Meet Ilyas Elmaliki, YouTube's Biggest Gamer Of 2023 So Far
Becoming a top-ten streamer isn't an easy feat, and there's no one way to go about it, even as secrets of the streamer industry have spread. Some, like Sykunno, blew up in 2021 by riding the wave of an emerging trend: streaming "Among Us." Kai Cenat meanwhile, the fastest growing YouTube streamer of 2023, witnessed significant spikes in viewership in the past three years as a content creator of many disciplines. Since then, another streamer who began his YouTube career in 2018 has seen a similarly meteoric rise to the top, appearing almost out of nowhere for many viewers on the platform.
Streams Charts once again determined the top ten YouTube Gaming streamers for the first quarter of 2023, with familiar names including TimTheTatman, IShowSpeed, and Dr Disrespect placing on the list. None of them clinched 1st place, however.
Instead, Moroccan streamer Ilyas Elmaliki shot up through the ranks to take the number one spot in a close race with IShowSpeed, who ranked second. Impressively, Elmaliki spiked to this position in less than half a year, judging from graphs capturing his channel's growth.
A soccer fan and musician
At 258 hours of streaming time in the first three months of 2023, Ilyas Elmaliki has unleashed a whole lot of content in a short period of time — albeit not as much as other streamers featured in the top ten. His charisma and approach to content must have resonated with fans, considering 34.7 thousand of them tuned in on average for his streams. This translated to 8.9 million hours of total watch-time in the first three months of 2023.
The Moroccan streamer has spent many of his streaming hours so far in "FIFA 2023." He has worn his appreciation for the sport loud and proud: playing "FIFA," wearing jerseys on stream, and using thumbnails depicting the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar. Outside of "FIFA," Elmaliki has spent a lot airtime reacting to YouTube and TikTok videos and has chatted with strangers on apps like Azar and Omegle.
In terms of other interests, Elmaliki has even joined the ranks of streamers fans may not know are musicians. The streamer has released his own music on Spotify, a few singles that have received thousands of plays.
Clearly a breakout star in the streaming industry, fans should expect to hear more about the soccer-loving musician going forward.