Top 25 Twitch Streamers to Watch in 2015

Twitch had a banner year in 2014, getting bought out for almost a billion dollars by Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Twitch also saw the numbers for its live streaming coverage of eSports for games like League of Legends, DotA 2 and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft continue to grow.

But while much of Twitch's success story can be attributed to eSports and professional gamers, Twitch has also solidified itself in the minds of many as a great source for entertainment, no competition required.

In fact, Twitch is becoming well known now for something that another little site called YouTube accomplished back in the last decade. Twitch has created plenty of bona fide celebrities within its ranks, a large number of streamers who are now arguably "internet famous" thanks to the following they've built through their streams.

If you're not a regular on the site, the names on this list might be foreign to you. But to Twitch regulars, these guys and girls are rock stars. Yes, some were first noticed because they are genuinely good at the games that they play. But more and more streamers are developing a following not through their leet skills, but by simply keeping their viewers entertained.

As 2015 begins to find its legs, we thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the more popular and entertaining streamers on Twitch. Here, in no particular order, are 25 entertaining Twitch personalities you should be following. Click their channel names to follow!

Sodapoppin

Chance Morris or "Chunce" as he sometimes referred to by viewers, (along with various unprintable nicknames) is an old pro at streaming. He got his start on Xfire, long before Twitch took off. His transition to Twitch can be described as rocky at best, since his viewers have a reputation of intentionally messing with him just for fun. He was banned from Twitch multiple times as well as hacked.

Things started looking up for Soda in May 2013 when he finally got a Twitch subscription button after more than a year on the site.

Since then, his growth has been truly amazing. He has more than 600,000 followers and more than 78 million total views, making him one of the most popular streamers on the site. He obtained this growth partially because he's quite good at PvP in World of Warcraft, but also because he's not afraid to keep his viewers entertained with dumb stunts.

TrumpSC 

TrumpSC, known in the real world as Jeffrey Shih, is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch for Hearthstone. He got his start however playing Starcraft II while working a regular job. He jumped to Blizzard's virtual card game during its beta and has never looked back. Trump was the first gamer to be signed to a professional contract for Hearthstone, penning a deal with Razer in 2013.

What makes Trump so popular and entertaining is not just the fact that he is good at the game but that he takes the time to explain his every move in the game to his viewers. Watching Trump stream is usually a great way to learn a thing or two about the game that you didn't know before.

Blizzard has singled out streamers like Trump for helping make the game an early success, citing the fact that Trump has gotten to the highest levels of the game in seasons past without spending much real currency.

KittyPlaysGames 

Kitty plays mostly Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but she's gotten big not through her gameplay but her banter with her viewers. She's one of the genuinely nicest people on Twitch, although some viewers might point to her good looks as well as her personality when dissecting her success.

Kitty's stream really took off last summer thanks to a couple large donations, or rather, Kitty's entertaining live reaction after the fact. She's had several of these donation reactions go viral on YouTube and for good reason. Girl loses her damn mind every time, although I suppose $7,000 will do that to a person.

MaximusBlack

Jeff Johnston aka MaximusBlack has been on the scene for a while, getting his start as a professional Starcraft II player. His stream took off in 2014 however, when he took a break from that game and began streaming World of Warcraft and League of Legends. His skill at those two games was never on par with his SC II capabilities, but people tuned in anyway due to Johnston's engaging personality.

He's known for dressing up on stream in a full chainmail suit as well as other outfits, and is an accomplished singer who has been known to let the beat drop during his stream. He refers to his followers as The Fellowship of the Bouses (a cooler way to pronounce bosses) and will frequently put on whichever costume or song his audience wants next.

Maximus also made headlines late last year when he livestreamed his wedding on Twitch. It was broadcast on the site's main page and Maximus said the entire wedding was paid for with donations from his viewers.

Lirik

Lirik, sometimes DatGuyLirik, has amassed more than 600,000 followers, mostly by streaming ARMAand DayZ, although he and his many streaming friends are known to jump around to whatever current game is hot.

Lirik keeps his viewers entertained by intentionally seeking out or creating off the wall or funny scenarios in various sandbox games. Take, for example, this video from DayZ. Never knew a beheading took that many swings.

Sing_Sing

Sing Sing is a professional DotA 2 player known for two things: being really good at the game, but also not being afraid to troll his fellow players or viewers during a game.

Sing Sing is also known for coming up with unique play styles and builds that are not commonly used by other professional DotA players, and has frequently made an impact on the game's meta.

His in-game commentary, especially when intentionally trolling, has led to several popular catchphrases that are used throughout the game's community.

Walshy

Walshy, real name Dave Walsh, was already regarded as one of the greatest Halo players of all-time, long before the advent of Twitch. He made a name for himself playing and winning in many Major League Gaming tournaments dating back to 2003. He officially retired from competitive play in 2012, but has maintained a presence in the Halo community, including on his Twitch stream.

Halo gamers tune in because Walshy still has one of the best minds in the Halocommunity even today. He's most recently been streaming The Master Chief Collection and the Halo 5: Guardians beta and is one of the most prominent connections on Twitch to the franchise's storied past.

ItsHafu

Hafu is one of the more popular female streamers on Twitch. She got her start on League of Legends, but tends to jump around to other games these days, including Hearthstone.

Hafu has taken up an active voice in championing streaming by female gamers. She gained some notoriety because of the often misogynistic comments that were made by male viewers in her stream early on but has pushed through it and now has more than 200,000 followers, although she can still be a lightning rod for controversy within the Twitch community.

LethalFrag

LethalFrag has grown his stream by livestreaming almost every single day for more than two years. We've also been able to watch his beard grow alongside his Twitch channel. He hasn't shaved since he started his daily marathon.

The man with the crazy beard is known for playing a wide variety of games, but has a special affinity for Faster Than Light and, wait for it... pinball. And we don't mean the digital kind.

Lethal has often put a webcam over a real pinball machine and then gone to town. He's also known for his restoration and cataloging of these machines. It's perhaps not the most exciting content on Twitch, but it sure is an interesting change of pace.

DansGaming 

Dan often plays what is the latest and most popular title, but has been known to jump around to a few indie games as well. Dan frequently provides commentary that is very "in the moment" of what is happening in the game. If something jumps out and attacks his in-game character, he's likely to talk directly to the evil NPC while he's giving it a smackdown.

He's also not afraid to make fun of himself, and is known for doing a rather silly dance anytime someone subscribes or really any other time he sees fit.

Phantoml0rd 

Phantoml0rd is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, approaching 700,000 followers as of publication of this article. He messes around with a variety of games from time to time, but is mostly known for his professional play in League of Legends.

He is also unfortunately known for having to deal with the dark side of the Twitch life: constant hack attacks and prank calls to the police.

An incident in 2013 resulted in every game he tried to play being attacked by hackers. He would log on to a new game and then suddenly the server would go down. As this nonsense escalated, his stream attracted more and more viewers. Things escalated when the hackers then called the police to his home multiple times, claiming there was a hostage situation.

While Phantom arguably did gain some followers due to the publicity from this incident, he has managed to maintain his following on the site by engaging with his viewers and providing commentary on his high-level League of Legends play to keep followers entertained.

MANvsGame

If you've ever watched Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel, you should have a good idea of what Jayson Love is trying to accomplish with his Twitch channel. Jayson treats his channel as a reality TV broadcast, as he moves through the vast catalog of gaming history, going one on one with every game "worth playing." He provides frequently running commentary from start to finish and more often than not, Man does end up vanquishing his foe.

He takes frequent breaks during gameplay, provided the game has a pause button, of course, to provide his opinion on a wide variety of subjects as well as answer questions from viewers. It really one of the closest things to a regularly scheduled TV show on Twitch.

Towelliee

No, not the South Park character. Towelliee plays World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and plenty of other online-centric games.

Towelliee plays a tank character in WoW and plenty of gamers tune in to watch his high-level PvE gameplay in World of Warcraft's raiding scene, as he is a member of a top guild. But plenty more keep watching just because Towelliee is so laid back and down to earth. He frequently does giveaways on his stream and plays games with his viewers. He also has a tendency to stumble upon hilarious moments in just about every game he plays.

Summit1G

Summit is one of Twitch's most popular Counter-Strike players. He used to be into the game competitively, but now just streams the title for fun with his fans, now totaling more than 500,000. Viewers often remark about Summit's chill, laid back attitude. Although sometimes you could argue, he's a little too chill about things. He also has disgusting luck at CS:GOcases.

WoWHobbs

WoWHobbsis an interesting tale and a bit different than what you've seen previously on this list. Hobbs, as he's known to his viewers, is relatively new to Twitch, but has made YouTube videos on World of Warcraft and other games since the Burning Crusadeera. Hobbs was one of the first YouTubers to achieve major success making WoW videos, and many other YouTube and Twitch personalities credit him today with being an inspiration for why they started producing their own content.

Married and with kids, Hobbs is a little bit older than your usual Twitch streamer, and his channel has a very wholesome feel to it. There are very few to no 15 year olds screaming out random profanities in chat here.

Hobbs only started streaming seriously on Twitch late last year, but has quickly gained a decent following, as many of his old fans from his YouTube days spread the word about his return.

He also plays Hearthstone, Clash of Clans, and other games as he desires.

TotalBiscuit

Speaking of popular YouTubers, TotalBiscuit, likely needs no introduction. But unlike Hobbs, Biscuit got on the Twitch train quite a bit earlier and is now at 300,000 followers and counting.

TotalBiscuit is known as a professional caster for Starcraft IIand PlanetSide 2 and can often be seen streaming these games on his channel. He also has a deep appreciation for indie gaming and plays a wide variety of different titles both on YouTube and on Twitch.

Team Sp00ky 

If fighting games are your thing, there isn't a better channel on Twitch than TeamSp00ky. Spooky is a well known group throughout the fighting game community and supports and runs various tournaments in the genre. TeamSp00ky will often stream these tournaments live on their channel, but sometimes the team members will just log on for a little bit of fun.

Syndicate 

Syndicate has the most followed channel on Twitch next to the official Justin TV account with more than 1.2 million follows. Syndicate, or "Tom" to his viewers, plays mostly GTA V these days with a little Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, and other popular games tossed in. He's always ready with a quick joke for any particular moment and has developed a reputation for pulling off some impressive stunts both in game and in real life.

Bacon_Donut

You should watch Bacon Donut, because, c'mon, that's like the two best foods ever put together. But seriously, Bacon Donut is one of the most prominent streamers of Minecraft on Twitch.

Bacon will often come up with unique builds or play along with his viewers to create innovative and fun designs. He is also known for bringing adult jokes to what is traditionally a game aimed at a much younger age group.

Ms_Vixen 

Ms. Vixen is another streamer that was able to use her success in the early days of competitive gaming to push herself towards a lucrative career as a full-time streamer today. Real name Lanai Gara, she was once ranked #1 in the world at Call of Duty: World at War Free for All back in 2008-09.

The fact that she's not just one of the best gamers at Call of Duty but also one of the first prominent female eSports athletes got her attention in various corners of the web, including Forbes.

Today, she uses her good fortune to help others, forming TeamV Gaming, which regularly puts together 24-hour charity drives on stream. Her success has also seen her partner with companies like Ubisoft and Microsoft, sometimes giving her unique access to stream games before they are available to the public.

Trick2G

Trick2G is a top League of Legends streamer with more than 600,000 followers. While gamers watch him for his top-level play, he also takes the time to explain why he's doing what he's doing on screen, instead of just mindlessly mashing buttons and leaving the viewer to figure out his logic.

DeFrancoGames

DeFranco Games is run by YouTuber Philip DeFranco, and what makes this channel unique is that it's not really an extension of the YouTube channel. Philip uses his YouTube to provide commentary on current events, much of which usually doesn't have anything to do with gaming.

He's developed such a large following on YouTube however, that almost 200,000 fans and counting have been willing to make the jump over to Twitch to watch him play FIFA and other games. He often brings the same witty commentary he's been providing his YouTube subscribers for more than 8 years.

Serious Gaming

Serious Gaming stands out on this list, as it's the only husband and wife team that is popular on Twitch. Serious Gaming features Alan and Victoria playing whatever the latest hotness is, often supplemented by World of Warcraft and indie titles during downtime.

The stream often features two webcams so that you can see both of them at once, although usually only one of them is actively playing at any given moment.

The stream has one of the highest production values on Twitch with eye-popping graphics and sound. The team also talks frequently with their chat, and Alan is in the business of helping his viewers build their own PCs. He'll even build it for you live on stream for a fee if you send him the parts.

Streamer House

There are various houses that have sprung up on Twitch that feature multiple broadcasters working in shifts under one channel. The Streamer House may be one of the most well-known such channels, as it is on 24/7.

The house is said to be rigged with more than 20 cameras, covering almost every room. The control center can switch to multiple different set ups at any given time, as usually more than one person is playing during primetime. Yes, you can even watch them cook breakfast.

CaptainSparklez

The Captain is another one of the top streamers on Twitch with more than 800,000 followers. That's only about 10 percent of his 8 million followers on YouTube, where he got his start many years ago.

Sparklez streams mostly Minecraft with an occasional current title on the side. He's known for intentionally creating funny situations in-game or building out scenes from real life and then role playing within them.