Felix “xQc” Lengyel is arguably the biggest name on Twitch and the most popular streamer in the world.
The French-Canadian Overwatch League alumnus has long set the pace for success on Twitch, topping the platform in every key metric. Though he has been involved in several controversies over the years, he has enjoyed steady growth across the board, something that made him a huge get for new streaming platform Kick.
xQc has had an interesting journey to the top of the streaming world and has been at the center of some of the industry’s most important moments. Here’s everything you need to know about xQc, and why he’s worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
Who is xQc?
xQc is a Canadian Twitch and Kick streamer and former Overwatch League competitor. He is among the biggest personalities on Twitch, often topping the charts in terms of viewership.
He was raised in Laval, Quebec Canada before moving to the United States to join the Overwatch League. He played with the Dallas Fuel for several months before being released after multiple suspensions due to his conduct on Twitch. He remained in the United States after his release, living in Los Angeles and becoming a full-time Twitch streamer.
His following rapidly grew from there and by 2020, he was cemented as the biggest streamer on the platform. In 2023 he signed a non-exclusive contract with livestreaming platform Kick which saw him split time between the two sites.
Why is xQc famous?
xQc is famous for his Twitch streams. He consistently has some of the highest watch times and active subscriber counts on the platform, and was the most-watched Twitch streamer overall in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
xQc is known for his bombastic personality and emphasis on interactive content that engages with his fans like watch parties and meme reactions. He also has bona fide professional gaming skills, as he previously played Overwatch at an elite level.
Is xQc the richest Twitch streamer?
xQc was confirmed to be Twitch’s highest-earning streamer in terms of ad revenue, bits, and subscriptions. In 2023 he signed a deal worth over $100 million with Kick, something that likely cements him as the richest streamer in the world.
Details about his earnings came as part of the enormous 2021 Twitch leak that revealed the exact income of the 10,000 highest-earning Twitch streamers between the period of August 2019 and October 2021. According to the leak, xQc was the highest-earning individual on the platform and had the second-highest-earning Twitch channel overall. The highest-earning Twitch channel was Dungeons and Dragons web series Critical Role.
xQc made a total of $8,454,427 from Twitch subscriptions, bits, and ad revenue during that block of time, which works out to over $325,000 per month. This actually undersells his total earnings during this time, as it does not include sponsorships, competitive earnings, or income from other social media platforms.
While xQc making $325,000 per month is a lot, he’s making even more today. According to Twitch Tracker, xQc’s average subscriber count grew considerably after October 2021. This would mean that he’d now be making much more than the $4 million per year on average he netted from 2019 to 2021. Alongside that, he signed a nine-figure deal with Kick to stream on the platform which likely added a significant amount of money to his bank account.
Why did xQc leave the Overwatch League?
xQc left Overwatch League after receiving multiple suspensions due to inappropriate conduct on Twitch. He was a part of the Dallas Fuel roster for five months before he was released by the team.
The first major controversy involving xQc came in January 2018 when he stated “shut your f——- mouth. Go back there. Suck a fat c—. I mean, you would like it,” in response to rival player Austin “Muma” Wilmot parodying xQc after defeating him in a league game.
Muma is openly gay. xQc could be seen immediately regretting the comment, and attempting to backpedal. The comment resulted in a four-game suspension from competition for xQc.
Two months later, xQc received another four-game suspension for using the Trihard emoji in the Overwatch League’s Twitch chat while host Malik Forte appeared on-screen. The Trihard emoji is often used on Twitch to harass or diminish Black personalities. Forte is Black.
This resulted in a second suspension from Overwatch League. Following the punishment, xQc was released from the Dallas Fuel.
He still plays Overwatch on-stream and has dabbled in competitive Overwatch on a few occasions since, most notably playing for Team Canada in the Overwatch World Cup. For the most part, his efforts are focused on being streamer.
What languages does xQc speak?
xQc can speak English and French fluently. He was raised in Laval, Quebec in French-Canada. His streams are almost exclusively in English but he occasionally speaks French.
The most notable example of this came in 2022 when xQc’s father called him on-air to discuss his gambling habits. Though the conversation was initially in English, xQc’s father eventually asked him to start speaking French with him and he obliged.
Is xQc a gambling addict?
xQc says that he is addicted to gambling. In 2022, the streamer wound up at the center of a major controversy on Twitch related to gambling content. Part of this stemmed from xQc helping to normalize gambling streams on Twitch, particularly slots.
This resulted in his gambling habits coming under a magnifying glass by fans and other streamers. When pressed, xQc said that he was addicted to gambling, had an addictive personality, and had an “illness.” He pushed back against the notion that this was an issue because he “can afford to be ill.”
How much has xQc lost gambling?
xQc admits that he has lost over $2 million in online gambling. Fans of the streamer have been able to watch much of this pan out in front of them, as he previously streamed himself playing online slots.
The huge losses are something that the streamer openly acknowledges, but he insists that it isn’t a problem. Though he states that he is a gambling addict, he doesn’t view the millions of dollars in losses as an issue because he ultimately has enough in the bank to cover it.
xQc’s gambling streams have gone away since Twitch changed its policies on streaming gambling-related content in 2022. It’s unclear how much he has lost or won in the time since.
Has xQc been banned by Twitch?
xQc has been banned on Twitch on a number of occasions. As of this writing, he has been banned and unbanned a total of six times for a variety of reasons.
xQc’s first three bans all stemmed from broadcasting NSFW content. In July 2019, he received a three-day ban for watching an adult video that was partly censored with other images. He received another short ban in March 2020 for playing Strip 4: Classmate Study, a NSFW title based around the classic board game Connect Four. His next ban came in June 2020 when he streamed a trollish video that showed the Gamecube boot screen that abruptly cut to two animals mating.
In November 2020, xQc received another ban stemming from stream-sniping during a Fall Guys tournament hosted by Twitch Rivals. He received a ban from Twitch and Twitch Rivals events, and was forced to relinquish his prize money from the tournament. Though fans defended him, xQc acknowledged the legitimacy of the ban on Twitter.
The next ban lasted just 24 hours, but is potentially the most notable. His account was taken down after a DMCA takedown involving a stream where he showed a portion of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony. He initiated legal action against the IOC for this, though no news has broken on the case since. Despite this, he continued streaming copyrighted content on both Twitch and Kick.
His fifth ban came a few weeks later. The reason for this suspension is unknown, but it lasted for just four hours.
Did xQc leave Twitch?
xQc has not left Twitch despite signing a contract with its rival streaming platform, Kick.
The streamer has been openly critical of Twitch on a number of occasions and has been banned more than once, but remains on the platform. Some thought that his signing a contract with Kick might result in him finally departing the platform for good, he has instead opted to juggle two channels on separate platforms.
Does xQc have a girlfriend?
xQc is not known to have a girlfriend at this time. He publicly dated two other influencers in the past.
xQc was previously dating Twitch streamer Adept, with the two dating for three years. The pair had been on-again, off-again for a year but officially split in October 2022. The breakup played out publicly, including an emotional argument that occurred live on Twitch.
From there, xQc had a brief relationship with an influencer named NYYXXII. The two got together after a collaborative speed dating stream, but broke up after a short while. This stemmed from allegations of cheating, which xQc says was a misunderstanding.
