Despite having been briefly overtaken on a number of occasions, Swedish YouTuber Felix ‘PewDiePie‘ Kjellberg has managed to breach the 90 million subscribers mark first, ahead of the chasing T-Series.
Since late 2018, PewDiePie, his fans and fellow YouTubers, have been on a seemingly never-ending mission to fend off Indian record label and production company T-Series, who have been gaining on the Swede’s previously unchallenged top subscriber spot.
PewDiePie held on, beating T-Series to 70 million, 80 million and now, on March 18, the big 90 million subscribers.
He hasn’t done it alone though, as support from YouTubers like MrBeast, Jacksepticeye and KEEMSTAR, as well as numerous celebrities (including Elon Musk, who even appeared on one of PewDiePie’s videos) have all been crucial in keeping him on top.
But, as the months have gone on, the threat from T-Series has not subsided, and in mid-march, they briefly stole the top spot on three separate occasions.
As of March 19, at 7AM EST, PewDiePie’s lead was just over 1,000 subscribers, and it seems inevitable that one of these days, he will eventually be beaten for good.
PewDiePie vs T-Series live subscriber count
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The next target will be 100 million, but in order to reach that ridiculous number first, PewDiePie will have to come up with some innovative ideas to boost his numbers.
Social statistics tracking website SocialBlade estimates that PewDiePie will hit 100 million subs on June 4, 2019, while T-Series is estimated to reach that same number on May 17, 2019.
It’s been a turbulent week for PewDiePie, not least as the phrase ‘subscribe to PewDiePie’ was uttered by the Christchurch mosque shooter, which prompted the YouTuber to respond, explaining that it “sickened” him.
T-Series meanwhile has been rallying Indian internet users to get behind their channel as a source of some kind of national pride, which shows just how significant it would be to finally overtake PewDiePie.