Earlier than Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel turned the world’s largest streamer, he genuinely believed his profession may be over earlier than it ever started.
Again in 2018, xQc was a rising Twitch creator and Overwatch expertise who joined the Dallas Gasoline for the Overwatch League’s inaugural season. On the time, OWL was the height of aggressive Overwatch, and breaking into the League was seen as the final word objective.
That chance didn’t final lengthy.
Simply weeks right into a turbulent first season for the league, Lengyel was suspended twice. After the second suspension, he was launched by the Dallas Gasoline, a call he says got here amid stress from the League itself. Whereas the second would finally gas his rise, it initially left him satisfied he had simply torpedoed his future.Article continues after advert
xQc says OWL ban was “harmful” however “thrilling” for his profession
In an unique interview with Dexerto, xQc defined that Overwatch was all the things to him on the time. Being kicked out of the League’s brand-new ecosystem felt like shedding his credibility in a single day.Article continues after advert
“I didn’t know what I used to be going to do,” he instructed Dexerto. “I genuinely thought I used to be carried out for. I believed that was going to be the tip of my profession just about.”
BlizzardxQc raised the T-Cellular MVP award on the 2017 OW World Cup
Regardless of that worry, Lengyel mentioned he by no means begged to remain. He spoke with higher-ups and got here away with the clear sense that the league needed him gone.Article continues after advert
“I used to be virtually excited,” he recalled. “It’s a really bizarre self-destructive feeling that I generally will get pleasure from. I’m compelled right into a spot that’s very harmful, but it surely’s exhilarating.”
He likened the scenario to standing on the fringe of a cliff. There was nowhere else to go, but when he jumped far sufficient, he may land someplace new.
That leap got here on his very subsequent stream.
Leaving Overwatch League let xQc experiment and develop
xQc described the published as top-of-the-line of his profession, pulling large viewership as followers tuned in to see what he would do subsequent. The controversy turned a turning level, though he knew the spike wouldn’t final.Article continues after adArticle continues after advert
“I knew that issues would fall off from that top as a result of it’s a giant ban second, proper? Everyone needs to see what he’s going to do subsequent. I knew that I used to be at a crossroad the place that massive stream that I simply did goes to be who I’m now.”
Somewhat than chase numbers, Lengyel centered on grinding and rebuilding. Streaming alongside M0xyy performed a key position, giving him confidence to experiment even when the outcomes had been unsure.Article continues after advert
“Once I was with M0xyy, it didn’t matter if we failed. It didn’t matter if we had been doing good as a result of we’re collectively, proper? And it sounds a bit bit corny, however we had such confidence in our cohesion that we might play a sport that no person needed to observe, and other people would need to watch.”
That interval compelled him to show he might succeed outdoors of Overwatch, even when the content material wasn’t all the time polished.Article continues after adArticle continues after advert
Instagram: xqcow1xQc is among the web’s prime streamers who famously took a $100M deal to broadcast on Kick in 2023.
“We would have liked to indicate we are able to do one thing else. And that one thing else was generally full rubbish. But it surely mattered to some individuals. And in case you do this factor that’s good for some individuals day-after-day, it’ll be good for lots of people to the purpose the place at one level selection is one thing that lots of people care about.”
Finally, xQc stopped worrying about viewership altogether.
“I cared about what me and him had been doing. And that seeing that imaginative and prescient by way of was very rewarding as a result of me and him ended up doing nice issues.”Article continues after advert
What as soon as felt like a career-ending ban finally turned the catalyst for xQc’s transformation from an Overwatch League prospect into one of many largest streamers on the planet.
