The Streamer of the Year race at the Esports Awards 2026 is officially taking shape, and the shortlist has some very familiar names. Twelve creators have made the cut, representing major streaming platforms including Twitch, YouTube and Kick. IShowSpeed, Kai Cenat, Jynxzi, CaseOh and Caedrel are all in the mix, alongside creators such as TheBurntPeanut, Ohnepixel and Cinna. There is also a pretty big storyline sitting over the whole category. IShowSpeed has taken home the Streamer of the Year award for the last two years. Now, with voting open, he is back on the ballot and looking for another win. But this time, he has 11 other creators standing between him and a third consecutive title.
Who are the Streamer of the Year nominees at Esports Awards 2026?
The complete shortlist includes:
- Jynxzi
- Caedrel
- IShowSpeed
- TheBurntPeanut
- Kai Cenat
- Ohnepixel
- CaseOh
- Coringa
- JasonTheWeen
- StableRonaldo
- Cinna
- Snax Gaming
The category covers creators from different corners of the streaming scene rather than focusing on one platform. That makes the vote a mix of established names and other major personalities competing for the same award.Kai Cenat’s nomination has already drawn a specific kind of reaction because of his recent break. One X user, @who_tf_is_jess, wrote, “Being nominated after 9 months break is different type of Aura.”
IShowSpeed, Jynxzi and CaseOh emerge as fan favorites
The voting discussion is not exactly settled. Some fans are already narrowing the race down to a few names.One commenter, @ClipStepper, argued that “No lie. LacyHimself deserves to be up there. Look at his stats. He been literally grinding every single day 10+ hours at a time and doing good segments.” Another user @andy132412 said “Ohnepixel and caedral on that sh*t, mofo… they dont do sh*t but react to game events”IShowSpeed also has supporters pointing to his activity across multiple major events and platforms. Fans mentioned and praised his Africa and Caribbean tours, underwater stream, WWE WrestleMania appearance, World Cup tour, live-viewer numbers and World Cup performance as reasons he should win.
When does voting for Streamer of the Year end?
Fans can vote through the official Esports Awards website, with the deadline set for November 10, 2026. That leaves the category wide open for now. Speed enters as the two-time defending winner, while the other 11 nominees are looking to take the award away from him.