When 700,000 viewers watched someone get shot in the eye at Kai Cenat’s Streamer University, it became clear the school was much more than just classes and lectures. What might have been the longest four days of Kai’s career are now leaving the public wondering if Streamer University was a success or a viral disaster.
The creation of Streamer University
Streamer University was an idea that Kai Cenat came up with himself. The concept behind it was to recreate a college-like experience and blend it with an influencer boot camp template. The goal was to elevate lesser-known creators by giving them free professional coaching from top streamers. The program was free, and applications were open to the public, so anyone had a chance to participate.
To put it simply, the event was a four-day crash course for 120 selected applicants, teaching them how to create content to boost their visibility.
There was a lot of anticipation and hype around Kai’s newest project, with millions of applicants and teasers. The dates had been officially set for a four-day event, taking place from May 22 to 25, at the University of Akron in Ohio, USA. The university had planned lectures, challenges, and coaching from professors like Duke Dennis, ImDontai, DDG, India Love, and more.
Alongside the hype and excitement, Kai got negative community feedback that almost made Kai scrap the project altogether. Mid-stream, Kai nearly broke down, saying that even with all the effort and money he’s putting in to help other creators, no matter what, there’s always something to criticize. But the show still went on.
@vrcetti Kai says he’s never doing a Streamer University again after seeing Zoe Spencer crying and the expense #kaicenat #zoespencer #streameruniversity ♬ original sound – inner child
What Twitch risked for Kai
If you’re wondering how Kai got away with this, especially convincing Twitch, he earned some leeway. As the biggest Twitch streamer of this year, bringing in millions of views per stream, Twitch had faith in his vision for a college reality TV show to discover new talent.
However, the company was hesitant about hosting such a large event. Worrying that it could lead to a lawsuit if any injuries, harassment, or crimes occurred, which would violate their own terms of service.
And we’ve seen creator-led reality shows go wrong before. MrBeast’s Beast Games on Amazon were associated with several injuries, hospitalizations, and safety oversights that led to legal trouble.
Someone got shot at Streamer University?
If you weren’t watching, let’s catch you up on what exactly went down in Kai’s four-day Streamer University.
Viewers noticed that there was a very male-dominated environment, so female creators were subjected to inappropriate jokes and pranks.
One of the pranks was with Rakai, going to other teams’ dorms in the middle of the night in robes with whipped cream. Viewers found this strange, especially since the girls involved were uncomfortable.
A female student got shot in the eye with an Orbeez gun and had to be sent to the hospital. It happened on the final day during an unsanctioned Orbeez gun fight, started by Rakai, which Kai quickly shut down before rushing to support the injured student. Viewers were quick to notice the lack of practical safety measures.
Among all this, students regularly got into screaming matches and fights, and were disrespectful towards their teachers, fellow students, and the university.
The college experience no one signed up for
While viewers quickly pointed out the lack of organization and safety measures put in place, they looked to Kai for answers on why more precautions weren’t taken. While the whole point was to create a college atmosphere, Kai may have recreated the “toxic frat boy” vibe all too well, getting some backlash from viewers.
Initially, fans loved the idea. Though, after seeing how it was executed, people thought it was wasted potential and just another chaotic stream with no takeaway. “It just felt super disrespectful…makes the whole thing look like a circus and undermines the original idea.”
Zoe Spencer gets rejected and exposed
Zoe Spencer went on a livestream expressing her disappointment in being denied from Kai’s Streamer University. She told people that she felt outcasted and didn’t understand why she was excluded. This brought up a lingering dating rumour that Zoe and Kai had been in a relationship together, which Zoe herself denied.
Kai responded with the real reasoning that they had a bad exchange where he felt Zoe was trying to purposefully embarrass him, which is why he didn’t accept her application.
xQc calls out “useless curriculum”
The university offered a mix of courses, including business management, music production, and a sex-ed class, which many students were put off by. The structure of the program raised questions about how serious the school was being taken.
Other classes like Internet Beef 101, Culinary Class, and Defense Against Hating were structured to involve a combination of creator tips and lifestyle skills, although the mix made the courses feel unfocused on the real objective of the university.
xQc criticized the curriculum, saying most of it “was useless” and should’ve taught more useful skills like stalling, reacting, and clip farming.
Overall, with the incidents and drama that occurred over the four days, people looked to Kai to take responsibility. Now, public opinion of him is more polarized than ever, with people questioning whether his goal was to support the applicants or capitalize on the situation for more views.
The global success of Kai’s streaming academy
Despite the backlash, Streamer University was statistically successful. According to the Streams Charts data, the event had over 700k peak viewers and more than 26 million hours watched. Clips of the live stream were trending daily and going viral across multiple social media platforms. This helped reach higher viewer engagement and more creator sign-ups.
Though it brought in the numbers, Kai’s Streamer University got a lot of attention for its unique concept and the fact that anyone could apply. Everyone had a chance to get in, and it sparked a lot of conversation outside of the usual Twitch audience. News outlets like Euronews, Vulture, and Afrotech ran articles covering the day-to-day streams and millions of applicants who wanted to get in.
So in short, even with its controversies, Streamer University was undeniably successful, dominating the media for days and carving out a cultural moment in the Twitch universe.
Why Rakai should’ve been expelled
With the intense criticism hitting Kai, he has addressed the issues head-on, acknowledging the flaws of the project. Duke Dennis, one of the streamers who came on as a professor, told Kai he wasn’t doing a good enough job and was allowing disrespectful behavior because he wasn’t giving out real consequences.
While Kai took some of the blame, many commentators felt the real issue was with students like Rakai, who didn’t take the university seriously. Skipping class and messing around, several students missed an opportunity that a lot of people would’ve killed for. Fans were especially frustrated by the wasted potential that the university had to uplift smaller creators.
Will Streamer University happen again?
Streamer University has been a confirmed viral success, just maybe not for the reasons it was supposed to be. While fans admired Kai’s original idea, the delivery didn’t live up to either viewers’ or Kai’s expectations. With the mental and financial strain the four-day event took on him, people can understand why Kai’s not planning a second season anytime soon.
And yet, streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon have offered deals with Kai to take on the show, but he declined, wanting to keep the project authentic and independent. With Kai owning the IP, no one else has a say in the future of Streamer University but him.
In my opinion, Streamer University is a strong idea. It’s refreshing and can open up a realm of new content trends and talent recruitment for new creators. Although the idea needs fine-tuning, and with some work, the concept can be what Kai originally envisioned. Even though Streamer University is untouchable, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing similar endeavors from other big creators.
With Kai’s next project, a Total Drama Island-inspired reality show, he has the chance to take the feedback from Streamer University to heart. After seeing how quickly things can spiral, it showed us all that no matter how big your platform or name is, one wrong move can still change everything. In a time where virality is fleeting, turning attention into meaningful, lasting content still remains the real challenge.
