The 2025 UEFA Champions League final was a historic event, crowning a new champion and drawing millions of viewers from around the world. It also caught the attention of many celebrities, with Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr emerging as one of the more prominent names to attend one of football's showpiece events live.
The American star had a week to remember heading into the most important game in club football. He wrapped it all up by livestreaming French superclub PSG thumping the legendary Italian side Inter Milan 5:0 to claim its maiden Champions League title at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Overall, IShowSpeed had two broadcasts from Germany over the weekend, which accumulated 850,041 Hours Watched and peaked at 146,281 concurrent viewers. This put him among the top content creators across livestreaming services for Saturday and Sunday by both watch time and Peak Viewers (PV).
Speed jetted to Munich to catch the UCL final as a special guest, with his first livestream from the weekend seeing him play football with legends like Luis Figo, Edwin van der Sar, and Marco Materazzi. He also met Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards, the panelists on CBS Sports' hit American football show, UCL Today.
On finals day, he was seated next to Bayern Munich and Canada superstar Alphonso Davies as they watched Linkin Park perform during the opening ceremony and then PSG decimate Inter. Post the game, Speed also made his second appearance on UCL Today, engaging in some friendly banter with the legendary Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger.
However, the biggest talking point from this cameo was his playful back-and-forth with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov regarding their football skills and IQ. Speed also had a hairy moment when security warned him after he touched the UCL trophy pitchside, as only the winning side and coach are allowed to lift it.
Speaking of hairy moments, the 20-year-old actually started a week of football-based content by hosting Gianni Infantino during a livestream on May 23. The FIFA president was there to promote the extended 2025 FIFA Club World Cup that will be held in the United States this summer. He even unveiled the trophy for the thousands of viewers watching on.
Unsurprisingly, Speed and Infantino’s chat went viral on social media, with some of Infantino's statements catching many football fans off guard. Perhaps the most bizarre quote from the Italian was that Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo could find a new club this summer in order to play at the revamped Club World Cup.
Overall, it was a successful trip to Germany for IShowSpeed, whose recent jousts with football highlight the growing relationship between sports, media, and entertainment today. The YouTuber, in many ways living the dreams of many fans and viewers, has become unmissable when he blends his IRL content with football, and we're sure there will be many more such instances in the future.
