YOUTUBE has revealed its list of the most-watched gaming live streamers of 2022.
The list is based on hours viewers spent watching the YouTubers while they play games live on the streaming service.
IShowSpeed topped the charts.
Top of the list is Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins, who was previously banned from competing streaming service Twitch for “sexual coercion and intimidation”.
During a dating show on the platform, he threatened to sexually assault another contestant, called her slurs, and made sexually harassing comments.
He has also been banned from Valorant and all other Riot Games for making misogynistic comments.
The latest controversy surrounds him live streaming himself racially harassing a Chinese spectator as they watched the World Cup.
Despite this behaviour, he remains the most-watched gamer on YouTube, beating the next most popular by over 10million hours watched.
The list also shows the rise of VTubers – YouTubers who use an animated model so that they don’t have to show their face on stream.
Three VTubers made it into the top ten, Kuzuha Chan, Pekora Chan, and Miko Chan, who all stream exclusively in Japanese.
The other controversial figure that made it into the top ten is Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm.
Dr Disrespect was permanently banned from Twitch for unknown reasons in 2020, though the two parties settled the dispute in 2022 with neither admitting fault.
He also took a hiatus from streaming in 2017 after admitting to being unfaithful to his wife.
Here is the list of the most popular streamers in full.
- IShowSpeed – 38.5million hours
- Kuzuha Chan – 27.4million hours
- TimTheTatman – 26.6million hours
- DrDisRespect – 25.2million hours
- Pekora Chan – 23.3million hours
- Ludwig – 22.5million hours
- Windah Basudara – 21.9million hours
- Vegetta777 – 20.9million hours
- Miko Chan – 20.7million hours
- DJMariio – 20.4million hours
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
