Accusations, controversies, messy divorces, and rumored relationships—no, this isn’t an episode of Real Housewives, it’s just another year with OTK. Just as one scandal fades, another takes its place, dragging the group deeper into a hole they can’t seem to get out of.
At this point, the question isn’t whether OTK is struggling—it’s whether they’re already dead.
The beginning of something viral
Created at the peak of COVID, One True King—OTK, was founded in October 2020 by some notable Twitch personalities: Asmongold, Mizkif, Esfand, TipsOut, and Rich Campbell. Unlike other streamer groups, OTK was a streamer-first content organization focusing on monetizing their friendships.
And while their content was mostly just raw clips of them hanging out together, their mix of engaging, chaotic, and relatable videos stood out from other streamer groups. During the peak of the pandemic, their videos catered to exactly what viewers were looking for.
With many of their videos amassing over 50,000 concurrent viewers, they grabbed the attention of several partnerships with companies like Coinbase, Intel, Razer, Gatorade, and Mountain Dew.
As OTK quickly grew its organization, its content needed polishing to meet the standards of its new sponsors. While creators want freedom, businesses want structure.
Meaning no more messy backgrounds, unscripted videos, or unplanned chaotic content. And while OTK made their videos more professional, they tried to do it without losing their original identity.
With their new sponsors, they were able to have several successful ventures, like OTK Game Expo, OTK Valorant Invitational, Rumble Club, World of Warcraft Duel Tournament, Starforge Systems, and their game show, Schooled.
The awkward love triangle
In October, Emiru relocated to Texas and moved in with Mizkif, later joining OTK. At the time of her arrival, Mizkif had just broken up with his girlfriend of two years, Maya Higa, just a month before in September. With the short time frame, Maya said she felt “replaced in every way but romantic”, and she’s tired of being compared to Emiru by fans.
Though their relationship was never confirmed, viewers suspected Emiru and Mizkif were dating behind the scenes, until their recent split, now that she has officially moved out and put distance between herself and OTK. There have been leaked messages between the two showing some toxic behavior on Mizkif’s side that may have been the reason for their split.
With the recent collaboration with Maya and Emiru, fans are taking it as further confirmation of their relationship and break-up. Meanwhile, Mizkif announced he’s relocating to Japan. His sudden move seems to be no coincidence, especially since no one in the OTK group seems to be on talking terms with him.
Three scandals, three founders, one sinking ship
A common pattern we see with influencers is that the faster they rise, the faster they fall. As OTK was able to achieve major success in its first two years, its lucky streak seemed to come to an end.
In September of 2022, Adrianah Lee accused Mizkif of covering up a sexual assault incident that happened at one of the org’s parties. He was suspended from OTK while a third-party investigation was going on.
Although it was revealed that Mizkif did not directly minimize or cover up anything, OTK reinstated his position in December of that year, but had him under probation due to his lack of empathy on the severity of sexual assault.
Adrianah later sued OTK, including Mizkif, for defamation, though the case was dismissed.
Major influencer groups deal with controversies, address them and bounce back, but OTK seemed to break a record with two allegations in four months. In the same year as Mizkif’s incident, Azalia Lexi accused Rich Campbell of sexual assault, which caused him to step down from OTK as per the organization’s request.
He disappeared from the internet until resurfacing again in 2024 when he filed a lawsuit against Azalia for $3.6 million in damages for false claims that were made to ruin his career. Azalia has not addressed the lawsuit, as there are still ongoing legal proceedings from both parties.
One true tyrant
And if two founders weren’t enough, let’s try three.
In a live stream, Asmongold shared his opinion on the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. He claimed Palestinians come from an inferior culture, and that he does not feel bad for any of them. Backlash followed, and Asmongold had to step down from OTK.
OTK lost credibility and trust along with several of their sponsors, and many of the side projects were affected. As for the other members, there was a loss of motivation to even show up anymore.
Another pillar falls for OTK
With the org hanging by a thread, Sodapoppin announced on December 20th, 2024, that they had to let go of several staff members from marketing, sales, and production departments. With the budget cuts, they also had to cancel their game show, Schooled.
With their loss in leadership and soiled reputation, they have brought on new members like ExtraEmily and Will Neff. Will stated that changes have to happen for the org to be a better place, although if they can’t make that happen, then he will reevaluate where he stands.
After 16 months, Will left OTK in May 2025 and wished them all the best with his departure. Several of his fans were happy that he left and was moving on to better things. Nmplol has reassured fans that even with Will’s departure, they’re more motivated than ever to get back to making great content.
Secrets finally exposed
During the fall of 2024, Nmplol announced his separation from his partner, Malena. Fans were surprised by the news, but were more shocked to find out that they had been secretly married for over a decade.
So their relationship wasn’t a simple break-up, but rather a legal divorce.
Almost a year has passed, and their divorce has erupted into a heated internet battle, with accusations of financial manipulation and infidelity. While their separation was initially amicable, it has now escalated into bitter disputes over privacy and assets. Malena wants to get 50% of everything, while Nick is fighting against it.
Fake news for views
Since the first few controversies back in 2022, OTK has been slammed with one conflict after the other. Whether they got cursed, broke a mirror, or opened some bad chain mail, there’s no doubt the last three years have been brutal.
While the efforts are still being put to reinstate OTK’s glory, some fans are speculating that OTK is already over. Once all their contracts are up, the organization is going to disband and go their separate ways.
Other rumours are questioning whether it’s all performative drama to draw in viewers before OTK finally calls it quits. And while there’s no hard evidence to prove it, it is certainly a plausible theory.
With a few remaining co-founders still holding on after a long three years, TipsOut has expressed that there is growth for OTK, though it is a little rough around the edges. With new leadership and members, and the right motivation, there’s a chance of a comeback.
The end of an era
If there’s one takeaway from OTK, it is that personality-centered organizations might bring in the views, but without structure, they’re a disaster waiting to happen. While these groups thrive in chaos, if there’s no solid foundation, they eventually collapse under their own weight.
OTK isn’t the only example of this. FaZe also struggled with poor leadership, internal conflicts, and controversies. So does that mean streamer groups are over? Not necessarily, but the era of throwing big names together in a group and hoping for the best might be.
The next generation of streamer groups will have to evolve from a friendship-centred organization model and put more effort into creating a business infrastructure that won’t break at the first jab. Something OTK had to learn the hard way.
