Kick star Ice Poseidon seeks creators for $100,000 ‘Hunger Games’ battle royale

Real-life battle royales are so hot right now, and a top Kick streamer is hopping on the bandwagon. Ice Poseidon (real name Paul Denino) has opened up applications for a Hunger Games-inspired competition that will pit creators against one another with a $100,000 prize on the line.

On X, Denino explained that his Hunger Games event will take place in “late July.” 50 competitors will enter a sprawling battleground in Austin, Texas, and the last creator standing will take home the $100,000 prize. Denino solicited applications from creators who don’t “have any history of medical concerns,” and he noted that applicants who send in highly-liked submission videos will be more likely to be selected.

Unlike the actual Hunger Games, Denino’s recreation won’t be a battle to the death. (The man known as Ice Poseidon is controversial, but not that controversial.) Instead, contestants will be outfitted with chest-mounted cameras and light-up vests that will track the amount of “health” players have left.

Denino’s announcement comes just a few weeks after Kai Cenat shared his own plan to put on a real-life battle royale. That reveal was met with mixed reviews: While Cenat’s fans are eager to see the spectacular event, creator Sam Hyde accused the Twitch star of stealing his idea.

Despite Hyde’s complaint, creator battle royales are becoming more common thanks to the influence of games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Denino’s take on the format will be broadcast on his Kick account, and contestants are expected to stream on their Kick channels as well.

A shared event of that size could be huge for Kick, which is looking to build up a homegrown community by offering financial incentives for streamers. Even if Twitch’s CEO thinks that Kick has focused too heavily on big-name streamers, Ice Poseidon’s Hunger Games event reminds us that the actions of top Kick stars can benefit the platform as a whole.