A Korean YouTuber’s decade-long journey on the platform has come to an abrupt end after a high-stakes wager went wrong in the most public way possible.
Banzz, who had built an impressive following of over 2 million subscribers across 12 years of content creation, found himself in an unprecedented situation following his appearance at Jangchung Arena in Seoul. The popular creator had accepted a challenge that would ultimately cost him everything he’d worked to build on the platform.
The turn of events unfolded on June 28 during Road FC 073, where Banzz faced off against comedian Yoon Hyung-bin in an MMA match. The stakes couldn’t have been higher, as both creators had agreed that whoever lost would be forced to delete their YouTube channel entirely.
Unfortunately for Banzz, the match ended quickly and decisively. He was stopped by TKO just 1 minute and 42 seconds into the first round, sealing his fate and triggering the unfortunate consequence of the bet.
Even his opponent seemed to recognize the magnitude of what had just transpired. According to Allkpop, Yoon Hyung-bin appeared conflicted about his victory, expressing second thoughts about the wager’s harsh terms.
“I thought about it, and deleting the YouTube channel seems a bit much,” he said, even joking about potentially uploading content to Banzz’s channel instead. The comedian’s remorse was evident as he reflected on the outcome: “My heart feels heavy… maybe putting one’s livelihood on the line was too much.”
True to his word, Banzz uploaded what would become his final video to the channel the day after the match. In an emotional farewell, he addressed his subscribers directly, explaining the circumstances that led to this moment.
“This video will be the last one on my channel. While working out, I dreamed of stepping onto the stage of Road FC,” he said in the video. “I had a bet with Yoon Hyung-bin about deleting my channel, and, unfortunately, I lost.”
The weight of his commitment was clear as he continued: “Having put everything on the line, I now intend to keep my word. This channel will be deleted a week from now, on July 7.”
For Banzz, it was about losing years of memories and personal history. “For 12 years, I uploaded all my videos on this channel. It was like a diary containing everything about me,” he explained, his voice carrying the emotion of someone saying goodbye to a significant part of their life.
“Although the channel will be gone, I’m determined to go back to basics and start over from the beginning,” he said, showing remarkable resilience in the face of such a devastating loss.
This isn’t an isolated incident in the YouTube ecosystem. The platform has seen other creators make similarly risky bets with their channels. Earlier in 2024, Airrack made headlines when he revealed a bet with MrBeast that involved uploading daily content for an entire year or facing the complete deletion of his account.