You know what? In the spirit of figuring out 2021 together, let’s work with it for now!
Get ready for a new PogChamp every 24 hours, starting today. https://t.co/R16EyASsFx
– Twitch (@Twitch) 8 January 2021
The first streamer to get the PogChamp spotlight is fighter Kenny “UnRoolie” McWild, Kotaku notes. As such, it appears that Twitch will use PogChamp to highlight its community members.
Twitch removed PogChamp earlier this week after the emoticon’s original face, Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, called for further “civil unrest” following the death of a woman during violent protests on Capitol Hill. “We want the sentiment and use of Pog to survive – its significance is far greater than that of the person portrayed or the image itself – and it has a large place in Twitch culture,” Twitch wrote at the time. “However, we can not continue in good conscience to make the use of the image possible.”
Before Twitch removed it completely, some streamers banned PogChamp from their own channels. Twitch viewers use the emote to express excitement. When something impressive happened in a popular stream, the live chat would fill Gutierrez’s face. In the future, you may see a completely different face flood your screen when a streamer breaks a world record.