Twitch streamer Witty Alien pulled off an upset against chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen then celebrated by taking his pants off on stream.
Beating Magnus Carlsen is enough to make even experienced chess players lose their composure. Alexandra Botez famously erupted after beating him with a substantial time advantage, while Chessbrah’s Eric Hansen was stunned after capitalizing on an apparent misclick.
Now, Bulgarian candidate master Volen ‘Witty Alien’ Dyulgerov has joined the club following an unexpected blunder by the chess icon. His celebration came with an unexpected wardrobe change.
Witty Alien loses pants as Magnus Carlsen loses game
The upset happened during the inaugural Chess Club Showdown on September 30. Carlsen had a winning position before a blunder gave Witty Alien the opportunity to turn things around.
Playing with the black pieces, the streamer secured the win when Carlsen resigned after his 21st move. ChessEver reports that the game used a five-minute time control with no increment, meaning players received no extra time after making their moves.
But the result was only half the spectacle. Witty Alien’s celebration included pulling down his pants, with Chess.com sharing the moment on social media.
Fans on Reddit had plenty to say about his reaction.
“It’s a good thing he didn’t overreact,” one joked.
“Never before have I used the phrase ‘keep your pants on’ literally,” another wrote.
The event brought together 4,400 players across nine esports clubs, giving participants a chance to face some of chess’s biggest names. Carlsen’s Team Liquid reached the final, but 9z Globant ultimately won the competition 53.5 to 45.5.
It also adds another unlikely chapter to Carlsen’s history with trousers. In December 2024, he withdrew from the World Rapid Championship after refusing to change his jeans following a dress code penalty. This time, his opponent needed considerably less encouragement to remove his.
The pants-off celebration isn’t the only pop-off to go viral in recent years. In 2024, Super Smash Bros Melee pro Hungrybox sparked controversy by tossing a chair across the stage.
In 2025, streamer IShowSpeed ended his stream with blood dripping from his face after crashing into his setup to celebrate hitting 40 million YouTube subscribers.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
