Misfits Gaming has signed Hikaru Nakamura, the five-time US chess champion and one of Twitch’s most popular chess content creators.
The multiple-champion chess player is about to join his second esports team. TSM had previously signed Nakamura in August 2020, but the two parted ways in June 2021.
Chess has exploded in popularity on Twitch, quickly becoming one of the most popular and consistent categories since its inception in 2020. GMHikaru, Nakamura’s YouTube channel, has undoubtedly aided the spread of chess in the streaming space.
According to Streams Charts, GMHikaru is by far the most-watched chess influencer on Twitch, with nearly 10,000 viewers per stream and over 6 million hours watched in 2022.
GMHikaru has maintained a place in high-level chess competition since switching to streaming. Notably, the streamer won the FIDE Grand Prix in 2022 and will now compete in the 2022 Candidates Tournament for a chance to play in the World Chess Tournament.
GMHikaru will continue to produce regular chess content with Misfits, but the organization hopes to help him with other projects that are important to him.
Misfits has significantly expanded its influencer division in addition to maintaining esports teams in League of Legends, Overwatch, and Call of Duty. Tubbo, Ranboo, Aimsey, and SushiBAE are just a few of the creators the group has signed in the last year. Though these creators are mostly known for their work in Minecraft, Misfits may be looking to branch out into streaming and content creation.