xQc
Bio
Better known to gamers and chess players alike as xQc or xQcOW, Felix Lengyel is one of the most popular Twitch streamers today with over 7.5 million followers. He began growing his stream after originally focusing on competitive esports in the game Overwatch, at which he excelled. The interest xQc took in chess in March 2020 helped lead to the PogChamps tournaments. He is a partner of Luminosity Gaming.
Chess.com released xQc's bot in the vs. Computer feature in January 2021. Check it out now by clicking on the button below!
Gaming & Streaming Career
Felix Lengyel was born in Quebec in 1995. His streaming name derives from his first name (ending in X) and the abbreviation of his birth province (Qc).
After a brief attempt at League of Legends, xQc got his big start in gaming in the shooter Overwatch, and he became one of the best players in the world. His DatZit Gaming team won at Montreal in 2016. During 2017-19, xQc led the Canadian team in the Overwatch World Cup, most successfully in 2017 when Canada finished second and xQc won the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
In 2019 xQc began transitioning to streaming. By early 2020 he was a full-time streamer and occasionally surpassing 200,000 live viewers on Twitch. And in March, he began playing chess. In October 2020, xQc joined Luminosity Gaming.
Chess.com: PogChamps
When xQc began playing chess n March 2020, it didn’t take long for him to catch the eye of GM Hikaru Nakamura. xQc’s games with Nakamura and his role in the 2020 online chess boom have been covered by media outlets ranging from Fast Company to Wired, and even The New York Times.
Within just two months, at 2 P.M. on June 5, PogChamps began. Along with 15 other streamers, xQc was competing for a $50,000 prize pool. In the three-round group stage, xQc played in Group B against Hutch, Yassuo, and most infamously moistcr1tikal.
Although xQc won none of those group games, he reached the semifinal of the Consolation Bracket by defeating Fuslie. After blundering into stalemate up a queen in the first game, xQc went ahead by a queen, a pawn, and two pieces in their second game and won on time. In the semifinal, xQc was beaten by Ludwig.
Chess.com: PogChamps 2
In PogChamps 2 in August and September 2020, xQc was one of two returning contestants. This time his group included easywithaces, itshafu, and David Pakman. It was a group that included the eventual tournament winner, itshafu, and xQc again played in the consolation bracket. Once again he played better in the playoff than the group stage, putting up a strong fight against Cizzorz before falling by a 2.5-1.5 score.
xQc’s Chess.com rapid rating has improved to over 1200, a long way from under 900 at the start of the first PogChamps, and is the second-highest in the PogChamps 3 field entering the tournament. He continues to play his role in popularizing online chess, and now he has a good chance at making a deep run in PogChamps. He plays Daniel Negreanu, Pokimane, and Rubius as the top seed in Group B.
