The 2025 Streamer Awards featured multiple video packages recapping the past year of streaming. Viewers quickly noticed something odd about the edits.
xQc barely appeared in any of the montages despite being one of the platform’s biggest streamers and a nominee at the event. More damning was how he appeared to be actively cropped out of footage taken directly from his own streams.
The clearest example involves xQc’s collaboration stream with Will Smith. The awards package included footage from this stream showing Smith on camera. Viewers identified it as xQc’s POV because his girlfriend Aiko is visible in the background. But xQc himself is nowhere to be seen in the frame despite sitting at his desk for nearly the entire original stream.
This wasn’t the only instance. Clips from xQc’s streams appeared at least twice during the show but were framed to exclude him from view each time.
Ostonox responded to accusations on his stream. He’s a prominent editor who works regularly with Hasan Piker and was brought in to edit packages for the awards. He claimed he didn’t intentionally remove xQc and suggested the packages followed nomination chains or “good vibes” criteria that naturally excluded certain streamers.
The contrast with Hasan’s treatment made things worse. Hasan appeared roughly five times across the packages including relatively mundane clips like sticking his tongue out at his desk. Other streamers in Hasan and QTCinderella’s close circle also received significant screen time.
Why this matters for awards shows
xQc and Hasan have had public feuds for years. Having an editor closely associated with Hasan handle major video packages for an industry awards show raised obvious questions about neutrality.
Face time in awards packages carries real value for creators. It signals who the industry considers central figures and provides branding opportunities. When major streamers get edited out of their own content while others dominate the runtime, it raises questions about whether the event represents the full streaming ecosystem or just one corner of it.
