WoW Streamer Keeps Account After Taking Suspect Gold on Stream Before US$100,000 Tournament

A World of Warcraft streamer took suspect gold live on camera and kept his account.

Ziqo, a well-known WoW Classic streamer, accepted large sums from strangers on stream while preparing for a US$100,000 WoW: Forever beta duelling tournament scheduled for 17 October. The clips spread quickly. Other players asked why a regular user would be banned for the same trades, according to GameSpot.

In one clip, a level-one character traded Ziqo 380 gold. Level-one characters are brand-new accounts with almost no time played. Ziqo said on stream there was no way the amount was "natty", meaning earned naturally through play. He took it anyway.

In a second clip, he accepted 175 gold from another level-one character named El Delivery. In World of Warcraft, gold is the main in-game currency. It pays for gear, enchantments, mounts and other preparation.

WoW: Forever is currently in beta testing, a pre-release phase where players test the game before full launch. The tournament is a beta duelling event, a one-on-one combat contest between players.

Blizzard community manager Kaivax addressed real-money transactions, the purchase of gold or items for cash outside the game, in a forum post published on 28 September 2026 without naming Ziqo. Real-money transactions are not acceptable in World of Warcraft, Blizzard said. The company said it is taking steps to address the issue in the WoW: Forever beta and when WoW: Forever goes live and beyond, as stated in Blizzard.

The statement was published at 8:06pm on 28 September 2026 as post 43 in the "Gold buying rules" thread on Blizzard's US World of Warcraft forums. Kaivax said Blizzard has always actioned sellers' accounts as quickly as possible and will increasingly take action against buyers' accounts.

Illicit gold will be removed from the recipient, with further steps that can include closing accounts. Players were told to be cautious about gifts from strangers or other one-sided trades. Anyone who knew or should have known the gold was not from a legitimate source could face account action.

Ziqo said Blizzard removed the donated gold plus a small amount of his own legitimately earned gold. He said he had received no further punishment as of publication.

That outcome angered parts of the community. Users on the WoW Classic subreddit called for Blizzard to ban streamers like Ziqo in the same way regular players would be banned. Rules should apply to everyone, they argued.

For fans, this means context matters. The trades happened in the open, on stream, weeks before a paid tournament. Gold pays for preparation, and preparation counts before a duel.