The Rise of BotezLive: Chess Champions Turned Twitch Streamers
BotezLive is a popular Twitch channel hosted by Alexandra and Andrea Botez, two talented chess players who have brought the game to new heights on the streaming platform.
Alexandra, the older sister, achieved great success as a chess player before venturing into Twitch streaming. She became the five-time Canadian National Girls Champion, won the U.S. Girls Nationals before the age of 15, and attained the highest FIDE Elo rating of 2092 as of March 2016. Alexandra is currently the holder of the Woman FIDE Master Championship.
Andrea has also dedicated her life to mastering chess. Starting at the age of six, she has participated in numerous major chess tournaments.
Alexandra Botez began streaming online chess content in 2016 while attending Stanford University. Her efforts to popularize chess led to a surge in viewership. In 2020, Andrea Botez joined her sister’s channel, BotezLive.
The sisters have amassed a combined total of 1.75 million followers on Twitch and YouTube.
BotezLive, at a Glance
Alexandra Botez
- Name: Alexandra Valeria Botez
- Age: 26
- Birthday: September 24, 1995
- Nationality: Canadian
- Partner: Eric Hanson
- Awards: 5x Canadian National Girls Champion, U.S. Girls National Champion, Woman FIDE Champion
- Organizations: Envy
Andrea Botez
- Name: Andrea Botez
- Age: 20
- Birthday: April 6, 2002
- Nationality: Canadian
- Partner: N/A
- Award: N/A
- Organizations: Envy
The Games BotezLive Plays
BotezLive primarily features chess on their livestreams. However, they occasionally showcase other popular titles on Twitch, such as Fortnite, Among Us, VALORANT, and Fall Guys. Alexandra Botez also enjoys playing poker and hosts poker events on her channel.
The Earnings of BotezLive
BotezLive generates a significant portion of its revenue from Twitch. Based on their number of subscribers, the channel earns approximately $60,000 to $100,000 per year. This figure does not include donations or bits received by the channel. The Botez sisters have also signed undisclosed contracts with esports organization Envy.
The Background of the Botez Sisters
The Botez sisters’ parents fled Romania before they were born. While Alexandra and Andrea were born in Dallas, Texas, they grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Although they have lived in various places since starting their streaming careers, both sisters currently reside in Los Angeles, California as part of the Envy content house.
The Popularity of the Botez Sisters on Twitch
Alexandra Botez initially gained popularity on Twitch due to her exceptional chess skills, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers within her first year on the platform. She, along with other influential figures, played a significant role in the unexpected rise of chess on Twitch. The BotezLive channel gained even more recognition through hosting events like PogChamps and influencer chess tournaments.
The addition of Andrea to the channel brought a fresh dynamic, showcasing the sister’s relationship during broadcasts. Moving into the Envy content house allowed for collaborations with creators like JustaMinx and CodeMiko, further boosting their popularity.
Noteworthy Twitch Clip
One of the most viewed clips from BotezLive shows Andrea Botez playing a live chess game in New York City against a stranger. The Botez sisters often play speed chess games with willing participants in major parks. In this particular game, Andrea was defeated by a stranger who then asked for her number.
Future Endeavors of the Botez Sisters
Both sisters have no plans to leave their highly viewed joint Twitch channel. They remain members of Envy and active participants in the Envy content house. The Botez sisters continue to compete in chess events while creating regular content on their channel.