Top Twitch streamers by live viewership in Q1 2026

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The first quarter of 2026 was characterized by a high volume of diverse content on Twitch, ranging from competitive gaming to geopolitical commentary. While North American creators, particularly those from the United States, led the platform in total Hours Watched, the landscape for peak viewership activity showed significant variety. European streamers, specifically those from France, frequently generated the highest spikes in concurrent audience numbers during this period. Streams Charts together with 1xBit breaks down top Twitch streamers of Q1 2026.

Top 10 Twitch streamers of Q1 2026 by Hours Watched

TheBurntPeanut led the quarter in total Hours Watched, driven by a disciplined streaming schedule built around extraction shooters. His content consistently revolved around ARC Raiders, which became the backbone of his performance. Despite ongoing debate around his classification as a VTuber, he continues to operate across multiple platforms simultaneously — streaming on Twitch, Kick and YouTube — where he also ranks as the top American creator by viewership.

Nicholas “Jynxzi” Stewart claimed second place, supported by a clear shift in content strategy. Moving beyond his Rainbow Six Siege roots, he rotated between Rocket League, Counter-Strike and Valorant during early 2026, maintaining strong and stable viewership across the entire quarter.

Third place went to Asmongold, who streams on his zackrawrr channel and leans into a mix of World of Warcraft & new single-player titles' gameplay and commentary on social and political topics. His readiness to engage with controversial discussions remains one of the core drivers of audience retention and ongoing interest in his streams.

Meanwhile, Marc “Caedrel” Lamont continues to anchor Twitch’s League of Legends ecosystem. Since stepping away from professional casting to focus on full-time streaming, he has built his content around major competitive events. His numbers have remained steady, even after the conclusion of the Los Ratones project.

Fifth place went to Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker, who remains the dominant figure in the Just Chatting category. His streams focus on political news and global developments, with ongoing international events continuing to fuel strong and consistent Hours Watched.

Among non-English creators, Junichi Kato delivered the most notable performance of the quarter. Blending conversational content with gameplay — particularly Street Fighter and Overwatch — he has secured a stable position among the platform’s top global streamers.

Dylan “CaseOh” Baker followed closely behind in seventh, driven by steady growth built on indie titles and a distinct comedic style. His appeal extends beyond any single game, with audience engagement carrying consistently across different formats.

A similar balance between game focus and adaptability defined Chikara “fps_shaka” Kawakami’s performance. Ranking eighth, he drew most of his viewership from Street Fighter, while an increased emphasis on League of Legends provided an additional boost over the course of the quarter.

Further down the ranking, Félix “xQc” Lengyel placed ninth. While no longer at the very top of the platform, his overall metrics remain stable, supported by a large and highly loyal audience despite intensifying competition.

Ivan “StRoGo” Shurpatov rounded out the top ten as a leading Russian Counter-Strike creator. His content spans co-casting professional matches and documenting his attempts to break into the competitive scene with his team, WW.

Most-watched Twitch streamers (Q1 2026)

Top 10 Twitch streamers of Q1 2026 by Peak Viewers

While the previous ranking focused on the overall quarterly performance of streamers, the following section examines the most viral individual broadcasts of Q1 2026. The shift from total watch time to peak audience metrics reveals a significant change in geographical representation. Only two European creators appeared in the Hours Watched rankings, yet seven feature among the top viral streams, with French broadcasters making up the majority of this group.

Twitch frequently attracts audiences beyond the traditional gaming sphere, which was evident in the performance of Virginia Fonseca. The Brazilian-American television presenter and entrepreneur conducted her first live broadcast from the Brazilian Carnival. With a digital following of over 55 million on Instagram, her stream reached a peak of over 663,000 concurrent viewers, placing her channel at the top of the platform’s audience rankings for the period.

Ibai “ibai” Llanos remains a central figure in Spanish-language streaming. While he broadcasts less frequently in 2026 than in previous years, his major event presentations continue to draw significant interest. His broadcast announcing La Velada Del Año VI, a boxing event featuring prominent creators, served as a primary highlight. The reveal that the main event would feature a match between TheGrefg and IlloJuan drove a substantial viewership surge to the channel.

French creator Nasser “Nasdas” Sari secured a high position in the rankings through an event-driven approach to streaming. His broadcasts, particularly those under the Chienneté TV label, function as large-scale live shows rather than daily gaming streams. Despite his infrequent airtime, his ability to convert a Snapchat-based audience into Twitch viewers resulted in a peak of over 406,000 live viewers. 

Interest in Caedrel reached a peak early in the year after his team, Los Ratones, received an invitation to the LEC Winter split. This participation in the top European League of Legends league generated high engagement from his community. His highest viewership figures during the quarter were recorded during the match between Los Ratones and G2 Esports, reflecting the audience's investment in his professional team project.

The appearance of fugu_fps in the peak viewership rankings remains a statistical anomaly. This creator typically maintains a consistent audience of a few thousand viewers. However, one specific broadcast during the quarter reached a peak of over 200,000 concurrent users shortly after the stream began. The cause of this sudden surge remains unclear, yet the figure stands as a recorded metric for the period.

Gianmarco "Tumblurr" Tocco continues to be a prominent figure in the Italian streaming market. His performance in the first quarter was bolstered by his coverage of the Kings World Cup Nations 2026. His broadcast of the quarter-final match between Italy and Brazil became one of the most-watched events on the platform during the first three months of the year, demonstrating the high demand for community-driven sports content.

Jynxzi dedicated a significant portion of his schedule to Rocket League during this quarter. One of these broadcasts became his most popular stream of the period. The viewership peak occurred during a 1v1 match against fellow influencer Wyatt "musty", a competitive format that remains highly popular among his audience.

French streamer and Karmine Corp co-owner Kamel "Kameto" Kebir reached the eighth position. His viewership was primarily driven by the performance of his League of Legends team in the LEC Winter 2026. The team nearly completed a comeback in the grand final but was eventually defeated by G2 Esports.

Lucas "Squeezie" Hauchard also represented the French streaming community in the top rankings. His most successful broadcast of the quarter centered on the release of the title Marathon. Initial interest in the game's mechanics and setting brought a large volume of viewers to his channel to observe the early gameplay during the launch period.

StRoGo secured the tenth spot through his coverage of professional Counter-Strike. While his channel often focuses on his personal attempts to reach the professional level with his team, WW, his peak viewership came from co-casting. The grand final of IEM Krakow 2026, featuring Team Vitality and FURIA, served as his most-watched broadcast of the quarter.

Most popular Twitch streamers (Q1 2026)