Asmongold criticizes Streamer of the Year award after IShowSpeed & Kai Cenat lose

Asmongold, a popular Twitch streamer, was taken aback by the winner of Streamer of the Year and openly shared his honest opinions on the outcome of the award.

Much to the surprise of the streaming community, Samantha ‘Rivers’ Rivera Trevino was awarded the top honor at the Esports Awards on August 24 as she was named Streamer of the Year.

The decision sparked controversy among viewers, as many believed that Kai Cenat or IShowSpeed were more deserving of the award due to their exceptional performances throughout the year.

During a live stream, Asmongold gave his opinion on the controversy and alleged that Rivers’ victory in the Esports Award was solely due to her gender.

“I’m upset that it was clearly a decision based on diversity, solely because she is a woman. This is common knowledge. The role should have been given to Speed, Kai, or any of the other three qualified individuals,”he stated. “It’s incredibly frustrating.”

Rivers, a popular Mexican streamer, typically maintains an audience of 15,000 viewers during her Twitch streams, which primarily feature gaming and IRL content. In a surprising turn of events, she surpassed well-known streamers such as Speed, Kai, xQc, Ibai, Jynxzi, and others to claim the crown.

Despite having an impressive 5.5M followers on X and an additional 6.3M on Twitch, Rivers’ community remains highly active. This was evident when her supporters came out in full force to vote for her in The Esports Awards, which utilizes a fan voting system. It is clear that she is a beloved creator among her viewers.

Asmongold continued, stating that her placement was solely based on her gender and that it was humiliating and condescending. He also pointed out that she was not even the top female streamer, making the situation even more ridiculous.

In the second quarter of 2024, Rivers was ranked as the 10th most-watched female streamer with 2.65M hours, falling behind popular streamers such as Valkyrae, Jinny, Amouranth, and Mira.

amouranth overtaken by mira in 2024 — Streamscharts

Mira overtook Amouranth as the top female streamer in Q2 2024.

As stated by Asmongold, the award is only meaningful “if one understands that it is not based on popularity or content, but rather on rewarding those who deserve it.”

The sentiment expressed by him quickly spread to social media, where numerous viewers shared the same viewpoint.

According to one person, the title of “Streamer of the year”was completely manipulated.

“I completely agree with Bro. Both Kai and Speed were worthy of the award,”stated another.

Despite Asmongold’s argument, there were some who disagreed and even took offense. One person even pointed out, “That’s a comment that could be interpreted as sexist, or something else entirely.”This remark was echoed by another individual who chimed in on the conversation.

This award is from my community, who are always active and aware of all the projects, supporting them unconditionally. I hope to one day be as good a creator as the other nominees, whom I admire a lot. Thanks to my people for always supporting me, because of you I am still here… https://t.co/UjFAw2rJ7i

— rivers (@samyriveratv) August 24, 2024

Despite facing criticism from Asmongold and others in the streaming industry, Rivers graciously accepted the award, stating that it was a tribute to her community. She also expressed her aspiration to become a skilled creator like the other nominees in the future.