The top ten gamers on YouTube

The e-sport community has been strengthened by YouTube in the past 15 years, by giving influencers the avenues to get involved in and promote gaming. Whether one enjoys watching the entertainment of role-playing GTA 5 servers or just enjoys chilling out and watching browser-based CSGO games on CS:GOLuck, YouTube has something to offer every gaming fanatic, from walkthroughs to tips and tricks to win in-game items, skins and real money.

The number of esports gamers that upload video to their YouTube channels for their fans runs into hundreds of thousands, but amongst all of them, ten in particular have stood out, garnering more attention and fans than the others. Here they are.

PewDiePie

His real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kejllberg, and he is the highest-ranking YouTuber in the world. He started developing gaming content in 2006. For a very long time, his YouTube channel was the most subscribed, until he was overtaken by T-Series. He is not the most subscribed at the moment, but in no way does this harm his reputation and accomplishments in the field. Kejllberg was a student of the Göteborgs Högre Samskola in Sweden when he started streaming gaming content. After graduating from the university in 2008, he proceeded to Chalmers University of Technology for a degree in Industrial Economics and Technology Management, though he later dropped out to focus on expanding his YouTube channel.

His specialty lies in esports games like Minecraft, which he has been building a series on, based on the individual characters that he created – namely Bengt, Sven and Jorgen. He allows his viewers to understand his personality through reactions to his games, revealing his mastery in relating to the audience, while not being influenced by them.

VanossGaming

This Canadian video commenter is number two. His offline name is Evan Fong, while his online name is VanossGaming. It was on 15^th September 2011 that he created his YouTube gaming channel, after he dropped out from the university. His YouTube channel is the 13^th most subscribed and 32^nd most viewed. These incredible statistics are due to his intriguing content and diligence, which have gained him legions of followers, views and monetisation that continues to grow. His videos are mostly of him and his friends (called the Banana Bus Squad) playing and giving verbal reactions to esports games. He has also created some special series for particular esports games, including the Call of Duty: Black Ops II. His gaming skill and humour mark him out.

Markiplier

The number three goes to Mark Edward Fischbach, with the online name Markiplier. The American came to YouTube with a bang, creating a channel in March 2012, and uploading his first video within 30 days. He intended to use the channel for sketchy comedy videos, but later changed his mind and opted for gaming content. He collaborates with some other famous YouTubers, including PewDiePie – his support for Kejllberg has been greatly commended.

Another thing that made him popular was the esports series on his YouTube channel. His fans loved the Drunk Minecraft series, which includes Fischbach and other YouTubers playing Minecraft in a drunken manner. Apart from gaming, he also got involved in acting, featuring in movies like the Smosh: The Movie and YouTube Rewind.

Ninja

This gamer comes fourth, and his real name is Richard Tyler Blevins, while Ninja is his alias. The YouTube channel of this infamous YouTuber from the United States came alive on 10^th November 2011. Since then, he has garnered a huge number of followers and developed a strong professional gaming and streaming career for himself.

Blevins’s passion for video gaming started when he was young because his father is a huge fan of sports. After he left high school in Chicago, he went into professional gaming tournaments, with his first competition featuring Halo 3. He won these events and went home with a huge amount of money. On his YouTube channels he streams games like PlayerUnknown’s Battleground and H1Z1. However, it was the streaming of the Fortnite Battle Royale Esports event that made him popular. His channel is the most subscribed in the Fortnite community, while on Twitch he has the highest number of followers.

Jacksepticeye

William McLoughlin is number five. He is from Ireland and has the 83^rd most subscribed YouTube channel in the world, plus the highest number of subscribers in his country. His channel was created in February 2007, and he started flooding it with content on 12^th November 2012. His series are based on the esports games he plays, mostly of the adventure genre like Skate 3, Happy Wheels, and Grand Theft Auto V. Of his numerous playlists, one is dedicated to Portal Co-Op II and the other to Minecraft content. He partners with friends and also relates closely with Kejllberg (PewDiePie), as he signed for Revelmode, a PewDiePie company in January 2016.

DanTDM

Daniel Robert Middleton stands at number six. He is from England, and his channel, popular for Minecraft content, was created on 14^th July 2009. He also has a special account known as DanTDM Live, where Twitch live streams are uploaded.

He won a lot of awards as a kid, and his dedication to Minecraft gained him a Guinness World Record. Tours for his brand between 2016 and 2019 took him to the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, as he gave his audience the written Roblox and Minecraft story. He also plays Five Nights at Freddy’s and Mario Odyssey, where he has garnered up to 100,000 views after an hour. In the UK, his channel is one of the most subscribed and viewed.

KSI

At the seventh position is Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji, with the alias KSI, meaning knowledge, strength and integrity. This English/Nigerian YouTuber has a career that involves rapping, acting, professional boxing, filmmaking and gaming. His YouTube channel was created on 24^th July 2012, and his first videos were those of himself playing modern Warfare 2 and FIFA with some comedic sketches and Vlogs. Combining his gaming with rapping, he did a diss track against his colleague Logan Paul, leading to a boxing match between the two, which opened the door to his boxing career and gained huge numbers of subscribers, views and monetisation. He is currently one of the most subscribed YouTubers in the UK, and has the highest subscribers as a person of colour.

SSSniperWolf

Alia Marie “Lia” Shelesh stands as the number eight, and she is the first female in the list. This British American YouTuber, with the alias SSSniperWolf, is seen as one of the biggest females in the history of gaming. Her career came alive in January 2013 when she started uploading gaming content on her channel that focused more on Minecraft, Fortnite Battle Royale and Call of Duty Black Ops II. She livestreams with Twitch for more attention. Because of her originality and tenacity, she won the favourite gamer in Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award of 23^rd March 2019 in recognition of her amazing content and huge fan base.

W2S

The man in ninth position is the Guernsey influencer called Harry Christopher Georges Lewis. He got a Nintendo GameCube from his parents at a tender age, and that kicked off his love for gaming. He was recognised for his passion for FIFA Fut Draft after joining YouTube on 26^th July 2012. He later joined the Sidemen Gaming group after dropping out from school in 2014. By squaring up against YouTubers like KSI, and through the wild, exhilarating reactions seen on his footage, he gained more attention.

Syndicate

At number ten is the English YouTuber, Thomas George Cassell, alias Syndicate. He started YouTube streaming on 3^rd September 2010 and his fan base has grown exponentially since then. His first videos are those of himself commenting on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Halo.

His channel however, started becoming popular when he went into Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies and the Minecraft Project. He was also famous on Twitch, with the highest number of followers for an extended period.

The editorial unit