5 streamers who have taken their careers in unexpected directions

Streamers and content creators have achieved more career success over the years. Streaming and content creation have gradually become more mainstream due to an overwhelming increase in interest in Twitch and YouTube streaming spaces. Over time, this has gone beyond just gaming, with categories like Just Chatting taking the top spot in recent years.

Streamers like Ludwig, Ninja, xQc, and IShowSpeed have become online celebrities due to their content. But not all creators remain at the top of the game, nor do they adhere to the same career path all their lives. Here are some instances when big Twitch and YouTube personalities made unexpected career changes.

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5 times streamers made career-changing moves

1) DaequanWoco

DaequanWoco (Daequan Loco on YouTube) was a popular Twitch streamer who stopped uploading regular content almost two years ago. His last live almost ten months ago, according to TwitchTracker. The streamer has over five million followers on Twitch and five million subscribers on YouTube. He was highly popular with Fortnite and other battle royale communities.

Having gone live earlier this year to explain his situation, the Fortnite creator had a heart-to-heart conversation with fans about his and his partner's mental and physical health. The community has largely supported his decision to take time off but the long hiatus, without any word of return, is quite unexpected for a streamer of his caliber.

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2) PhantomL0rd

A veteran Twitch personality, PhantomL0rd was one of the very first creators to get permanently banned from Twitch due to gambling content. Although primarily gaining fame due to his League of Legends gameplay, he made an unexpected transition to the world of Counter Stike: Global Offensive. More specifically, the dark world of CS:GO skin gambling on third-party websites.

In 2016, PhantomL0rd was handed a lifetime ban from Twitch. He withheld information about being the co-owner of a gambling site called CS:GO Shuffle, which he regularly promoted on his streams. After a three-year lawsuit, he was handed 20K by the court for what he alleged was a wrongful termination. Twitch has remained steadfast, refusing to let him back on the streaming platform.

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3) LeafyIsHere

Controversial streamer and YouTuber LeafyIsLive or LeafyIsHere was suspended in 2020 for harassment and bullying. This was due to his statements against fellow content creators, most notably the Twitch powerhouse Pokimane. From being called a racist to being accused of threatening physical violence, LeafyIsHere was the whole package.

While his ban was not unexpected, his return to YouTube via a new channel in that same year was not something people thought would go well. The channel went nowhere, so he made a separate podcast channel called LeafyCast earlier in 2022. But even that was struck with an indefinite ban hammer by YouTube. With his main account banned on Twitter, it was quite unexpected for the remaining supporters of the streamer hoping for a return.

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4) Greekgodx

Twitch streamer Dimitri "Greekgodx" is one of the most contentious content creators on the platform right now.

A popular creator in his heyday, Greekgodx has deviated a lot from his previous content. Many long-time fans seem to be distancing themselves from the streaming personality after his misogynistic comments earlier this year.

He is also known for denying scientific facts and has openly spouted anti-vaccination and moon landing conspiracy theories on streams. Trainwreckstv, while conversing with xQc, theorized that his recent behavior was similar to Andrew Tate's rhetoric. Quite a departure from Greekgodx's previous personality traits.

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5) ZillionOP

Speaking of the unexpected, ZillionOP exposing himself on stream is one of the most controversial moments ever. The apparently disabled streamer always streamed from a wheelchair and ran charitable streams raising money for the differently abled. During a stream, he walked away from his setup in the camera's view.

Called by many as one of the biggest frauds in the content creation industry, ZillionOP had successfully fooled thousands of people into believing that he was disabled. His viewership and followers naturally dwindled after the clip went viral all over social media.