Félix “xQc” Lengyel continues to assert his position as the new king of Twitch, taking the top spot for the second consecutive week. This also marked one of the only weeks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic where a Valve-related esports channel has not appeared in the top three.
On the content side, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and its battle royale mode Warzone saw enough of a boost in popularity to break up the top three triumvirate.
Twitch’s Top Channel – xQc
Lengyel’s persistent presence as a contender for the top spot on Twitch represents something of a shift from the days of Tyler “Ninja” Blevins’ domination. In the past, the biggest names on Twitch were tied to a specific game, particularly during Fortnite’s peak. The majority of this week’s top streamers, in fact, are names tied to specific games or genres.
While Lengyel has enjoyed success related to some popular trends, he has evolved into a full-fledged variety streamer, with viewers tuning in for his personality and unique brand rather than a specific category of content. During the last week, Lengyel’s broadcast sessions featured roughly 20 different categories combined, but the streamer saw roughly equal average viewership each day.
Twitch’s Top Content – Just Chatting
Helped by the personality-driven channels like Lengyel’s, Just Chatting continues its strong performance, generating over 41M hours watched – roughly 11M more than second-place League of Legends.
The unique shift this week came from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the latest in the Call of Duty series. Its battle royale mode has had surprising staying power on the platform, especially given the short lifespan of its predecessor last year. This week, CoD just barely edged out Fortnite for third place, generating 21.68M hours watched. The top three streamers on the platform, including Lengyel, all streamed multiple hours of CoD content this week.
It’s also worth noting that CoD has remained relevant despite the entirety of its professional esports content being broadcast exclusively on YouTube. Were the big Call of Duty League tournaments taking place on Twitch instead, the category may well have been able to contend for second place this week.
