PogChamps

The first PogChamps tournament was announced in late May 2020 by Chess.com. The games were in a Rapid 10+5 Time control and all 16 players were streamers on Twitch.[3] Running from June 5–19, the tournament was won by League of Legends streamer Voyboy.[4] Coaching and commentary was provided primarily by GM Hikaru Nakamura and WFM Alexandra Botez.

PogChamps 2 was announced on July 20, 2020 and was played from August 21 – September 6. Some players returned from the first tournament, while others (such as David Pakman and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) played in the tournament for the first time.[5][2] PogChamps 2's lineup included some players who were not primarily Twitch streamers.[6] This event featured a slightly different format, with a double-round robin group stage.[7] Coaches included Nakamura and Botez, as well as GM Daniel Naroditsky, WGM Qiyu Zhou, IM Anna Rudolf and IM Levy Rozman.[6] The tournament was ultimately won by World of Warcraft and Hearthstone streamer Hafu (itshafu).[8]

PogChamps 3 was announced on January 11, 2021 to be played beginning on February 14. Notable contestants for the third event include streamers xQc (marking his third time participating), Ludwig, Myth, MoistCr1tikal, Pokimane, and Neekolul, YouTubers MrBeast and Michelle Khare, rapper Logic, actor Rainn Wilson and poker player Daniel Negreanu. In the announcement article, Chess.com noted how previous PogChamps tournaments, as well as other external events such as the success of The Queen's Gambit on Netflix, had led to a dramatic increase in the number of site registrations and daily games played, allowing them to gain several sponsorships for the third iteration of the series, which in turn led to an increased prize pool of $100,000.[9]

Chess.com claimed that viewership for the first tournament exceeded its "ambitious estimates." Trent Murray of The Esports Observer commented that the number of hours of chess watched on Twitch increased in June 2020, the month in which the first PogChamps took place.[10] David Llada, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for FIDE, said that the competition "demonstrates that chess can be fun from minute one."[11]

• Grayson, Nathan (September 14, 2020). "Chess Is An Esport, According To Twitch Star And Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura". Kotaku.
• This grand master started a chess revolution on Twitch. Fast Company (Video). September 10, 2020.