Who is TheBurntPeanut, and why VTuber fans are fighting over his Streamer Awards nod
The Tarkov streamer plays as an animated peanut, won Best VTuber in 2025, and was nominated again on Oct 16. He answered critics with a joke makeover.
The tea in 3
- TheBurntPeanut streams as an animated peanut, has about 2.4M Twitch followers, and won Best VTuber at the 2025 Streamer Awards.
- He was nominated again on Oct 16 against Ironmouse, Koseki Bijou, Crelly and Gigi Murin, and some critics want him to step aside.
- He answered on stream Oct 17 with a joke avatar makeover: “I want unity! I want to bring us together.”
TheBurntPeanut is an American streamer who plays as an animated peanut and is known for extraction shooters like Escape from Tarkov and ARC Raiders. He is nominated again for Best VTuber at the 2026 Streamer Awards, which Dexerto says was announced Oct 16, and some VTuber fans are not happy about it.
Who he is
Per his Wikipedia page, he began streaming on Twitch in 2019 with gaming guides, and grew quickly in 2024 after changing his content and interacting more in in-game voice chat. He calls himself a “PTuber.” Wikipedia lists about 2.4 million Twitch followers and 2.05 million YouTube subscribers as of August.
Why the argument exists
At the 2025 Streamer Awards he won Best VTuber, Dexerto reports, and Wikipedia says he beat Ironmouse and Usada Pekora and also won Best FPS Streamer. Dexerto says the win divided viewers because critics questioned why he was competing in that category after distancing himself from the VTuber label.
The debate returned with the 2026 nominations, where he is up against Ironmouse, Koseki Bijou, Crelly and Gigi Murin. Dexerto reports some people called for him to step aside. It also says Ironmouse defended him after his 2025 win, arguing that using a virtual character qualified him as a VTuber.
vs
His answer
On his Oct 17 stream, he showed an edited image of a mock redesign of his peanut avatar. Quote, per Dexerto: “A lot of people were outraged at me for not looking like them… I want unity!”
He added: “And hopefully then, and only then, will I be accepted.” Dexerto describes the whole thing as a joke redesign of his peanut avatar, not a real change.
2026 so far
- Named a Streamer of the Year nominee at the 2026 Esports Awards, per Wikipedia.
- Streamer Awards nominees announced; he is up for Best VTuber again.
- Responds on stream with a joke makeover, per Dexerto.
What happens next
Per Geo News, voting runs through Oct 31 and the ceremony is Nov 12 in Los Angeles. Dexerto notes that NemoNevermore, a critic quoted in its report, predicted that voters unfamiliar with the other nominees, or voting out of spite, could back Peanut while other VTubers’ fans split their votes.
Poll
Is a PTuber a VTuber?
Your reaction?
Receipts
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