Streamer Kyle Barrows, better known as BrainStormZ, says he hasn’t received the recognition he deserves after reaching Platinum Rank in Hearthstone last week.
“It’s official. I’m a certified genius now,” he boasted to his 18 subscribers on Twitch on Monday. And while his online followers may agree, his real-life friends have a different take.
“I think the fanboys in his chat have gone to his head,” said long-time friend Kevin Kaminski, who says that Barrows is far from being the sharpest tool in the shed. “He thinks Algebra is a country in Africa.”
These sentiments were echoed by Kyle’s father, who believes he’s spending too much time streaming and not enough time on developing real-life skills. “This all started after he beat his nephew Brian at online chess,” he said, “Brian is seven years old.”
Kyle, however, maintains that beating his nephew was no small feat. “Brian is smart a-f. He made me work for it.” He also dismisses his friends’ criticism as the bitter ramblings of lesser minds. “They’re just jealous ‘cause I’m making that paper, son!”
Although he declined to disclose his earnings, Kyle did reveal plans to invest in a new GPU for crypto mining. Kaminski believes his friend will struggle to implement his vision, however. “First time I mentioned crypto mining to him, he got all excited and went straight to Amazon to buy gloves and a headlamp.”

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