‘I met BTS and Spain scored’: IShowSpeed bear-hugs the band at World Cup final, does backflips

IShowSpeed has met some of the biggest names in football. But at the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, he finally encountered a force that was just as powerful: BTS.

The American streamer, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., crossed paths with the Korean stars during the Argentina vs Spain final — and did not exactly play it cool.

The moment Speed spotted BTS, he ran straight towards them and launched himself into one enormous bear hug. The kind of hug that suggested years of friendship, despite the fact that this was, quite literally, their first meeting.

And BTS had just as much fun with the chaos. J-Hope, in particular, looked visibly delighted as Speed bounced around the group. Then came the moment ARMY probably wasn't expecting: RM calling him “Darren” — his real name, as if the world's most energetic football streamer had suddenly been welcomed into the BTS inner circle. ARMY did joke that Jimin looked rather terrified. And Jungkook stared at the backflip that Speed pulled.

The clips quickly began making the rounds online, because naturally, the ARMY was never going to let a BTS-meets-IShowSpeed moment disappear.

But Speed's World Cup experience got even more surreal, as later the streamer said, "The moment I met BTS, they scored.”

He was referring to Spain's 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final. And while there is absolutely no evidence that Speed's BTS encounter had anything to do with the result, the timing was certainly impeccable.

BTS had already delivered one of the night's biggest musical moments, performing “Dynamite” during the World Cup final. The group were among the event's co-headliners alongside Shakira, Madonna and Justin Bieber.