Twitch star Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel has given his critique of the platform’s new PogChamp emote, and laid out what exactly a successful recreation needs to embody.
Twitch started off 2021 by removing PogChamp after the “face of the emote,” Ryan ‘Gootecks’ Gutierrez, “encouraged … violence” in a Twitter statement on January 6, a move that was criticized by some and praised by others.
Instead of permanently deleting it though, they went with the idea to feature a different, random partnered streamer making the face every 24 hours to keep the spirit of the emote alive. On January 10, it was Pokemon Go streamer Reversal’s turn, but his version hasn’t won everyone over.
Today's PogChamp couldn't be shinier.
We choose you, @REVERSALx7. pic.twitter.com/uHqBU66wyW
— Twitch (@Twitch) January 10, 2021
Of course, there will be people who hate on the new PogChamps simply because they’re not the original, iconic emote that has been around for as long as anyone can remember. But xQc actually provided some very solid reasoning on what makes a great version.
“PogChamp critique, Ok? It needs to face the right side, that’s my first critique,” Felix said after seeing the daily change. “Then, the energy of the emote needs to be all on the Pog factor. This guy is looking elsewhere, this is like hinting.”
After a few demonstrations of his own best take on the face, the former Overwatch pro explained that there needs to be a sense of confidence in any good rendition of the original.
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“This screams uncertainty, is this Pog?” xQc continued. “Dude, you know the whole energy has to be: ‘holy sh*t, this happened!’ Not: ‘wait did it happen, or did it not?’ That’s not PogChamp dude.”
Luckily for Felix, there will be a whole new streamer chosen as the face of PogChamp every 24 hours going forward, so he should have plenty more opportunities to explain the finer points of what makes a great Twitch emote to all of us.
How long Twitch will keep changing the emote every day remains to be seen, but when you think about the amount of partnered streamers on the site that could lend their face (literally) to the cause, they could easily collect enough variations of PogChamp to last years.
Who knows? Maybe one day in the future xQc will even get his chance to be the face of the emote for a day. He’s definitely had plenty of practice.