Top North America streamers of H1 2026

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The landscape of North American streaming looked a lot different in the first half of 2026. Standard gaming streams are still the baseline, but the real momentum has moved toward creator-led tournaments, travel broadcasts and live sports. While established names like Félix "xQc" Lengyel and Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr are still holding onto their leads, they are facing real pressure from creators like TheBurntPeanut and Nicholas "Jynxzi" Stewart. Using the latest data from Streams Charts, we compiled a ranking of the most-watched North American streamers of the first half of 2026.

Most watched North American streamers of H1 2026

The biggest breakout star of 2026 has undoubtedly been TheBurntPeanut. Just a year ago, the American VTuber wouldn't even have cracked the region's top 20 by Hours Watched. Today, he sits comfortably at the top of the rankings with a commanding lead.

Much of his meteoric rise was fueled by the explosive popularity of ARC Raiders, but he quickly proved he wasn't a one-game creator. As the year progressed, TheBurntPeanut expanded into a variety of titles while continuing to grow his audience. In April, he launched Peanut's Wasteland, a dedicated Rust server that brought together some of the platform's biggest names, including Nick "NICKMERCS" Kolcheff, Félix "xQc" Lengyel and Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar. For more than a month, the creators entertained thousands of viewers through collaborative streams and in-game events.

Nicholas "Jynxzi" Stewart also enjoyed a remarkable first half of 2026, increasing his Hours Watched by 120% compared to the previous six-month period.Once known almost exclusively for Rainbow Six Siege, he has successfully expanded into a broader variety of content, regularly streaming Rocket League, League of Legends, VALORANT, and Counter-Strike. 

One of the biggest drivers behind his growth has been a series of creator-led tournaments featuring some of the platform's most recognizable personalities. Those events helped Jynxzi set a new personal Peak Viewers record and further establish himself as one of Twitch's biggest entertainers. He has also become a major community caster for top esports events, including the BLAST R6 Major Salt Lake City 2026 and the RLCS 2026 – Paris Major, drawing large audiences to his watch parties.

Another creator worth highlighting is Mikyle "n3on" Rafiq, who has firmly established himself as one of Kick's biggest stars over the past year. Compared to the second half of 2025, his Hours Watched increasing by 75%, driven largely by a steady stream of high-profile guests.

N3on has built his brand around collaborations with athletes and celebrities. During the first half of 2026 alone, he hosted livestreams featuring NBA stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Danny Green, NFL players Josh Gordon and Najee Harris, and UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili, among other well-known sports figures.

Most watched North American streamers of H1 2026

Most popular North American streamers of H1 2026

Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson topped the North American rankings by Peak Viewers during the first half of 2026. While he isn't a traditional livestreamer — publishing far more videos than live broadcasts — his rare streams consistently become major events. His "Watch This Stream To Win $1,000,000" broadcast attracted more than one million concurrent viewers, making it the biggest livestream by a North American creator during the period. 

The stream was part of MrBeast's creator reality show, where some of the internet's biggest streamers competed for a $1 million grand prize. The final challenge came down to Josh "YourRAGE" Maynard, Quvon "2xRaKai" Linder, Rubén "Rubius" Doblas, and Stokeley "SKI MASK" Clevon Goulbourne, with YourRAGE ultimately emerging as the winner. The event also helped him set a new Peak Viewers record on his own channel. 

One of the biggest surprises in the first-half Peak Viewers rankings was Abraham "ElAbrahaham" Flores. The Mexican creator broke into the list after setting a new personal record on YouTube, attracting 662.4K concurrent viewers during his boxing match against fellow creator José "Nando" Broianigo at SuperNova Genesis 2026. Interestingly, he is the only Mexican creator and the only Spanish-language streamer featured in the North American rankings.

Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr kept himself busy with travel streams across Africa and the Caribbean, a spot at WrestleMania, exhibition football matches, and a role as an official YouTube ambassador for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Despite all the hype surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup, IShowSpeed's most popular stream of the first half of the year actually came back in January, during the AFCON Final between Senegal and Morocco. The broadcast drew more than 418K concurrent viewers, making it the biggest audience he reached before the World Cup even began. Streams Charts did leave out a later stream from the Dominican Republic after finding out its viewer numbers had been artificially inflated. 

The first half of 2026 saw many North American creators set new Peak Viewers records, with the biggest audiences typically coming from collaborations with fellow internet personalities. Another notable trend is the clear divide between the two rankings: gaming creators dominate by Hours Watched, while IRL streamers lead by Peak Viewers. It highlights how different content formats excel at different goals — gaming streams build long-term engagement, while IRL events are better at attracting massive live audiences. For brands and marketers, that's a valuable insight when choosing the right creator for a campaign. 

Most popular North American streamers of H1 2026