Livestream viewership records: Highest peak viewers on Twitch & YouTube all-time

The world record for the most viewed Twitch stream or YouTube live is a coveted achievement, and has been held by the biggest names on the platform over the years. Here’s the highest peak viewership on livestreams, both on Twitch and YouTube.

January 11, 2021 was a historic day for Twitch, as Spanish streaming sensation David ‘TheGrefg’ Cánovas Martínez shattered the record for most concurrent viewers, as he revealed his very own Fortnite skin. He reached another top 3 Twitch record on January 29, 2023, peaking at over 1.7 million for his streamer awards.

However, on June 25, 2022, another Spanish streamer Ibai shattered that record, drawing in over 3 million viewers to watch his second boxing event. Meanwhile, over on YouTube, Casimiro has set a new record there, with over 6 million.

North American streamers still make up the bulk of this list, but non-English speaking streams are growing rapidly on Twitch and YouTube. Expect to see more streamers from other regions fight for a place among the most-viewed streams ever.

Contents

• Most viewed Twitch streams ever
• YouTube peak viewers record

Ibai

Ibai drew in over to 3 million viewers during his La Velada Del Año II event.

Most viewed Twitch streams ever

1. Ibai: 3,356,464
2. TheGrefg: 2,470,347
3. TheGrefg: 1,745,462
4. Ibai: 1,502,295
5. ELXOKAS: 1,208,144
6. ELEAGUETV: 1,088,063
7. PlayStation: 1,014,646
8. Squeezie: 1,018,187
9. Riot Games: 854,781
10. DOTA2TI_RU: 845,224
11. Gaules: 707,648
12. Zerator: 707,071
13. Fortnite: 700,529
14. Tommyinnit: 650,237
15. PGL: 649,414
16. LCK_KOREA: 623,617
17. Ninja: 616,693
18. Auronplay: 602,308
19. ESL_CSGO: 562,080
20. Axozer: 557,151

As you can see, Spanish streamer Ibai comfortably holds the record for peak viewers on a livestream, with 3.3 million viewers. This was achieved during his ‘La Velada Del Año II event.’

In second place is fellow Spaniar, TheGrefg. He was revealing his new Fortnite skin at the time, attracting viewers around the world. As the stream starting hitting record numbers, more people joined just to be part of the frenzy.

This list, via Twitch Tracker, includes streams from companies, rather than just individual creators.

See below for the list for solo streamers only.

YouTube: Ninja / Epic Games

Ninja was the previous record holder, thanks to his popularity at the peak of Fortnite.

Most viewed streams for a solo Twitch streamer (companies excluded):

1. Ibai: 3,356,464
2. TheGrefg: 2,470,347
3. TheGrefg: 1,745,462
4. Ibai: 1,502,295
5. ELXOKAS: 1,208,144
6. Squeezie: 1,018,187
7. Gaules: 707,648
8. Zerator: 707,071
9. Tommyinnit: 650,237
10. Ninja: 616,693
11. Auronplay: 602,308
12. Axozer: 557,151
13. N3KOGLAI: 543,743
14. Casimito: 534,644
15. Shroud: 516,289
16. XTEARS88: 512,246
17. BAKZERA: 506,797
18. OLLIEGAMERZ: 459,316
19. Asmongold: 448,161
20. INOXTAG: 436,418

Twitch might still be considered the home of video game livestreaming for now, but YouTube has been making up major ground in this area.

YouTube

YouTube Gaming is the home of livestreams on the platform, and directly competes with Twitch

YouTube peak viewers record

Here are the highest viewership peaks on YouTube livestreams, via PlayBoard:

1. CazéTV: 6.1 million (World Cup 2022 QF livestream)
2. CazéTV: 5.2 million (World Cup 2022 RO16 livestream)
3. SpaceX: 4 million
4. Apple: 3.6 million
5. Law & Crime Network: 3.5 million
6. Fluminese Football Club: 3.5 million
7. NEXT Sports: 2.7 million
8. BTS: 2.6 million
9. Sidemen: 2.5 million
10. VTV Thể Thao: 2.5 million
11. Dynamo Gaming: 2.4 million
12. Deddy Corbuzier: 2.4 million
13. Bein Sports: 2.3 million
14. Sandy & Junior: 2.3 million
15. Jorge & Mateus: 2.2 million
16. NASA: 2.2 million
17. FLA TV: 2 million
18. Gusttavo Lima: 2 million
19. Bruno E Marron: 1.9 million
20. Free Fire Esports India: 1.8 million

Note: Deleted livestreams and video previews are not counted in this list.

SpaceX previously held the record for the most viewed livestream on either YouTube or Twitch, with a launch of a test flight into space, showing the view inside the cockpit, on May 27, 2020.

But, this record was beaten not once, but twice, during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Brazilian streamer and journalist Casimiro did watch alongs of matches, and broke the record during the Brazil vs Croatia match, with 6.1 million live viewers.

• Read More: Top 20 most followed Twitch streamers

When Ninja set the Twitch record by playing Fortnite with Drake and Travis Scott, it immediately elevated the streaming space more widely, paving the way for more records to be set. As livestreaming in general grows in popularity, we could see more streamers crack the 1 million viewers mark.

We’ll keep you updated when new records are set and these rankings change, but Ibai has secured his spot at number one on Twitch for a long time to come.

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