Tyler1

Last updated

Tyler1
Tyler1 & Macaiyla - Twitch Rivals Power Meet 2 (cropped).png
Steinkamp in 2021
Personal information
Born
Tyler Steinkamp

(1995-03-07) March 7, 1995 (age 29)
Missouri, U.S.
Other names
  • loltyler1
  • T1
Occupations
  • Twitch streamer
  • YouTuber
Website www.loltyler1.com
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2016–present
GenreGaming
Game League of Legends
Followers5.3 million
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers2.73 million OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg [1]
(March 2024)
Total views579.8 million [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: April 5, 2024

Tyler Steinkamp (born March 7, 1995 [2] ), better known as Tyler1, is an American online streamer and League of Legends player.

Contents

Steinkamp first gained notoriety when he was indefinitely banned from League of Legends in April 2016 for his toxic and disruptive behavior toward other players, earning him the nickname "The Most Toxic Player in North America." [3] He was unbanned in 2018 after an appeal. His first stream after reinstatement peaked at over 382,000 concurrent viewers on Twitch, which broke a non-tournament record on the site. [4]

As of 2021, Steinkamp is currently one of the most popular online streamers. [5]

Career

2014–2016: Initial popularity and ban

In 2014, Steinkamp achieved Challenger (the highest rank in League of Legends) and 13th overall on the North American ladder. He was infamous among other high ranking players for his skill in playing the character Draven, but also for his toxic behavior. He verbally abused teammates and intentionally lost the game after perceived slights from his teammates. [6] This behavior eventually led to permanent bans on 22 unique accounts over several years. [7]

Steinkamp later increased his toxic behavior in order to draw in more viewers. In April 2016 he produced a video compilation of his toxic behavior with a promise to reform. The video received over 2 million views on YouTube. [3] His Twitch channel increased from around 5,700 followers to over 92,000 followers by the end of the month. His improved behavior quickly lapsed but his following continued to grow, prompting high profile and professional players such as Meteos and Doublelift to publicly condemn his behavior. [8]

On April 30, 2016, Riot Games employee "Riot Socrates" announced that due to "a well-documented history" of verbal abuse and player harassment, Steinkamp would no longer be allowed to own a League of Legends account, adding, "this dragged on too long, but we want you to know when the rare player comes along who's a genuine jerk, we've still got your back." [9] Going forward, Riot would ban any account he played on, even if he had not yet broken any rules. [3]

2016–2018: Variety content

After becoming banned, Steinkamp continued to try to play League of Legends, but as soon as he publicly streamed himself playing, Riot Games would quickly discover it and ban his account. [6] He also tried playing in his free time, repeatedly creating new accounts and climbing the competitive ladder before those too were discovered and banned. [3] Unable to play League of Legends, Steinkamp was forced to branch out to other games to entertain his viewers, such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds . [10] He also hosted non-gaming streams such as cosplaying as Bob Ross [11] and teaching his viewers how to cook. [6] Despite the ban, Steinkamp's following continued to grow, and he withdrew from university to focus on online content creation full time. [3]

In November 2017, Steinkamp hosted an online League of Legends tournament called the Tyler1 Championship Series (TCS). A parody of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), Steinkamp streamed in front of a green screen to images of LCS stadiums and a commentators' desk. The tournament peaked at over 200,000 concurrent viewers on Twitch and was viewed by professional players and LCS casters. The winning team was awarded $10,000, funded from Steinkamp directly and without any sponsors. [12]

2018: Unban

In August 2017, Riot Games community manager Phreak announced that Steinkamp would not be unbanned as some of his recent accounts had been penalized for verbal abuse. [13] However, in October Riot Games employee Aaron "Sanjuro" Rutledge made insulting remarks about Steinkamp in the official r/LeagueOfLegends Subreddit's Discord server, saying Steinkamp looked like a "homunculus" and that he would die "from a coke overdose or testicular cancer from all the steroids." The company responded saying "what was said is NOT okay, and we take it extremely seriously", apologizing to Steinkamp and to the League of Legends community. Steinkamp responded to the incident saying, "It really sucks that some people still hold a grudge... and refuse to acknowledge I've changed." A few days later, investigative esports journalist Richard Lewis reported that Rutledge no longer worked at Riot Games. [14]

Fans began bringing "#FreeTyler1" signs to LCS games, which Riot Games later prohibited in the summer finals. [11] Soon after, Steinkamp announced on stream that he received an email from Riot Games that his ban would be lifted at the end of the year if the accounts he played in the last month were "clean" of abusive behavior. [10]

In January 2018, Steinkamp was unbanned. [15] [10] Tyler's first stream after he became unbanned in January 2018 peaked at over 382,000 viewers, breaking the record for the most concurrent viewers for an individual streamer on Twitch set by Faker in 2017. [16] This record was broken a month later by Dr Disrespect's first stream after returning from a 2-month hiatus, although due to conflicting media reporting and technical issues with Twitch, sources disagree whether the record was actually broken. [17]

2018–present: Return to League of Legends

Today, Steinkamp is one of the most popular online streamers. He estimates he earns more than $300,000 each year from merch alone, and estimates he has earned over $5 million in total during his streaming career. [5] He has won the "Best League of Legends Streamer" award at The Streamer Awards in 2022 [18] and 2023. [19]

On April Fools' Day 2018, Steinkamp produced "A Day in the Life of Tyler1," a parody of his life in front of a green screen. [20]

In June 2018, during an angry rant about recent changes to the game, Steinkamp admitted he was addicted to League of Legends, prompting other members of the community to share their addiction stories and share advice from Riot Games employees. [21]

In September 2018, Riot Games invited Steinkamp to play in a "Streamer Showmatch" at the Oakland Arena with Imaqtpie and other content creators. [22] He was also invited to commentate with Mark "MarkZ" Zimmerman on the analyst desk for the 2018 NA LCS Summer Finals. [11]

The TCS returned in November 2018 with an increased prize pool of $50,000, funded again by Steinkamp directly. [23] Polygon's Austen Goslin praised particularly its improvement in quality compared to the previous tournament, saying, "What started out as a meme... has morphed into something resembling a real online third-party tournament." [24] In December 2019 the TCS returned for a third time. Former Echo Fox team owner Rick Fox joined Steinkamp to commentate the first match. The tournament peaked at over 90,000 concurrent viewers. [25]

In 2020, to prove a point, Steinkamp began a "Jungle Challenge" to achieve Challenger (the game's highest competitive rank) in the jungle role. He briefly took a break from streaming to focus on the goal full time. He achieved that goal in May 2020 after 1,800 games played. [26] He accomplished the same goal in the top lane role in June 2021 after 1,741 games played [27] and the mid lane role in September 2021 after 1,800 games played. [28] In February 2022 he reached Challenger on the final role of support after 450 games, an achievement few players have done in all five roles in League of Legends. [29] Riot Games celebrated his accomplishment on Twitter and sent Steinkamp a custom-made gift of five medals, one for each role he reached Challenger in. [30]

In October 2020, Steinkamp was signed by South Korean esports team T1 as a content creator. [31] The organization produced a video with Steinkamp and T1 player Faker at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. [32] The organization parted ways with Steinkamp in 2022. [33]

In 2023, Steinkamp developed an interest for online chess. He played 2,435 games in 76 days, an average of 32 games per day. [34] Later that year he was invited to compete in the amateur chess tournament PogChamps. [35] In February 2024, he won "Best Chess Streamer" at The Streamer Awards. [36] In March 2024, Steinkamp reached 1705 Elo on Chess.com, a rating that is in the top 1.5% of all players on the site. [37] He achieved a peak Elo of 1960 two months later, placing him in the top 0.6%. [38]

Since his unban, Steinkamp remained notorious for verbal toxicity. During an October 2022 stream sponsored by Blizzard Entertainment shortly after its release of Overwatch 2, it was revealed he had already been banned from the game's chat; a roll-over from his 10 year ban in Overwatch 1. [39] In July 2022, after losing a match, he accused one of his teammates of wintrading a player on the opposing team. It was revealed they were players of the amateur team Team Ambition and were removed from the team after an investigation. [40] In 2024, Steinkamp made hostile remarks about professional player CoreJJ after a poor performance in his game, calling him a "paycheck-stealing LCS [player]." [41]

Personal life

Steinkamp studied computer science at Central Methodist University before withdrawing to focus on his streaming career. [6] While at Central Methodist University, he played as a running back for the university's football team. [42] [43]

In an interview with The Washington Post, Steinkamp said he pays his mother $70,000 per year to cook dinner for him. [5]

On December 17, 2023, Steinkamp announced on social media that his girlfriend Macaiyla was pregnant. [44] Their daughter was born on April 11, 2024. [45]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Tyler1
YearCeremonyCategoryResultRef.
2022 The Streamer Awards Best League of Legends StreamerWon [18]
2023Won [19]
Feb 2024Best Chess StreamerWon [36]
Dec 2024Best MOBA StreamerPending [46]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">League Championship Series (esports)</span> Former professional League of Legends esports league

The League Championship Series (LCS) was the top level of professional League of Legends in the United States and Canada. The esports league was run by Riot Games and had anywhere from eight to 10 teams. Each annual season of competition was divided into two splits, spring and summer, which concluded with a double-elimination tournament between the top teams. At the end of the season, the winner, runners-up and third-place team of the summer playoffs qualified for the annual League of Legends World Championship.

Hans Eli Sebastian Fors, known by the pseudonym Forsen, is a Swedish Twitch streamer who initially gained popularity for having competed in StarCraft II, but is best known for competing in Hearthstone and for streaming a variety of popular games. He is also known for his rowdy fanbase, who call themselves "Forsen Boys" or "Forsen Bajs" and have had a hand in popularizing a number of Internet memes. Since December 2018, Forsen has had over one million followers on Twitch, and as of June 2024, has more than 1.7 million followers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jensen (gamer)</span> Danish professional League of Legends player

Nicolaj Jensen, better known mononymously as Jensen, is a Danish professional League of Legends player for Dignitas. Earlier in his career, he was known as Veigodx and Incarnati0n. Jensen began as a player for Team Solo Mebdi, a team attempting to enter the European LCS via qualifier. He was banned for toxicity and DDOS attacks against other players. After his ban was lifted, Incarnati0n joined NA LCS team Cloud9 in 2015, replacing founding mid laner and strategist Hai on the roster, who had announced his retirement. In 2019, he joined Doublelift and former teammate Impact on Team Liquid. He was released from Team Liquid after the 2021 season in favor of his rival Bjergsen, who took over his position on Team Liquid. In 2022, he rejoined Cloud9, and in 2023, he joined Dignitas. In 2024, Jensen joined FlyQuest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lewis (journalist)</span> British journalist, commentator, and desk host

Richard Lewis is a British esports journalist and livestream commentator from Wales. Having written technology articles for The Daily Dot and Cadred, he is best known as an esports journalist and as a former desk host of ELEAGUE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shroud (gamer)</span> Canadian streamer and former professional esports player (born 1994)

Michael Grzesiek, better known as Shroud, is a Canadian streamer, YouTuber, former professional Valorant player, and former professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player. As of April 2022, his Twitch channel has reached over 10 million followers, ranking as the eighth most-followed channel on the platform, and his YouTube channel has over 6.79 million subscribers.

xQc Canadian streamer (born 1995)

Félix Lengyel, better known as xQc, is a Canadian online streamer and former professional Overwatch player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodapoppin</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber (born 1994)

Thomas Jefferson "Chance" Morris IV, known professionally as Sodapoppin, is an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He has one of the largest followings on Twitch, with over 8.7 million followers and over 398.3 million views as of August 15, 2022; he also has over 1.11 million subscribers and over 444.5 million views on YouTube. According to Social Blade, Morris sits at the number 10 spot for the most followers on Twitch; he also ranks number 15 for the largest total number of views on the platform. He is a co-owner of and content creator for gaming organization One True King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninja (gamer)</span> American streamer and YouTuber (born 1991)

Richard Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, is an American online streamer, YouTuber and professional gamer. Blevins began streaming through participating in several esports teams in competitive play for Halo 3, and gradually picked up fame when he first started playing Fortnite Battle Royale in late 2017. Blevins gained the notice of mainstream media in March 2018 when he played Fortnite together with Drake, Travis Scott and JuJu Smith-Schuster on stream, breaking a peak viewer count record on Twitch. Blevins has over 19 million followers on his Twitch channel, making it the most-followed Twitch channel as of March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pokimane</span> Canadian and Moroccan online streamer (born 1996)

Imane Anys, known professionally as Pokimane, is a Canadian and Moroccan online streamer, YouTuber and internet personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imaqtpie</span> American professional esports player

Michael Santana, better known as Imaqtpie, is an American League of Legends player. Formerly a professional player for Team Dignitas, he retired from professional play in 2014 to pursue a full-time streaming career on Twitch. He is one of League of Legends' largest online personalities with over 2.6 million followers on Twitch. In 2017 in an interview with Rolling Stone it was revealed he earns $2 million annually from streaming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disguised Toast</span> Taiwanese-Canadian YouTuber (born 1991)

Jeremy Wang, better known as Disguised Toast, is a Taiwanese-Canadian streamer, YouTuber, and Internet personality. He got his start on YouTube, creating videos about the digital card game Hearthstone. Wang later began streaming on Twitch, before signing an exclusive streaming contract with Facebook Gaming in November 2019. In November 2021, Wang announced his return to streaming on Twitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OfflineTV</span> American online media collective

OfflineTV is an online social entertainment group of content creators based in Los Angeles, California. They produce a wide range of content, from prank videos to vlogs to the housemates playing games together. The group maintains a large following on their social media platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twitch Rivals</span> Esports tournament and online competitive event

Twitch Rivals is an esports tournament and online competitive event featuring Twitch streamers and former pro players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig Ahgren</span> American YouTuber and streamer (born 1995)

Ludwig Anders Ahgren, known mononymously as Ludwig, is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, comedian, esports commentator, and competitor. Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch from 2018 through late 2021, and on YouTube beginning in late 2021, where he broadcasts video-game-related content as well as non-video-game-related content such as game shows and contests. He is also known for his work as an esports commentator at various Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments. He is the co-owner of the esports organization Moist Esports. He began streaming full-time on February 16, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarra</span> American professional esports players

William Li, better known as Scarra, is an American Twitch streamer and former professional League of Legends player. He is most well known for being the mid laner for Team Dignitas. Li is a co-founder of OfflineTV, an online social entertainment group of content creators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mizkif</span> American Twitch streamer and YouTuber (born 1995)

Mizkif, also known as Matthew Rinaudo, is an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He is a founding member and co-owner of the gaming organization One True King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IShowSpeed</span> American internet personality (born 2005)

Darren Jason Watkins Jr., known online as IShowSpeed or Speed, is an American YouTuber and online streamer. He is known for his variety live streams that showcase dramatic and energetic behavior, as well as his IRL streams in worldwide locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Streamer Awards</span> Awards show dedicated to live streamers

The Streamer Awards is an annual awards show dedicated to live streamers. It was founded in 2022 by Twitch streamer QTCinderella to award and celebrate other streamers, primarily in the Twitch community. Nominees are selected via an online vote by fans and winners are then determined using a weighted combination of the online popular vote (70%) and panelist vote (30%).

Marc Robert Lamont, better known as Caedrel, is a British professional League of Legends coach, currently head coach for Los Ratones. He is also a content creator, streamer, retired professional League of Legends player and sports commentator for Riot Games. Known for holding co-streams of major professional League of Legends regions and international competitions, Lamont is considered as one of the biggest streamers within the game's community, mostly known for his in-depth gameplay analysis and familiarity.

References

  1. 1 2 "About loltyler1". YouTube.
  2. ↑ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (June 30, 2022). "Who is Tyler1? History, Twitch earnings, age, setup, more". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Friedman, Daniel (January 8, 2018). "The difficulty in banning the 'most toxic League of Legends player in North America'". Polygon . Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ Goslin, Austen (January 8, 2018). "Tyler1 breaks Twitch records in his first stream after his ban". The Rift Herald. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Harwell, Drew (December 2, 2021). "Up all night with a Twitch millionaire: The loneliness and rage of the Internet's new rock stars". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 The Story of Tyler1. theScore esports. October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ Bell, Brian (January 18, 2018). "The Most Toxic League of Legends Player Is Back, But Riot May Have Stunted His #Reformation". Paste . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  8. ↑ Dator, James (April 30, 2016). "Popular toxic League of Legends streamer Tyler1 issued permanent ban". The Rift Herald . Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ "The indefinite banning of Tyler1". Riot Games. April 30, 2016. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 Van Allen, Eric (January 4, 2018). "Riot Games Unbans Tyler1, A Player It Once Called A 'Genuine Jerk'". Kotaku . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Erzberger, Tyler (October 1, 2018). "Tyler1's road to League of Legends redemption". ESPN . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  12. ↑ Erzberger, Tyler (November 29, 2017). "League of Legends returns to grassroots with Tyler1 Championship Series". ESPN . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. ↑ Friedman, Daniel (January 9, 2018). "How Riot may have made it impossible to keep 'the most toxic League of Legends player' banned". Polygon . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  14. ↑ Goslin, Andrew (October 3, 2017). "Sanjuro has reportedly been fired from Riot following comments about Tyler1". The Rift Herald.
  15. ↑ Goslin, Austen (January 4, 2018). "Tyler1 has officially been unbanned by Riot". The Rift Herald. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  16. ↑ Chalk, Andy (January 8, 2018). "382,000 people tune in to watch the return of notoriously toxic LoL player". PC Gamer . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  17. ↑ Alexander, Julia (February 6, 2018). "Dr. DisRespect sets huge new Twitch streaming record, beating Tyler1". Polygon . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  18. 1 2 Polhamus, Blaine (March 13, 2022). "All 2022 Streamer Award Winners". Dot Esports. Gamurs . Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Snavely, Adam (March 11, 2023). "Streamer Awards 2023: All results and winners for every category". Dot Esports. Gamurs . Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  20. ↑ Alexander, Julia (April 2, 2018). "League of Legends' most notorious streamer hosts eccentric 45-minute movie on Twitch". Polygon . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  21. ↑ Best, Matt (June 13, 2018). "Riot Responds to User With League Addiction". VPESPORTS. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  22. ↑ Patterson, Calum (September 9, 2018). "League of Legends Streamers Tyler1 and Imaqtpie Face Off in Showmatch at NA LCS Playoffs – Highlights". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  23. ↑ Miceli, Max (November 29, 2018). "What Can We Expect From the Tyler1 Championship Series Finals on Twitch?". Esports Observer.
  24. ↑ Goslin, Austen (November 30, 2018). "How to watch the Tyler1 Championship Series Finals". Rift Herald.
  25. ↑ Erzberger, Tyler (December 20, 2019). "From permaban to poster boy, Tyler1's TCS is a League of Legends staple". ESPN . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  26. ↑ Amos, Andrew (May 28, 2020). "Tyler1 declares he's "the GOAT" after finishing jungle-only LoL challenge". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  27. ↑ Tsiaoussidis, Alex (June 1, 2021). "Tyler1 explodes after finally beating his LoL challenge in 1741 games". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  28. ↑ Robson, Shay (September 23, 2021). "Tyler1 lays out his demands to Riot after reaching Challenger as mid-laner". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  29. ↑ Scotti, Lawrence (February 19, 2022). "Tyler1 finally hits Challenger in every role & celebrates by trashing League Support players". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  30. ↑ Polhamus, Blaine (February 23, 2022). "Tyler1 receives custom gift from Riot after reaching Challenger rank in all 5 League roles". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  31. ↑ Lupasco, Cristian (October 17, 2020). "T1 signs Tyler1 as a content creator". Dot Esports . Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  32. ↑ O'Brien, Joe (January 22, 2020). "Tyler1 spanked for not finishing 20,000 calorie burger on date with Faker". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  33. ↑ Datuin, Sage (February 1, 2022). "Tyler1 parts ways with T1". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  34. ↑ Martinello, Eva (October 9, 2023). "Tyler1 is only new to chess but it turns out he's surprisingly good". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  35. ↑ "PogChamps 5 Lineup Revealed Feat. xQc, Tyler1, QTCinderella And More, Action Starts July 26". Chess.com . July 25, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  36. 1 2 Michael, Cale; Taifalos, Nicholas (February 18, 2024). "Streamer Awards 2024: All results and winners for every category". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  37. ↑ Gan, Jeremy (March 19, 2024). "Gothamchess amazed as Tyler1 becomes better than "99% of players" in 8 months". Dexerto. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  38. ↑ "BIG_TONKA_T Rapid Chess Stats". Chess.com. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  39. ↑ Amos, Andrew (October 14, 2022). "Twitch star Tyler1 is already chat-banned in Overwatch 2 for five years". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  40. ↑ Oh, Terry (July 8, 2022). "Two amateur League of Legends players exiled after Tyler1 exposes wintrading". Dexerto. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  41. ↑ Kelly, Michael (February 28, 2024). "Tyler1 slams 'paycheck-stealing LCS players' for allegedly 'openly griefing' LoL matches". Dot Esports. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  42. ↑ "Tyler Steinkamp". Central Methodist University . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  43. ↑ Erzberger, Tyler (November 29, 2017). "League of Legends returns to grassroots with Tyler1 Championship Series". ESPN . Associated Press. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  44. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  45. ↑ "X". X. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  46. ↑ "The 2024 Streamer Awards: All Nominations". Esports Illustrated On SI. November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.