IShowSpeed Returns to Twitch After 4 Years to Stream His Second Europe Tour

Speed's China Tour (Credit: Ishowspeed)

Popular content creator Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins is officially making his return to Twitch today, July 7, after a four-year break. The 20-year-old YouTuber is kicking off his second Europe tour with a livestream that’ll be broadcasted on both Twitch and YouTube — the first time he’s done this since his ban from the platform back in late 2021.

Speed’s absence from Twitch traces back to a controversial moment during Adin Ross’s e-dating livestream — a format where streamers play out dating-style games with guests. During one of these segments, Speed posed a hypothetical question to TikTok personality Ash Kash: “Say, we're the last two people on Earth and we had to reproduce to make the world continue. Would you reproduce with me?”

Ash responded with a clear no, but Speed pushed further, escalating the moment by saying: “Who's going to stop me? Who's going to stop me?”

The comment quickly sparked backlash across the internet. Viewers were upset, social media lit up, and Adin Ross ended the stream shortly after. Speed’s behavior during that segment was widely criticized.

Twitch didn’t take long to act. The platform hit him with an indefinite ban, citing "sexual coercion and intimidation" as the reason. And even though Speed was technically streaming on Adin’s channel, Twitch still held him responsible for violating their code of conduct.

That ban stayed in place until October 2023, when it was quietly lifted. Even after the reversal, Speed chose to stick with YouTube, where he’s built a massive following — now over 41.4 million subscribers. His content there includes everything from high-energy gaming (think Fortnite and Red Dead Redemption 2) to wild IRL streams that often go viral for one reason or another.

He announced today’s return on social media, sharing that he’ll be going live at 7:00 AM Eastern, kicking off the next leg of his Europe tour. This time, he’s planning stops in France, Finland, Spain, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, the Baltic nations (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Greece, and Turkey.

Image via X

This will be Speed’s first Twitch stream since May 2021, and fans are definitely hyped. But alongside all the excitement, there’s also a sense of curiosity — mainly about how Twitch’s current moderation system will handle someone as unpredictable and energetic as Speed. The dual-stream setup with YouTube and Twitch is a noticeable shift in his strategy and might hint at a broader push toward multi-platform content going forward.

Earlier this year, Speed’s IRL tour in China brought in over 35 hours of streamed content across seven sessions, pulling huge engagement numbers. And before that, his first Europe tour in mid-2024 smashed records, racking up more than 2.5 billion views across platforms.

It’s still unclear how long this second European tour will run, but one thing’s for sure — expectations are through the roof. Fans around the world are ready to see if Speed can take things to an even bigger level this time around.