For popular streamers, there’s nothing more annoying than being targeted by pesky ‘stream snipers’, as Twitch streamer Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel discovered.
Stream snipers are players in online games who watch the livestream of a well-known player, with the intention of seeking them out in game to either harass, entertain or eliminate them.
They are nuisance to streamers, and the more bigger the streamer, the bigger the nuisance. Popular names like Dr DisRespect, Ninja and shroud experience stream snipers almost daily.
Typically, when playing more competitive games, like Rainbow 6 Siege for example, streamers would use a delay, meaning that opponents watching their stream can’t simply know their every move in real time.
However, xQc had decided to play without a delay – a decision that ultimately cost his team the match after he claims he was being stream sniped the whole time.
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After his teammate called him out for not using a delay, xQc lost it, responding by saying he had ‘found a solution’ to stream snipers, before making an unbearable noise through his microphone.
He also explained that he didn’t feel a stream delay was necessary, given that he was only playing a casual match, but despite the stakes being low, opponents still used his stream for information.
Delays, while useful, or even imperative at times, can often cause a disconnect between the streamer and their audience, as the streamer lags behind discussion in the chat. Because xQc is known more for his entertaining personality than his gameplay, this is perhaps why he avoids using a delay when possible.