XQc has this week claimed he would have won “four years in a row” if the Esports Awards’ top streaming gong, the Streamer of the Year award, was simply handed out to whoever had the biggest following for that calendar year.
The star Twitch streamer’s bold claim has come after Samy Rivers was named the year’s top streamer at the awards show in Riyadh at the 2024 Esports World Cup closing ceremony. While there are many who agree with the nod, others—like Asmongold, who suggested she “only won because she’s a woman”—were less impressive. XQc fell into the first camp, defending the now-controversial Rivers decision.
The French-Canadian entertainer honed in on one particular argument those unhappy with Rivers winning have been touting: That she only has six million followers, and therefore she can’t be famous or popular enough to win.
In response, xQc retrospectively crowned himself Streamer of the Year four times, through 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022—a self-crowning designed to show how silly that claim is.
“People try to use mathematics and analytics like, ‘Oh, this streamer’s bigger, so they should have won it,’” the variety streamer declared on-stream this week. “If that’s what we were judging people on then I would’ve won four years in a row before last year [2023]. Literally. That’s not cope… that’s just mathematics.”
XQc then added it wouldn’t have been close either, with him likely outstripping other contenders by “as much as two and a half, three times.” He’s very right in those claims too; up until he started splitting time between Twitch and Kick, xQc had bowled over top rivals like Ninja and Ibai regarding subscribers and viewers. It was only once he split things that he slumped again, and even then he still ranks seventh.
Today, he has around 12 million followers on Twitch, only six million ahead of Rivers. Ninja sits in number one again with 19.1 million. Ibai trails slightly in second with 17m.
There are arguments to be made Rivers shouldn’t have been selected over entertainers like Kai Cenat or IShowSpeed, both of whom have enjoyed massive recent success, but they now shape as more likely 2024 winners. If this Dot writer had to tip early, it would have to be Cenat; his Elden Ring streams alone could win it for him.
Said the Esports Awards on why Rivers was picked: “She’s one of the fastest growing influencers in the history of Twitch and the figurehead of the Mexican streaming industry.”
No matter what though, it wouldn’t have been xQc in 2023—and he’s happy with that. “I’m just chilling in my chair,” he told his angry fans. “I don’t give a fuck.”
