Oct. 11 2022, Published 10:33 a.m. ET
This past weekend, October 7 through 9, Twitchcon was held in San Diego, California. The three-day event offers a creator camp, community meetups, a theater of shows, musical performances, networking, game playing, and much more. It's a live event for live streamers to come together in place and showcase their skills and knowledge.
On Saturday, a popular streamer, Adriana Chechik, jumped into a foam pit at the Lenovo booth, causing her to brutally break her back. Chechik will reportedly be getting surgery to have a metal rod placed into her back for support.
Probably the most painful thing I’ve seen in awhile. Twitch streamer Adriana Chechik has confirmed broken her back in two separate places following this jump at TwitchCon pic.twitter.com/QdojGn5UtG
Although this occurred at Twitchcon, Twitch is not taking responsibility for the incident. Instead, attention has been directed toward Lenovo.
To promote "Legion by Lenovo," the PC company was hosting one on one "gladiator tournaments," which put participants on a pedestal to battle each other with a giant weapon (cushion-like of course). However, the foam put surrounding the participants was not properly built to be a safe place to fall.
According to Gizmodo, the foam blocks were squishy but also quite firm. They were also not equally spread out, with some areas of the pit being as shallow as two feet. And, beneath the blocks was a mat covering the concrete of the venue floor.
For context pic.twitter.com/M7u6NbFYJP
Chechik was one of the few who got seriously injured this weekend, breaking her back in two places. She tweeted on Sunday, “Well, I broke my back in two places and am getting surgery to put a meter [sic] rod in for support today. Send your support. When it rains it pours and I am definitely feeling the rain right now."
Probably the most painful thing I’ve seen in awhile. Twitch streamer Adriana Chechik has confirmed broken her back in two separate places following this jump at TwitchCon pic.twitter.com/QdojGn5UtG
A post shared by TwitchCon (@twitchcon)
When Gizmodo reached out to Twitch for comment, they directed the outlet to contact Lenovo about its booth. Lenovo communications officer Lisa Marie Ferrell told Gizmodo in an email responded, “We are aware of the incidents of TwitchCon visitors who sustained injuries in the gladiator game soft foam pit at the Lenovo booth. Safety remains our top priority and we are working with event organizers to look into the incidents.”
Chechik criticized Lenovo on Twitter for telling participants that they can dive in the pit.
Some Twitchcon goers stated that the PC company advised people to not jump in the pit. And, The Washington Post also reported that Lenovo has participants sign waivers before battling, acknowledging the possibility of getting hurt.
Why did @LenovoLegion say here, you can dive in? They open the pit up a second day after the 1st person injured their foot and ankle bad enough to leave #twitchcon in a brace. Multiple ppl wer injured and they kept the pit open, said jump in booty first! https://t.co/9JaQnsiq7n
It's still unclear whether or not Chechik has had her surgery yet and who will be responsible for paying her medical expenses.
Beyond Chechik were other participants who also claimed to leave the foam put injured. EdyBot, said on Twitter that although she fell lightly, she still “felt a jolt up my back, and had pain for the rest of the night.”
Another Twitch streamer, LockVaness was hurt a bit more seriously. She tweeted, "I will never be able to trust @Twitch at another convention in my entire life. Here’s how I dislocated my knee and sprained my ankle at their Lenovo Legion booth:"
I will never be able to trust @Twitch at another convention in my entire life. Here’s how I dislocated my knee and sprained my ankle at their Lenovo Legion booth: pic.twitter.com/uZjfkgRyWr
So, although Twitch might be off the hook for paying the injured participants' medical bills, their reputation might not be getting overlooked so easily.
Twitchcon is an IRL convention hosted twice a year - in North America for three days and in Europe for two days. It's an opportunity for streamers to meet with the online community and showcase their new features and tools. It began in San Francisco in 2015 and went overseas for its first Europe event in 2019.
Will this incident change the way that streamers and brands interact at future conventions? Who will be responsible for the medical bills of those injured?
Latest EVENTS News and Updates
© Copyright 2022 CELEB Magazine. CELEB Magazine is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.