this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2025
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For context: a crypto-based betting app appeared over the last week or so, and seemed to get multiple high-level players on board, including:
A lot of the community, including casters and other pro players such as T90, Mbl, Memb, and Hera, responded very quickly that they are against this. For the damage it can do to the community, for the risk of tainting trust in games, and more.
Some people pointed out that because this gambling company is based out of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, Union of Comoros, it may not be legal for some of these players to participate.
(The irony that Anjouan-based gambling companies cannot serve people from other parts of their own country is not lost.)
After this news, many of the German & French players put out statements saying they erred and would not be participating, including Jordan, Sitaux, Viper, and Daut.
Long-time fans might remember that this is not the first time Viper, in particular, has been caught up in a crypto grift. In 2021, he announced a partnership with "Denarius", an already long-dead coin. After all the problems were pointed out to him, he announced he would not be continuing that partnership. But it seems to me he hasn't learnt the lesson about being careful about who he partners with and considering how it might impact his fans and the broader community. So for me at least, he doesn't get a pass for this as an "innocent mistake". He had a chance for that, and screwed it up again. Dude's an inconsiderate wannabe grifter.
Thankfully, with the biggest players having publicly left it (whatever the reason for their leaving may have been), this seems dead on arrival. But gambling being as insidious as it is, and the Age community being mostly such a wholesome one, it's important to stay vigilant.
Hera still being a decent representation of the AoE community is both unsurprising and commendable, alongside the others.
I got a bit iffy on Hera a while back because he was saying some vaguely positive things about Jordan Peterson, but looking back and comparing it to Hera's other statements and actions, I get the impression that it was not because he was some diehard fan of the guy, but just that he was in that state where he had only seen the vaguely positive "clean your room" type claims and hadn't thought to contextualise it more broadly.
These days, I want Hera to lose, but that's only because he's so good I think it's good for the community for his dominance to end. I really like the guy on the whole.
I can empathise with that. I made similar comments (a long time ago) about JP. I think a lot of people initially appreciated the “clean your room” portion of his “teachings”. As a former catholic I found his lecture series on the bible interesting. Boy did I regret mentioning that to some people when he then went on his right wing debate bro crusade before cooking himself on benzos and going to Russia to be put into a coma. All that’s to say I doubt Hera is the first person to be drawn in only to regret it immensely after.
That’s interesting, I did derive satisfaction at him losing the second round against a couple of rookie streamers.
Yeah the funny thing is I remember cheering for Hera during his initial rise. It felt so great watching a relative newcomer rising through the ranks and toppling Viper, during the early days of Definitive Edition. But now, Hera has gone 13 S-tier tournaments in a row without defeat, and it doesn't even feel like there's anyone on their way to beating him. (Unless he's under-prepared, as he sometimes is in lower-tier tournaments.)
One thing I really enjoyed was when Return of Rome came out and a bunch of people were briefly playing the aoe1 mode within that. Hera came onto a small Australian streamer's stream to ask for tips before his showmatch against Daut. Chat recommended he try a strategy they called "boning": stone age rushing with villagers, where they attack with weapons that appear to be bones. Hera actually tried it..
Spoilers
And lost