Earlier this week, Twitch made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote from their platform after the person on whose face it was based made inflammatory comments about the violent riots at the US Capitol. The reference to the shocked face emote has become something of the most important on Twitch and in gaming circles in general, so they did not want to give up the spirit of PogChamp. For now, they decided to ‘roll with it’ and replace the emote with a new face of surprise every 24 hours.
Twitch apparently liked it the proposal suggested by Sean “Day9” Plot to create a pool of shocked emotions and choose a random one each time the PogChamp emote is used. They did not exactly do that, but they are looking for faces.
“In the spirit of figuring out 2021 together,” they say, Twitch will have a shiny new global PogChamp every 24 hours. The first time the new PogChamp is apparently Kenny “UnRooolie” McWild who throws up his face for consideration as a possible substitute. Of course there is a very from other streamers save their own faces if possible Pogs in response to Twitch’s announcement.
For now, apparently, we will be treated every day with a new face of shock and awe. I can not imagine that Twitch will keep that strategy indefinitely, but it will give them time to come up with a more permanent solution, whether it’s a pool of possible PogChamps or a new standard Pog for everyone. Twitch said earlier that they want to “design a new emblem with the community for the most hype moments on Twitch.”
Until tomorrow, Unrooolie is your PogChamp choice.