Dave Portnoy says Salim “The Dream” Sirur will not play in the 2027 Internet Invitational. The Barstool Sports founder made the announcement in a video posted to X on Friday, one day after the $4 million finale aired.
“Salim’s a nice kid, he is. And I hope he gets the help he needs,” Portnoy said. “But my God, he f—ing ruined it.”
Salim played the final on Team Red with Big John and Ryan Whitney. Fat Perez, Riggs and Bobby Ray beat them 5&3 at Payne’s Valley and closed out the match on the 15th green.
Portnoy called the first couple of days “f—ing awesome” and “better than year one.” The final day was another story. “Salim, obviously blackout drunk, ruined the last day,” he said. “It would have been a f—ing great match.”
Portnoy said he watched Salim’s apology video, and it didn’t change his mind. “I’ve never been a huge accepting-the-apology guy,” he said. “It’s just wildly disrespectful, in my view, to everybody involved in the tournament.”
The Internet Invitational group chat debated how long a ban should be. “Are we giving him a five-year ban, a lifetime ban?” Portnoy said. “There was serious dissension in the group.” Big Cat wanted Salim to return.
Portnoy isn’t budging. “I’d probably go three to five-year suspension. He ain’t playing next year,” he said. “There’s gotta be consequences for your actions.”
He also said he’ll walk away from the event if Salim is invited back. “I said I would quit. I would quit if Salim plays next year,” Portnoy said.
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Portnoy doesn’t plan to punish Wesley Bryan, Sam Heung Min or Big John over their own controversies. Heung Min called the penalty on Big John in Episode 4. “Would we invite Sam back? F— yeah. I hope he comes back,” Portnoy said.
Portnoy said the 2026 tournament drew 30 million viewers. “It’s an event that we can’t script, so what it is is what it is,” he said. Each member of the winning team took home about $1.33 million of the $4 million purse.
Salim isn’t the only player whose 2027 spot has been questioned. Calls to drop The Duke grew after Episode 5, when he, Ryan Ruffels and Marissa Wenzler were eliminated in the semifinals.
Portnoy addressed The Duke in a video posted Wednesday, one day before the finale. “We’ll see. I don’t think a decision has been made on that either way,” he said. “But for the billionth time, I do not make the list. I don’t invite people. I don’t disinvite people.”
He also brought up how close The Duke came to a winner’s share. “To be honest with you, if The Duke won $1.3 million dollars, he’d probably be dead,” Portnoy said. “Like, he wouldn’t be able to take that much money.”
