IShowSpeed Wins Third Straight Streamer of the Year at 2026 Streamer Awards as Kai Cenat, Katie B and Vanillamace Take Three Each

IShowSpeed was named Streamer of the Year for the third consecutive time at the 2026 Streamer Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 12, also winning Best IRL Streamer and Best Streamed Series. Kai Cenat, Katie B and Vanillamace each won three awards, while DDG apologized after a man interrupted ARIatHOME's Best Music Streamer speech.

Nov 13, 2026 - 12:22

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IShowSpeed was named Streamer of the Year at the 2026 Streamer Awards on Thursday, Nov. 12, in Los Angeles. It was his third consecutive win of the ceremony's top prize, according to Dexerto and Complex. The streamer, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., also won Best IRL Streamer, and his World Cup Tour was named Best Streamed Series.

Speed was one of four creators to win three awards each. Kai Cenat, Katie B and Vanillamace also took home three trophies, according to Dexerto and The Hype Magazine.

A third straight top prize

The other Streamer of the Year nominees were CaseOh, Joe Bartolozzi, Jynxzi and Stable Ronaldo, according to the official Streamer Awards winners page and Dexerto. The Hype Magazine reported that Speed's earlier Streamer of the Year wins came in 2024 and 2025. In the Best IRL Streamer category, he beat Cooksux, Evelyn Ortiz, ExtraEmily and Qoqsik.

Speed gave his acceptance speech entirely in Indonesian, TalkEsport and CNN Indonesia reported. In a rough translation published by TalkEsport, he said: "I started from zero, just a little kid with a big dream. You guys have been with me from the beginning. You're not just fans. You're my family. I won't stop. I'll keep fighting for you all. I love you all." Both outlets reported that he finished with a backflip. CNN Indonesia noted that Speed streamed from locations in Jakarta and Bali during a visit to Indonesia in September 2024.

How the show worked

The 2026 ceremony was the sixth edition of the Streamer Awards. It was hosted by founder QTCinderella and Caroline Kwan and recognized creators across Twitch, YouTube and Kick, according to Dexerto and The Hype Magazine. Both outlets reported that the show streamed live on QTCinderella's Twitch and YouTube channels. Winners were decided by a combined vote, with 70% coming from the public and 30% from an industry panel.

The ceremony was moved up to Nov. 12 from its original date of Nov. 17, according to The Hype Magazine and The Economic Times. The Economic Times reported that the change was made to avoid clashing with the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. The Hype Magazine noted that QTCinderella started the awards in 2022, and that the first ceremony was held on March 12, 2022, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.

Kai Cenat, Katie B and Vanillamace

Kai Cenat won the League of Their Own award and Best Mainstream Collab for his stream with singer Tyla. His Streamer University also won Best Streamed Event, beating PaymoneyWubby's 24 Hour Tag, Ludwig's Streamer Games and ZeratoR's ZEvent, according to Dexerto and the official winners page. TalkEsport noted that Cenat was not nominated for Streamer of the Year this year.

Katie B won Best Breakout Streamer and Best Minecraft Streamer. She also shared Best Stream Duo with Vanillamace, who won the Sapphire Award and the Best Dressed Award as well, according to Complex and The Hype Magazine.

Gaming and other categories

Jynxzi was named Gamer of the Year over Feinberg, iiTzTimmy, supertf and TheBurntPeanut, Dexerto reported. He also won Best Marathon Stream for Chained Together, a collaboration with Stable Ronaldo and LosPollosTV. Meccha Chameleon was named Stream Game of the Year, beating Big Walk, Fortnite and Minecraft.

Other winners listed by Complex and Dexerto included:

CaseOh, Best Variety Streamer
Ironmouse, Best VTuber
E11ysa, Rising Star Award
Stable Ronaldo, Best Reality Streamer
Joe Bartolozzi, President of Chat
ashswag, Best International Streamer
Critical Role, Best Role-Play Streamer
Dean Withers, Best Vertical Live Streamer
Maya Higa and Adapt, Best Streamer Collab
CORE, Best Content Group
Clix, Best Fortnite Streamer
OhnePixel, Best FPS Streamer
HMBLZAYY, Spark Award
Lacy, Biggest Crashout
Red Bull, Best Brand Partner

Interruption during Best Music Streamer speech

ARIatHOME won Best Music Streamer over DDG, PlaqueBoyMax and Bishu, according to the official winners page and AllHipHop. During his acceptance speech, a man took the microphone and said, "I'm sorry I'm going to let you finish, but DDG had the best music of all time." That account comes from AllHipHop, The Economic Times and NDTV. Ari then went back to his speech and thanked his fellow nominees, saying that "music on Twitch is small and you guys are killing it," as quoted by AllHipHop.

DDG later apologized on X. "i do not co-sign or approve of what happened during ur award bro. ur very talented and clearly deserved it. My apologies," he wrote, according to AllHipHop and The Economic Times.

NDTV reported that DDG left the ceremony early and did not win any of his nominations. Later, on his own stream, he said: "Shoutout to QT, still an amazing event. Even though I'm 0 for 4." He added that the night "inspired me to do my own award show," which he described as a BET-style ceremony for streamers, according to NDTV.