Tragic Details About Ludwig
Ludwig Ahgren is undisputedly one of the most popular streamers in the world. He made his name through playing hit Nintendo titles such as "Super Smash Bros.," "Mario Party," and "Pokémon," before moving into a variety of different types of entertainment He was also one of the streamers who blew up in 2021 playing "Among Us." It was at that point that he took the title as the most subscribed streamer on Twitch, unseating Ninja during his legendary 31-day "subathon" (during which time he didn't stop streaming as a way of garnering new subscribers). Then, Twitch's biggest rising star ended the year by leaving the platform altogether in spectacular fashion: by making a video in which he blew up an old purple car and drove away in a shiny new red one to announce that he was switching over to YouTube. His YouTube channel now has over 3 million subscribers and he now broadcasts to an average of 25 thousand viewers per stream (per Win.gg).
But just because Ludwig has been successful, it doesn't mean that the streamer's road has been an easy one. Spending so much of his life in front of the camera has presented its own set of complications and he has had to endure his share of hardship and disappointment.
Ludwig felt constantly devalued by Twitch
When Ludwig first left Twitch for YouTube, many assumed that it was simply because YouTube had offered him the better deal. It turns out there was more to it than that though. Ludwig explained on stream that the real reason he left the platform where he'd built his audience had more to do with an apparent lack of appreciation from Twitch itself.
"I've been with Twitch for three-plus years," he stated. "Even though people call me the golden boy of Twitch, I've never felt like the golden boy of Twitch. I've never felt particularly loved by Twitch. I love Twitch, but it hasn't been a two-way street." He then acknowledged that it might sound selfish from the outside, since he's making good money and has so many fans, but he felt that his performance on behalf of the platform deserved some acknowledgment that he never received. He isn't alone in feeling that way, either. Fellow streamer Sykkuno also left Twitch for YouTube, citing a similar lack of appreciation from the platform.
Even after he left, Ludwig felt burned by Twitch when it left him out of its 2021 recap — even though he had been on the platform all the way until late November and held one of its best-performing channels (particularly during his subathon). He sent out a tweet in response, stating, "Although I understand it from a business perspective, it's still sad to be erased from so many people's year."
He struggled with gambling addiction
As a variety streamer, Ludwig has dabbled in a lot of the various streaming metas that have been popular in the last few years. And so, it wasn't that surprising to see him getting involved with the gambling meta that other major streamers like xQc have engaged with as well. Ludwig even hosted his own million dollar poker tournament, which he broadcast live on his channel. He later expressed that he didn't really like it anymore during an episode of his podcast "The Yard," stating, "I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't fun losing the money and I'm a bad gambler."
Just weeks after that, he expanded on his earlier statement in a stream, during which he addressed his fans directly and admitted that he has a gambling problem. "I'm a gambling addict," he stated. "Five years ago, it got so bad I had $100 left in my bank account, and do you know what I did with that hundred? I gambled it on a 'Mario Party 4' minigame ... and lost." He cited xQc as another example of a streamer who has been open about his own struggles with gambling addiction, then called for Twitch to put a stop to gambling streams. Ludwig argued these streams could potentially be harmful to both streamers and viewers.
He lost his father at a young age
For those who don't already know, Dr. Alok Kanojia, a.k.a. Dr. K is a Harvard trained psychologist, expert in the field of gaming mental health, and founder of the organization Healthy Gamer, which focuses on helping the gaming community to actively tend to their mental wellness. He also has a YouTube channel where prolific members of the gaming community have come to be interviewed by Dr. K and open up about some of the more intimate and traumatic events that they've gone through in a safe environment. Ludwig came on Dr. K's show and discussed one of the most difficult events of his life: the loss of his father.
The conversation began with Dr. K asking Ludwig how his father died. "He was an alcoholic," Ludwig said. "F***ed up his insides, was refusing to go to the hospital, coughed up blood for a bit, and then just died." Ludwig then recounted the traumatic event, which occurred when he was ten years old. Ludwig explained that his father got up at some point in the evening and started vomiting blood in the bathroom. His mother then called for emergency services and sent Ludwig to stay with the neighbors. He returned home in the morning to hear that his father had passed away.
Ludwig later stated in the interview that he didn't think his father's addiction was his own fault and that he was grateful for the ten years he had with him, but he did remark that they might have had a few more years together if his father had sought help sooner.