Twitch is an increasingly influential and above all constantly expanding universe. If before the Covid-19 pandemic, the social network owned by Amazon could still be considered a niche phenomenon linked to the world of video games and esports, the weeks spent by the world in lockdown seem to have allowed it to break the black screens of PC and smartphone taking on an even bigger dimension. Globally, hours of content watched on Twitch nearly doubledin less than six months (from December 2019 to May this year they went from 867 million to 1.72 billion: + 99%). Even in Italy, where the gaming culture still struggles to penetrate even compared to other European countries such as France and Germany, Twitch has now conquered a slice of online users steadily above 10% (12% according to a recent survey by Blogmeter ) .
Beyond its numerical magnitude, however, what is more important is that Twitch is slowly but perhaps inexorably changing the way the sport is told and staged. Not only with regard to esports, for which it is now the “official television”, with users watching the channels of their favorite streamers and pro-players to follow competitions and tournaments, but also for traditional sports, if we can call them so .
An example of “school” is represented by Formula 1, and not only because during the break due to the Covid-19 pandemic some of its drivers regularly competed in the circuit’s export tournament, the Formula 1 Esports Series, breaking the wall that divides sports from esports. The success of the personal Twitch channels of some drivers (Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc above all) has in fact opened a glimpse into what could be the use of Formula 1 in the future, with a much deeper and more direct level of interaction between fans and athletes through Twitch, which could soon become a channel on which to broadcast the races. Last year, for example, Formula 1 decided to try, broadcasting on Twitch the entire weekend of the Mexican Grand Prix in some countries with good results.
Formula 1, however, is just one example. Twitch has long been no longer just the realm of video games and esports, and inside you can find almost literally everything: from profiles that comment live on Serie A matches to those who play Uno, from chess masters to players of Magic and more.
The following is a thematic guide – for video game basically – to its best channels (especially the Italian Twitch), or rather, the ones you should follow if you don’t know where to start, because maybe you are avid gamers but you were born in an era in which the concept of streaming didn’t even exist or simply because you are curious but you have never approached it, because it seemed too complicated. Obviously it is far from exhaustive, like all self-respecting lists.
Fortnite
Tfue
Turner Tenney, aka “Tfue”, will make you feel embarrassed about how you play Fortnite without having to put up with the artificial madness or Ninja’s forced jokes . Tfue has such a common face that it resembles the skin of the white and blond dude that Fortnite assigns you by default if you don’t want to spend on something more complex, but moves your fingers on the keypad at a speed that belongs to the world of robotics. With nearly 9 million followers on Twitch alone, Tfue is one of the most popular Fortnite streamers globally even if it doesn’t leave much room for the show. If you understand English and want to see how a pro player plays this is the profile for you. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to imitate it, though.
Tfue has achieved the kind of success that leads you to have a dedicated Washington Post video.
Rekinss
There is no big difference between watching your very strong 15-year-old cousin and watching Rekinss stream, who always looks extremely serious while playing and doesn’t interact too much with his followers. On the other hand, even if I played at that speed I wouldn’t even be able to pronounce my name. Recommended if Fortnite is your passion and you want to follow an Italian streamer.
POWE3Rtv
Although numerically perhaps not the most followed in Italy, Pow3r is certainly the most professional and influential profile in our country. Giorgio Calandrelli has a unique ability to combine entertainment with high-level gameplay and has reached a maturity such as to collaborate permanently with important brands and play with personalities outside the world of esports, such as Paolo Condò and Charles Leclerc. Although he currently plays War Zone more often, Pow3r occasionally continues to return to Fortnite, the game with which he has climbed the hierarchy of the Italian export scene. We recently interviewed him here on the Last Man, in case you want to learn more.
Valorant
SparkeRcs
SparkeR is a CS: GO pro-player for QLASH, one of the most important export teams in Europe (with a large gaming house in the province of Treviso), but on Twitch he especially delights in playing Valorant, the new discussed FPS of Riot Games. SparkeR plays as fast as he talks, so get ready to decipher his speech if you want to follow him. Still worth it for the gameplay.
Terenas
Terenas, that is Lapo Raspanti, is part of that category of extremely serious streamers that if we didn’t know they have a video game on the screen we could mistake them for INPS employees committed to solving our boring bureaucratic practice. In addition to Valorant, this streamer named after a noble from the Florence of the Renaissance also plays League of Legends, of which he is also commentator.
WolcatGames
Speaking of multifaceted streamers, if we can say so, WolcatGames, that is Gabriele Catterin, is a very professional boy from Brescia who mainly plays Valorant but who is also passionate about card games, such as Heartstone and TeamFight Tactics. Follow him if you are interested in following someone not too different from your strong friend who you only have to learn from.
FIFA
ZanoXVII
The Roman accent has always divided between those who think they are nice and those who can’t stand the way they manage to slip into any Italian cultural product. I don’t know which faction you are, but what is certain is that if you are a FIFA gamer you will hardly be able to avoid the little Roman speaking of Zano, one of the most followed Italian streamers at the moment. Zano talks to his followers as would your uncle from Garbatella you see at Christmas, a rarity for a world where Englishisms are king. At the moment you can also find it often on Call of Duty: War Zone.
Ivan_Grieco
If you really miss traditional television, Ivan Grieco is the link you are looking for. With his professional profile photo, with jacket and headphones, Ivan Grieco, in addition to playing FIFA, also comments live on Serie A matches, makes live coverage on current events and interviews more or less famous personalities from the top of his warm voice and set.
Intermezzo: top-5 athletes you can follow on Twitch
Douglas Costa
Watching Douglas Costa play at War Zone isn’t as fun as watching him play football, but maybe you’re a Juventus fan and want to see him up close at a time when it’s almost impossible not to be yourself.
Dele Alli
If you think Dele Alli is having a hard time at Tottenham you haven’t seen him play Call of Duty: War Zone yet. In short, if in the field it is difficult to identify with his swag, with the computer he is scarce just like us. On the other hand, this makes him more likeable than he looks when he plays football.
Thibaut Courtois
Courtois is one of the very few athletes to be truly continuous in their Twitch streams (something that is essential for real streamers) and until a few weeks ago he even kept a sort of column on his channel, the “NBA 2K Sunday”, in where he played the famous basketball video game with other famous personalities ( here , for example, with the Formula 1 driver, Pierre Gasly). Not the ultimate in entertainment, but at least something the Real Madrid goalkeeper seems to really care about.
De’Aaron Fox
When not busy climbing the NBA hierarchy, De’Aaron Fox streams on his Twitch channel, especially while playing A Way Out. The Sacramento Kings basketball player has style and his lives are fun to watch even if you’re not a fan of video games. to which he plays.
Charles Leclerc
Perhaps this is not the best time to recommend something related to Charles Leclerc, who comes from a disastrous weekend with Ferrari. Even if you are an angry fan, however, you should give his Twitch channel a chance, where the Monegasque driver often interacts with his followers while competing in the Formula 1 export championship or riding karts . In his live shows he is incredibly nice and sometimes he even gives memorable gags.
For example when he dressed up as a banana while playing Fortnite.
HyperScape
Delux
HyperScape is a brand new battle royale by Ubisoft with a sci-fi setting in which you spend most of your time flying over the rooftops. It sounds a lot of fun but is still in open beta for Windows. If you want to take a look without investing too much of your time, you can follow Delux, who plays it often (in addition to the ubiquitous War Zone). With her hair dyed gold like any self-respecting streamer, Delux does live shows that follow effortlessly and where it’s easy to get caught without even noticing.
stermyTV
Alessandro Avallone, that is Stermy, is a kind of institution in the Italian export scene – perhaps the first pro-player in our country that the mainstream press has really talked about. Today you can find him on his Twitch channel playing HyperScape (as well as Valorant and War Zone, among others) and doing live shows where he comments on the main news in the esports world. Less popular than his street cred might suggest, you can follow him to pose for those who know.
League of Legends
PaoloIdolo
League of Legends, let’s face it, isn’t the most enjoyable video game to watch. The lives of Paolo Marcucci, another member of QLASH, however, have a well-kept photography that compensates. That’s no small feat in a platform where bedrooms with framed photos of uncles in the background are almost the norm.
Faker
Faker, the most important and well-known League of Legends player in the world, rarely reveals emotions in his live, but in short, we are still talking about the Messi of his field. His story was told about the Last Man by Francesco Jacopo Lombardo a few years ago, in case you are interested. If you don’t want to go deeper, just know that his nickname is “The God”.
Intermission number two: the strange case of the Twitch channels of the United States Armed Forces
I’m pretty sure you will be blown away to know that the US military all have their own Twitch channel. Yes, I mean all the Armed Forces: there is one of the army , one navy and one dell’areonautica (but at the time seems inactive). If you already seem to enter an episode of Black Mirror to see streamers in similar uniforms (not all, but some do) with the flag of the United States behind them, play War Zone (a video game that simulates in a realistic way the current war scenarios ), the dystopia becomes complete the moment one sees the way these channels are used.
According to a recent investigation by The Nation, in fact, in the chats of its Twitch channels the United States military uses fishing techniques to get its followers to click on links that lead to online forms for conscription and ban users who ask questions. unwelcome, for example, those who demand an account of war crimes committed by US soldiers in war zones. The ambiguous activities of these channels raised a fuss that prompted the military to temporarily suspend activity on Twitch. Meanwhile, however, Democratic lawmaker Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez has tabled an amendment to permanently prevent the use of government funds to “maintain atwitch.com [actually the real address is twitch.tv , ed ] ”or any other streaming platform. Welcome to 2020.
What was the moment when our reality decided to take this turn?
Miscellaneous
PG_Esports
On PG_Esports many of the main Italian and international League of Legends competitions are broadcast, commented in Italian. If you are a fan you can use it as a real television.
ESL_it
ESL Italy is one of the main tournament organizers in our country. On his Twitch channel you will find a bit of everything, if you want to have a window always open to the world of esports.
xQcOW
One of the most followed Twitch profiles at the moment, as well as an Overwatch pro-player, xQcOW looks like a surfer lent to the world of esports who has indulged the surreal drift of video games by throwing himself in with all the shoes. On his channel you will see him make crazy faces while playing Minecraft, Pokemon Platinum, but also chess or Risk (in English).
Balotelli777
A profile that should be followed only for the nickname and dispel the myth that the Tuscans have devastated this country as claimed by Stanis La Rochelle on Boris. If you don’t have this type of interest and / or don’t play Teamfight Tactics you can move on instead.
JustRyuk
If you are passionate about Rainbow Six Siege you can follow this Abruzzese boy who calls his followers “the fregni”. Memorable is his loading image in a 007 style suit and tie with smoking fingers making the gun sign.
SimoneAKirATrimarchi
Caster before it was cool, Simone “Akira” Trimarchi is another noble father of the Italian export scene. On his profile he plays mostly Magic: The Gathering.
panetty
Panetty is perhaps one of the most creative profiles on the Italian Twitch – one of the very few who try to go beyond the concept of classic streaming as a self-capture while playing a video game and talking to their followers. Panetty, in fact, “interprets” his own adventures in GTA V as if he were dubbing the characters, with results ranging from cringe to genuinely likeable.
