DrLupo vows to pay for next PogChamps Chess event after cheating in $100K tournament
Popular Twitch streamer DrLupo says he’s willing to pay for the next PogChamps tournament after admitting to cheating in one of the chess series’ online competitions.
In April 2025, Benjamin ‘DrLupo’ Lupo competed in a $100K PogChamps chess event and bested a much higher rated player,YouTuberWolfe ‘Wolfey’ Glick.
Fans were baffled by this outcome given the difference in skill level, as Lupo had a rating of 650 while Wolfey was 1340. Furthermore, Lupo made a series of highly advanced moves, which swiftly led to cheating accusations against the streamer.
Chess.com, the organizer of the event, was quick to ban Lupo’s account and remove him from the tournament for a “fair play violation.”
DrLupo has been closed for a fair play violation that occured during today’s Pogchamps event. He will be replaced in the consolation bracket before the start of tomorrow’s round.We wish everyone the best tomorrow and remind them that receiving any help during a match is a…
While DrLupo originally denied having cheated, he later claimed that he had been reading comments from his chat to get ideas for moves – and later finallyconfessed to using an engine.
Now, weeks after the cheating drama took over social media, Lupo went live onTwitchand YouTube to explain how he’ll be punishing himself for the controversy.
DrLupo breaks silence on chess cheating scandal
According to the streamer, he wassurprised that Twitch didn’t ban himfor cheating, as it’s a violation of their policies.
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Lupo further stated that, outside of his chess account being banned, there weren’t any further consequences – but he believes he should still pay a steep price for cheating.
“I’ll gladly pay for the entirety of PogChamps 7. If they will let me. I’ll do the $100,000 charity, I’ll pay for the production costs, the graphic design, the prize pool for people, the salary for commentators. I’ll pay for everything. Send me the bill and I’ll pay for it.”
Lupo believes the total cost of the event will come to around $250,000, but says that if Chess.com doesn’t want to associate with him, he’s also looking into reputablechesscharities to which he can donate.
“I owe the community of people that I joined and then, without realizing it, because I didn’t think about the consequences, attempted to defraud. And I’m sincerely sorry for that. I’m sorry that I let the addiction take over and screw this up.”
DrLupo talks about the notorious “Twitch high” that took over his online life and led him to cheat at chess“Every negative comment..reset button..I was celebrating the approval and validation hits I was getting from chat..what you saw was a person getting their drug fix”pic.twitter.com/LdWr3dKShr
Earlier in the broadcast, Lupo compared himself to an addict seeking a dopamine hit in the form of approval and validation from others after a conversation with his therapist.
“What you saw was a person getting their drug fix,” he said in reference to his chat cheering him on after he won the controversial chess match.
Lupo ended his short stream promising to fix things and take responsibility, but would return to a more regular broadcast schedule shortly.
