Overwatch streamer exposes stream sniping ‘hitmen’ paid to ruin games

Twitch streamer Arrge shared details about a Discord server where Overwatch players would be paid to stream snipe and sabotage games, all for Spotify Gift cards and a prize of $20.

On August 19, the streamer tweeted photos from inside the server, claiming he had heard rumors about it before and only recently could prove their legitimacy.

The screenshots show a section of the server titled “game rules” which list several big name streamers as targets.

Aside from Arrge, the list of eligible targets also include: Brandon ‘Seagull’ Larned, Brian ‘Kephrii’ St. Pierre, Tim ‘TimTheTatman’ Betar, and TheBasti0nmain.

Secondary targets listed included the likes of Nathen ‘KarQ’ Chan, Holowhirl, KristenRae, Valkia, and Eviltoaster.

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After “10 hits” where players would sabotage a streamer’s game, they’d be able to win a 3 month Spotify card, $20, three new Overwatch accounts, and a Diamond ranked DPS account.

The ‘hitmen’ were instructed to post a screengrab of the streamer’s defeat screen with other users reacting to the image to prove its legitimacy.

Arrge’s leaked photos showcase what those screens look like, but hid the identities of the stream snipers.

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“If someone has more screenshots from this server, I am willing to trade it for a 3 month Spotify premium card,” he joked.

Holiwhirl, who was one of the targeted streamers couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Spending hours doing this shit for a CHANCE to win 20$. That’s wild,” she remarked.

It’s unclear what Blizzard can do to prevent these intentional throwers from sabotaging games, but players themselves do have the ability to avoid teammates so they don’t get matched up with them again.

Nonetheless, it’s something that makes streaming extremely tedious and frustrating. Hopefully, a solution is in the works to deal with stream snipers more swiftly and effectively.