The Importance of Twitch Emotes in the Chat Section
Twitch has revolutionized the way we enjoy watching others play video games. Part of its success is due to the chat section, where viewers can communicate with each other. One of the key aspects of the Twitch chat experience is the use of emotes. Emotes are a way for viewers to express their emotions, such as appreciation, frustration, happiness, or rage. For new viewers, understanding the meaning behind each emote can be overwhelming.
What Does PogChamp Mean on Twitch?
To understand PogChamp, you need to know its origin. The image associated with the first iteration of PogChamp belongs to Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, a content creator. The image comes from a bloopers episode of his show Cross Counter back in 2010. In the image, Gutierrez makes an iconic gesture as his cameraman accidentally bumps into a camera. This moment was immortalized as PogChamp. PogChamp is commonly used to express shock, surprise, excitement, or disbelief.
PogChamp can also be used to hype up a word battle or show support during intense moments in a stream. Essentially, it means “I can’t believe that just happened” in a positive way. It’s a versatile emote that can be used to express various forms of excitement and surprise.
Why Did PogChamp Change?
If you use the PogChamp emote on Twitch, you may have noticed that the original image of Gutierrez is no longer present. This change is a result of a controversy involving Gutierrez following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Twitch decided to remove the PogChamp emote because Gutierrez’s comments on social media were seen as encouraging further violence.
However, Twitch didn’t want to leave the platform without the expression for long. Instead of bringing back the original PogChamp emote, Twitch introduced different versions of the emote, with different content creators being featured as PogChamp for a day. Ultimately, a lizard emote called KomodoHype won the competition to become the new PogChamp. This ensured that the controversy surrounding Gutierrez wouldn’t happen again.
With KomodoHype as the new PogChamp, Twitch has moved forward, providing viewers with a new emote that does not carry any controversial baggage.