xQc has cemented his spot as by far the most popular streamer on Twitch, taking the ‘most-watched’ crown for two years running. These are the top 10 most-watched Twitch streamers in 2021.
Working out who is the “most popular” Twitch streamer is a challenge, because it depends on which statistic you use. Peak viewership, number of subscribers, and total followers are all measurements used to rank streamers.
But, the most accurate ways of measuring popularity are average viewership, and hours watched, although neither is perfect. Average viewers can be swayed by a single stream that goes viral. Hours watched can be swayed by how much a content creator streams, but generally, it is the best measure over long periods of time.
For two years running, former Overwatch pro Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel has been by far the most-watched streamer by hours watched, cementing his place at the top. But who is next after the Canadian?
Top 10 most-watch Twitch channels (2021)
| Channel | Language | Hours Watched |
| xQcOW | English | 261.3 million |
| loud_coringa | Portuguese | 186.1 million |
| Gaules | Portuguese | 168.9 million |
| MontanaBlack88 | German | 116.5 million |
| auronplay | Spanish | 116.4 million |
| HasanAbi | English | 115.9 million |
| shroud | English | 110.6 million |
| NICKMERCS | English | 108.1 million |
| summit1g | English | 107.1 million |
| loltyler1 | English | 103.9 million |
| Ibai | Spanish | 98.2 million |
Thanks to data from Rainmaker.gg, in partnership with StreamElements, the rankings show a surge in non-English speaking channels has continued in 2021.
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Half of the top 10 are non-English, with two speaking Portuguese, two Spanish, and one German.
xQc’s dominance
xQc continues to be a streak ahead of all others though. Part of this massive jump in hours watched compared to even second place, is down to his hours streamed, as he broadcasts almost every day of the week, often for 12 hours or longer.
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“xQcOW cemented his star power by being the most viewed streamer on Twitch for two years in a row,” said Jason Krebs, CBO at StreamElements.
What about female streamers?
Perhaps notable in their absence from the top 10 is female streamers. Although the majority of streamers are male, we picked out some of Twitch’s best female streamers in our best streamers and best breakthrough streamers rankings this year.
The most-watched female streamer in 2021 was Amouranth, moving above Pokimane, who has taken the top spot in previous years.
“Amouranth and her ability to dominate in multiple content categories took home the crown for top female streamer moving up from the #160 overall spot to #33 and being one of the only 2 women creators in the top 100,” Krebs said.
With a number of female streamers on the rise, it remains to be seen if any can crack into the top 10 overall list in 2022 or beyond.