Twitch is always a competitive place, with streamers vying for viewers’ attention on the latest trends, games, and ‘metas’. We’ve identified five streamers, big and small, who are poised to rise up to the top of the platform in 2022.
It’s almost impossible to predict who will be the next big thing on Twitch, until they’ve already become it. 2021 saw the rapid rise of streamers like Ludwig and Fuslie, as well as lots and lots of Spanish-speaking streamers.
We’ve already looked back at the best 5 Twitch streamers of 2021, who pushed the platform forward with innovative content and breaking new ground. But, what does 2022 hold for the platform, and some of the up-and-coming talents who could have a break-out year?
Emiru
At the tail end of 2021, Emiru’s viewership on Twitch skyrocketed by almost 500%, moving her from an average of around 2,000 to 12,000. This was largely due to her new association with OTK, the organization founded by streamers including Mizkif and Asmongold.
Now a member of OTK herself, there is a lot to be excited about for Emiru in 2022. Most significantly, she is not tied to playing a single game or making a single type of content, meaning her growth won’t be affected if a particular game loses popularity – something that can’t be said for a lot of streamers.
We expect Emiru to cross the 1 million follower mark within a matter of months, and could easily become one of the top 5 female streamers on Twitch this year.
Tarik
It wouldn’t be fair to call Tarik ‘tarik‘ Celik an ‘up-and-coming’ streamer, as he’s been one of the most popular CS:GO players on Twitch throughout his pro career. However, he makes this list because with his CS career coming to an end, he’s in a position very similar to shroud – who became Twitch’s number one after exiting top-level Counter-Strike.
It’s rumored that tarik may be moving to professional Valorant, but whether he does or not, 2022 will be a massive year for the Major winner on Twitch.
Other top NA players in Valorant, like TenZ, ShahZam, and Sinatraa, have seen their viewership boom streaming the game. In fact, tarik is already the most-watch Valorant streamer on Twitch over the past three months. Whether he goes pro or sticks to content creation, his average viewership (currently around 10,000) could double or triple this year.
Kkatamina
Kim ‘Kkatamina’ Mi-young had her breakthrough year in 2021, an especially impressive rise considering she had never streamed before October the previous year.
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Now tied closely to OfflineTV, and making headlines as the most subbed-to female streamer thanks to her subathon, 2022 is set to be the year that Kkatamina leads the way for others to follow. With her viewership currently averaging between 2,000-6,000, there is still a lot of potential for Mi-young to attract an even bigger audience.
Despite her rise in 2021, Kkatamina doesn’t stream very consistently, often taking big gaps of days or even weeks between streams. While it’s important for streamers to take breaks from the constant grind, if she dedicates even more hours to streaming Kkatamina could actually have an even bigger year than 2021.
Sydeon
Sydeon was expected to have a break-out year in 2021, where she saw her average viewership more than double. But, despite her success so far, there is still a lot more potential – especially now that she’s a member of OfflineTV.
Joining the popular streaming organization alongside QuarterJade and Masayoshi in November, Sydeon now has a group of like-minded individuals to grow alongside, much like Emiru in OTK.
OfflineTV is making big changes in general in 2022, with LilyPichu confirming the group won’t be living together anymore. But, they have proven their staying power as an organization, and any new members usually end up in the spotlight even more.
JiDion
JiDion is already a very popular YouTuber, with over 3.4 million subscribers, but has just started really dedicating time into Twitch streaming in late 2021.
With his popularity from YouTube giving JiDion a headstart, his JiDionPremium Twitch channel has already rocketed to almost 300,000 followers, averaging over 5,000 viewers on every stream.
Although he does play games like NBA 2K, GTA 5, and Fortnite, he actually spends a lot of time in the Just Chatting category. This bodes well for his plans for 2022, meaning he won’t be tied to playing any particular game on stream as his channel grows. At this rate, JiDion will have over a million followers on Twitch before the year ends.
Those are our top streamers to keep an eye out for in 2022. Whether you like high-level pro gameplay, Just Chatting, or casual gaming, there is something for everyone among these streamers.