proper YouTube livestream, and the broadcast quickly hit major viewership numbers.
30 minutes into the broadcast, HasanAbi’s channel became the most-watched livestream on YouTube, peaking at over 100,000 concurrent viewers. At the time, the streamer was speaking directly to the camera while addressing his Twitch ban and explaining his position on it to viewers in real time. Midway through the stream, Hasan stepped outside to attend a protest alongside other attendees and political figures.
He claimed that he sought to protect his exact location when he then turned off his camera while remaining live, but his broadcast still averaged around 65,000 concurrent viewers throughout a segment without any live video to show.
Whether Hasan will return to Twitch upon the expiration of his ban remains unclear, but his YouTube run is already off to a strong start. He joked on stream that he would reach 2 million subscribers by the end of the broadcast, up from roughly 1.8 million. Given the stream’s growth rate, that milestone did not appear entirely unrealistic.
Featured image credit: HasanAbi
Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.
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