Kai Cenat, IShowSpeed and 8 more: who’s who in streaming right now

Kai Cenat, IShowSpeed and eight more: these are the 10 streamers you need to know in October 2026. We picked them based on this year’s watch-time numbers, award nominations and the moments everyone clipped.

Each one gets the platform, the thing they’re known for and one sourced fact from 2026. No rumors.

Kai Cenat

Where: Twitch, now also YouTube. Known for: record-breaking subathons and his Streamer University event.

In January he posted a YouTube video titled “I Quit,” announcing a step back from streaming and launching his clothing brand, Vivet. He came back on July 6 to reveal Streamer University 2, in his first stream on Twitch and YouTube at the same time. The return pulled more than 1 million combined peak viewers, per Streams Charts data reported by Cassius.

IShowSpeed

Where: YouTube. Known for: loud IRL streams, football and country-by-country tours.

His YouTube channel passed 50 million subscribers on Jan 21, according to Wikipedia. This month he was announced as a producer of the documentary The Eyes of Ghana, with Barack and Michelle Obama as executive producers, IBTimes reported. He’s also nominated for Streamer of the Year.

Jynxzi

Where: Twitch. Known for: Rainbow Six Siege, Clash Royale and chaotic collab streams.

Twitch’s State of Gaming 2026 report, published Sept 9, says he’d racked up 78 million hours watched this year across Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege and League of Legends. He’s a Streamer of the Year nominee too.

CaseOh

Where: Twitch. Known for: variety gaming streams.

In January, Cicis Pizza announced a year-long partnership with him, including the “Mac & CaseOh” pizza sold nationwide through 2026, MediaPost reported. He’s nominated for Streamer of the Year and Best Variety Streamer.

xQc

Where: Twitch and Kick. Known for: variety streams and GTA roleplay.

He’s a co-owner of the GTA roleplay server NoPixel, whose 5.0 update launched on Sept 8, Dexerto reported. He also addressed why some well-known roleplayers weren’t on the new server’s whitelist.

Adin Ross

Where: Kick. Known for: his Brand Risk streaming events.

At Brand Risk 16 on Oct 16, his Kick stream crossed 1 million concurrent viewers and peaked at a little over 1.4 million, win.gg reported. Kick co-founder Eddie Craven said the whole platform was just under 3 million live viewers during the broadcast, per the same report.

Pokimane

Where: Twitch and YouTube. Known for: Just Chatting and gaming streams.

She has about 9.5 million Twitch followers, the most of any woman on the platform, according to Wikipedia. Her podcast with LilyPichu, Sweet n Sour, ended in April after about two years; the hosts announced it in the cold open of the finale, Dexerto reported.

TheBurntPeanut

Where: Twitch. Known for: extraction shooters like ARC Raiders and Escape from Tarkov.

Twitch’s 2026 report says he passed 70 million hours watched this year, driven by ARC Raiders, Rust and Escape from Tarkov.

Caedrel

Where: Twitch and YouTube. Known for: co-streaming League of Legends esports with detailed play-by-play.

He’s an official English co-streamer for the LEC in 2026, Esports News UK reported. On Feb 12 he announced that his team, Los Ratones, would disband.

Rubius

Where: Twitch and YouTube. Known for: Spanish-language gaming and comedy, with about 16 million Twitch followers, per Wikipedia.

Twitch’s 2026 report says he’s piled up more than 21 million hours watched this year, mostly on Minecraft, TCG Card Shop Simulator and Marvel Rivals.

What happens next

The Streamer Awards on Nov 12 will crown a Streamer of the Year. We’ll update this list as the numbers move.