xQc | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lengyel in 2023 | ||||||||||
| Born | Félix Lengyel (1995-11-12)November 12, 1995 (age 29) Laval, Quebec, Canada | |||||||||
Twitch information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2014–present | |||||||||
| Followers | 12 million | |||||||||
Kick information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2023–present | |||||||||
| Followers | 796 thousand | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2015–present | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 2.35 million[1] | |||||||||
| Total views | 1.6 billion[1] | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Esports career information | ||||||||||
| Game | Overwatch | |||||||||
| Playing career | 2016–2019 | |||||||||
| Role | Tank | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||
Last updated: September 16, 2024 | ||||||||||
Félix Lengyel (French pronunciation:[felikslɑ̃ʒɛl];[a] born November 12, 1995), better known asxQc (formerlyxQcOW), is a Canadianonline streamer,influencer, and former professionalOverwatch player.
While he is best known for his streaming career, Lengyel initially gained recognition as a professionalOverwatch player. His esports career began in 2016, during which he also started streaming regularly. He joined theDallas Fuel, a team competing in the inaugural season of theOverwatch League, in late 2017. However, his time with the Dallas Fuel was marred by controversy, resulting in repeated suspensions and ultimately his release from the team midway through the season. Additionally, Lengyel represented Team Canada in theOverwatch World Cup from 2017 to 2019.
Following his departure from competitiveOverwatch, Lengyel shifted his focus to a full-time streaming career onTwitch. During this period, he also signed with several esports organizations, such asSentinels andLuminosity Gaming, as a content creator. Throughout his streaming career, Lengyel has faced several bans and suspensions on Twitch for violating platform guidelines. These incidents involved showing explicit content, making offensive remarks, and engaging instream sniping. Despite these controversies, Lengyel maintained a large and dedicated fanbase, consistently attracting high viewership numbers. He was the most-watched streamer on Twitch for three consecutive years, from 2020 to 2022. In June 2023, Lengyel signed a two-year, non-exclusive $100 million deal to stream onKick.
After finishinghigh school, Lengyel enrolled in aCEGEP, studyingbusiness administration until dropping out in second year after feeling "directionless". At the age of 19, Lengyel subsequently began streaming on the platformTwitch, where he initially playedLeague of Legends (LoL) under the pseudonymxQcLoL.[2] The namexQc was derived from the last letter of his first name,x, combined with the abbreviation for his home province of Quebec,QC.[3] As his streaming career progressed, Lengyel gained recognition and prominence primarily through his involvement withOverwatch, a video game developed byBlizzard Entertainment. Consequently, he adjusted his alias to xQcOW to reflect his association withOverwatch (OW).[2]
Lengyel embarked on his professional esports career inOverwatch by initially competing in smaller online tournaments as atank player for teams such as DatZit Gaming.[2] In October 2016, he was recruited byDenial Esports, a prominent multi-game esports organization.[4] However, after a brief period, Denial disbanded, leading Lengyel and his former teammates to form an independent roster called Yikes, which later underwent a name change to Arc 6.[5][6] During their tenure, the team participated in Season Zero ofOverwatch Contenders, where Lengyel's competitive drive appeared to reach unhealthy levels. He acknowledged prioritizing gaming over fundamental aspects of life, such as sleep, nutrition, and personal relationships, and he would dedicate all of his time to playing ranked matches to regain confidence following subpar performances.[7] Lengyel also had the opportunity to represent Team Canada in the2017 Overwatch World Cup. The team reached the tournament finals before ultimately being defeated by the reigning champions, South Korea.[8] Despite the loss, Lengyel was named the event's most valuable player.[9]
In October 2017, Lengyel joined theDallas Fuel, one of the teams competing in theinaugural season of theOverwatch League (OWL).[6] However, before the start of the season, he faced two suspensions on his personalOverwatch account from Blizzard. The first suspension was a 72-hour penalty in November for misusing the game's reporting system. The second suspension, a seven-day penalty in December, was a result of himthrowing games on stream.[10] Lengyel's debut in the Overwatch League occurred during the Fuel's first match of the season on January 10, 2018. The team suffered a 1–2 loss to theSeoul Dynasty.[11] Following the Fuel's third match, a 0–4 defeat against theHouston Outlaws on January 18, Lengyel made homophobic remarks directed at Austin "Muma" Wilmot, a player from the Outlaws who is openly gay, during his personal Twitch stream. Lengyel later issued an apology to Muma onTwitter, expressing that his comments were not intended to be malicious and that he had spoken hastily. In response to the incident, the Fuel decided to bench Lengyel for the subsequent match on January 19. Additionally, the Overwatch League fined him $2,000 and suspended him for four matches. The Fuel then extended the suspension through February 10.[12]
Lengyel made his return to the Overwatch League on February 23 in a 3–1 victory over theLos Angeles Gladiators.[13] However, his comeback was short-lived. On March 10, he received a fine of $4,000 and another four-match suspension from the league. The disciplinary action was taken due to his usage of anemote in a "racially disparaging manner" during an Overwatch League stream and on his personal social media accounts. Additionally, Lengyel had used "disparaging language" against Overwatch League broadcasters and players on his social media and personal stream.[14] The following day, Lengyel was released from the Dallas Fuel team.[15] In an interview withThe Washington Post, he expressed that there were no racial undertones intended with his use of the emote. While Lengyel did not feel that he had made a mistake, he expressed regret for how his actions were misconstrued. He also admitted uncertainty about whether pursuing a professional career inOverwatch was the right path for him.[16]
Lengyel's involvement in theOverwatch scene continued as he joined various teams over the years. He became a part of the Overwatch Contenders teams GOATS andGladiators Legion.[17][18] Additionally, he represented Team Canada in the2018 and2019 Overwatch World Cups.[19][20]
After his departure from Dallas Fuel in 2018, Lengyel shifted his focus primarily towards his streaming career. In February 2019, he joined esports organizationSentinels as a content creator.[21] By May 2019, Lengyel had gained significant success as one of the most prominent variety streamers on Twitch.[7] However, Lengyel also faced some controversies during his streaming career. In July 2019, he received a three-day ban from Twitch for streaming a video that contained brief explicit content, specifically showing a penis. Although a Twitch employee had reportedly permitted the video, the ban was enforced. However, Lengyel's ban was lifted after just one day.[22] Despite these incidents, Lengyel achieved notable milestones on Twitch. In December 2019, he emerged as Twitch's most watched streamer, accumulating nearly eight million hours of watch time, surpassing other popular channels by a significant margin. Overall, he ranked as the sixth-most watched streamer of the year, accumulating nearly 54 million hours of watch time, with over 14% coming from December alone.[23]
In 2020, Lengyel faced a series of bans and controversies during his streaming career. On February 29, he received a three-day ban from Twitch for streaming explicit content in the gameStrip 4: Classmate Study. Lengyel entered a code that uncensored nudity in the game, leading to a brief exposure of the female character's breasts. Twitch upheld the ban even after his appeal, and the game gained attention, reaching the top ofSteam's "new and trending" list.[24] In March 2020, Lengyel started playingchess on his stream, and in April, he received mentoring fromchess grandmasterHikaru Nakamura. Twitch andChess.com collaborated to organize the inaugural PogChamps, a chess tournament that took place from June 5 to 19.[25] Lengyel participated in the tournament, and in a match againstCharlie "MoistCr1TiKaL" White, he was defeated in just six moves. The match became the most-watched video on Chess.com's YouTube channel, garnering over ten million views by May 2021.[26] In the PogChamps tournament, Lengyel reached the consolation bracket semifinals but ultimately lost toLudwig Ahgren.[27] During PogChamps, on June 12, 2020, Lengyel received a 24-hour Twitch ban after accidentally opening a video of gorillas engaging in sexual activity, which was submitted by one of his viewers.[28] Sentinels decided to part ways with him on August 27, 2020, after his request for release.[21] He then joined Luminosity Gaming on October 1, 2020.[29] Lengyel faced another suspension from Twitch on November 18, 2020, when he and his teamstream sniped an opposing team during aTwitch Rivals event forFall Guys. This marked his fourth suspension from Twitch, resulting in a seven-day ban. He was also banned from Twitch Rivals for six months and had to forfeit his prize winnings from the event.[30] Despite the bans and controversies, Lengyel achieved remarkable Twitch viewership in 2020. He accumulated the highest watch hours at over 174 million, surpassing all other channels by nearly 50 million watch hours.[2]
By mid-2021, Lengyel continued to dominate Twitch viewership, with 163 million hours watched that year, nearly double that of the second-largest channel.[31] In June 2021, Lengyel made the decision to move back to Canada after experiencing multiple instances ofswatting, a dangerous prank targeting streamers. He expressed genuine fear for his safety and cited concerns about his well-being.[32][33] In October 2021, a leak exposed the earnings of top Twitch streamers, including Lengyel. The leak revealed that he was the highest-paid individual streamer, earning over $8 million since 2019. While the accuracy of the leak was questioned, Lengyel confirmed that his reported earnings were correct.[34][35] Lengyel maintained his position as the most-watched streamer on Twitch in 2021, accumulating 274 million hours watched. His peak viewership reached 173,000 viewers, although it fell short compared to the channel with the highest peak, which garnered 2.5 million viewers.[36]
In April 2022, Lengyel participated in ther/place social experiment onReddit, an online canvas in which registered users could edit by changing the colour of a singlepixel. During the event, he targeted aMy Little Pony art piece, which resulted in an influx of death threats. Lengyel said that he received more death threats in just one hour during that month than he had throughout his previous six years of streaming combined.[37] Despite the negativity, he broke his Twitch viewership record, peaking at over 293,000 viewers during the event.[38] Later that month, he surpassed that record while streaming a beta build ofOverwatch 2, reaching a peak of over 312,000 viewers.[39] He continued to lead all Twitch streamers in terms of hours watched for the year 2022.[40]
In January 2023, Lengyel announced his departure from Luminosity Gaming.[40] In June 2023, Lengyel signed a deal with the streaming platformKick. The deal was valued at $70 million over two years, established a non-exclusive partnership between Lengyel and Kick. Additionally, the agreement included the potential for performance-based bonuses, totaling approximately $30 million. The deal was noted as potentially one of the largest in entertainment history.[41] Lengyel finished 2023 as Twitch's fourth-most watched streamer with a total of 89 million hours watched on the platform.[42]
In October 2024,Forbes ranked theinfluencer 28th in their Top Creators 2024 list.[43]
Lengyel was born on November 12, 1995, inLaval, Quebec, Canada.[3][44][45] He is ofHungarian descent.[46]
From 2017 to 2022, Lengyel was in a relationship with fellow streamer Samantha Lopez, known by her Twitch username adeptthebest.[47][48]
On August 5, 2024, Lengyel accompanied online streamerAdin Ross during a meeting with president of the United StatesDonald Trump.[49]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2017 Overwatch World Cup | Most Valuable Player | Won | [9] |
| 2018 | 2018 Esports Awards | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [50] |
| 2020 | Canadian Game Awards | Best Streamer | Nominated | [51][52] |
| 2020 Esports Awards | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [53] | |
| 2021 | 2021 Esports Awards | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [54] |
| 2022 | The Streamer Awards | Best GTA Role-play Streamer | Nominated | [55] |
| Streamer of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Canadian Game Awards | Best Streamer | Nominated | [56] | |
| 12th Streamy Awards | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [57][58] | |
| Just Chatting | Won | |||
| 2023 | The Streamer Awards | Best Variety Streamer | Won | [59] |
| Streamer of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 13th Streamy Awards | Streamer of the Year | Nominated | [60] | |
| Just Chatting | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | The Streamer Awards | Best Variety Streamer | Nominated | [61] |
