As it turns out, streaming with Drake and Travis Scott is enough to launch you into the stratosphere of fame.
Twitch streamer Ninja has topped the list of most-watched streams for 2018 according to The Esports Observer, and the numbers weren’t even that close, with Ninja holding more than double the hours watched than second place stream Riot Games.
Ninja had a groundbreaking year, first having an internet-shattering stream with Drake and Travis Scott in March, and then having the single most-watched stream in Twitch history when his stream hosted the Las Vegas Fortnite Tournament, peaking at around 660,00o viewers.
Notably, the Overwatch League had a strong showing, ranking fourth on the most-watched streams, despite it only being the league’s first year. This is a result of the league’s growing popularity as a franchised-based esports league, as well as Blizzard’s $90 million dollar deal with Twitch over the league’s first two years.
Ninja used this fact to create some playful banter about how he, due to his viewership numbers, could be worth even more than the massive deal between to two companies (he later tweeted that he was just kidding around, as the Twitter mob is known to take things too far too quickly.)
It will be interesting to see how game companies and leagues continue to grow on Twitch as more big-time investors start throwing their money into the brew, as well as what streamers will rise up to potentially usurp Ninja. Until then, we can celebrate the massive growth in esports and streaming viewership as a sign of things to come!
