NICKMERCS Joins Twitch Streamers Distancing Themselves From Artesian Builds Following Drama
Nicholas "NICKMERCS" Kolcheff has spoken out against Artesian Builds after the custom PC building company came under fire for going back on its prize giveaway. The move came after a small, up-and-coming streamer was denied being given a PC from the giveaway, despite winning fair and square.
As one of Twitch's most prominent figures, NICKMERCS has risen up the ranks thanks to his incredible success with FaZe Clan and his generosity towards his fans. He may have stayed away from Twitch's TV meta, but that hasn't stunted his popularity in any way as his continues to pull in success with games, such as Apex Legends. So, it's no surprise that custom PC building company Artesian Builds were delighted to announce NICKMERCS as one of its business partners.
However, the FaZe Clan co-owner has now joined a number of his fellow streamers who have slammed Artesian after it snubbed a lesser known content creator, "Kiapiaa" from its recent prize giveaway. The streamer claimed that not only did Artesian refuse to send her a new PC, despite being the official winner, but also slated her Twitch channel.
What Is The Artesian Builds Drama?
On March 1, Twitch streamer Kiapiaa shared a clip from Artesian Builds' latest stream in which the team, including CEO Noah Katz, hosted a prize giveaway for its affiliates. However, the clip revealed that when Kiapiaa was chosen to win one of Artesian's PCs, Noah berated her moderate following saying it was "under my threshold." Commenting on the clip, Kiapiaa claimed: "I got chosen and they changed their rules last minute." She not only slated Artesian for "belittling" her and her community, but stated: "Artisan do not care about their small streamer ambassadors."
However, Kiapiaa isn't the only to have come forward with these claims against Artesian. For example, content creator "SonicMega" took to Twitter to claim that Artesian offered to sponsor them, but only if they bought one of their products first with a small amount of "partial credit."
Similarly to Kiapiaa, Twitch streamers "Protezee" "strwberrymoogle" also accused the company of discriminating against smaller streamers and were appalled at the company putting them and their community down. Reposting the clip, strwberrymoogle tweeted: "Noah you are the definition of scum. Noah Katz, not only did you essentially just look at all my hard work and go "mmm not enough", you straight up lie to people. You made me and so may of us feel like all of our work means nothing. How dare you."
How Did NICKMERCS React To The Artesian Builds Drama?
NICKMERCS is one of a number of famous faces who have partnered up with Artesian Builds according to the PC builder's website, along with popular streamer Matthew "Mizif" Rinaudo and esports and entertainment organisation One True King (OTK). However, following on from the claims against Artesian, NICKMERCS echoed the criticism of his fellow Twitch streamers in slamming the company.
During his livestream on March 1, NICKMERCS said: "Very simply put, I don't like it. Nor do I want to support that." He further stated that what Katz said during the stream was "very weird." However, he then went on to warn his viewers about cancel culture, which "he isn't the biggest fan of."
Artesian Builds has since released a number of statements on Twitter apologising for the stream, along with a personal video from Katz who admitted that he shouldn't have "glossed over" smaller streamers. In a written statement, Katz said: "I will commit my full attention to create a new guideline that will reflect on Artesian Builds' values to fully support all our viewers and customers."
