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Kick, the new streaming platform, is looking to rival Twitch and attract some top streamers from the Amazon-owned giant. So far, Kick has managed to bring home some known faces including Trainwrecks and Destiny. Let’s look at some of the biggest names who have made a move to Kick and some others rumored to be making the switch.
Top content creators that are streaming on Kick
Trainwrecks
One of Kick’s biggest cheerleaders Tyler “Trainwrecks” Niknam famously made the move to Kick as a non-exclusive streamer and non-owner advisor. In a tweet explaining his departure, he pointed out that Twitch has the highest viewership, sponsorship, and profitability in the history of the platform and yet the platform continues to deploy pay cuts for its creators.
Adin Ross
Controversial streamer Adin Ross was no stranger to being banned from Twitch. After his most recent ban in February this year over “unmoderated hateful conduct in chat” among other offenses, the streamer found a new home with Kick. The streamer had a massive following on Twitch and over 3.59 million subscribers on YouTube. Ross has been involved in several high profile controversies with figures like Andrew Tate and Kanye West.
Destiny
In March, another controversial YouTube streamer Steven "Destiny" Bonnell II revealed that he had signed a streaming deal with Kick which included a three-month probationary period. Along with streaming a number of games, Destiny is known for his venture into political commentary including live-streaming political debates with other online personalities.
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Chess Grandmaster and Twitch streamer Hikaru Nakamura was announced to be joining Kick at the end of March. Nakamura has been streaming chess on Twitch since 2018, playing against other grandmasters and discussing the games. He currently has over 1.8 million followers on Twitch and now streams on both platforms.
Buddha
Lucas "Buddha" Ramos, a popular GTA RP creator, has decided to start streaming on Kick. He rose to fame as a GTA V and RP content creator and was subsequently picked up by TSM to stream on Twitch. However, given that TSM is sponsored by Twitch, the implications of this move are unknown. As of now, his Twitter still states that he is parternerd with TSM and retains his Twitch URL.
Top content creators that are rumored to join Kick
Kai Cenat was another big name on Twitch with over 4 million followers. On 17th April, 2023, the content creator was banned from Twitch for “simulated sexual activity” on stream, according to Dexerto. Since the ban, Adin Ross has reportedly been trying to get him to join Kick.
One of the biggest Twitch content creators, xQc talked about other top streamers moving to Kick in a recent livestream, he said he is not heading anywhere anytime soon. Another top creator Amouranth discussed streaming on Kick in a recent interview to Essentially Sports. She said, “I would give it a try for a certain amount of money”, however the streamer would “not go exclusive” because “at least right now, the reputation is risky”.
Trainwrecks is continuing to build hype for Kick, tweeting out:
It is currently unclear who the other top names joining Kick are, however, fans are speculating the likes of Yassuo, IShowSpeed and Dr Disrespect. Dr Disrespect has received multiple bans on Twitch before moving to YouTube. The veteran streamer tweeted in response to Trainwrecks departure announcement:
This has reinforced fan speculation that the Doc is next in line to join the Kick train. However, only time will tell.
