In 2018, the online shooter Fortnite became huge on Twitch: careers emerged from nowhere. Especially two streamers became stars overnight. The blue-haired Tyler “Ninja” Blevins impressed with his hard shooter skills. But Ali “Myth” Kabbani (then 19) was the more skilled builder. In 2023, 5 years later, both of their careers have somewhat stagnated. For Myth, that’s not a problem at all.
How did Myth’s breakthrough happen back then?
- The American with Syrian roots had only started streaming on Twitch in 2016. Just a year later, he discovered Fortnite: Battle Royale. Two years later, at just 19 years old, he was a successful Twitch streamer and hundreds of thousands knew his name.
- In the early days of the shooter, late 2017/early 2018, Myth made a name for himself as a skilled builder at a time when hardly anyone could build in Fortnite. Yet, strangely, he had issues with nerves and could never really deliver in important games. While the ambitious Ninja thrived in crucial matches, Myth repeatedly died in foolish ways, fell during the big Las Vegas event in April 2018 and died from fall damage. He regularly messed up.
- Nevertheless, his channel grew tremendously in 2018: he accumulated 4.6 million followers, becoming one of the biggest streamers on Twitch in a short time.
In 2018, Myth was regarded as a great builder in Fortnite:
How did his career progress? 2018 was actually the peak of his career. In the years that followed, Myth became a solid variety streamer with between 8,000 and 12,000 viewers. That’s no longer quite the top league, but a solid spot just behind the top streamers.
With 7.4 million followers, he would still be in 12th place among the biggest channels today.
For Twitch streamers, such a deal is a luxury: They get a lot of money, no longer have to chase Twitch subs, and can design their lives freely.
While other YouTubers like Valkyrae or TimTheTatman have been fully launching on YouTube, Myth seems to be taking it easy.
On YouTube, he has hardly any viewers compared to before: Although he has 4.5 million subscribers there, his videos only reach 10,000 viewers, sometimes 40,000 if things go well.
But he seems to have no problems with that at all. He posts on Twitter now:
“I am grateful for the fact that I did not lose my mind over all the internet celebrity crap when I fell off the popularity train. Good night.”
But he hasn’t really disappeared from the spotlight. The tweet was displayed 670,000 times.
A Twitter user asks him: “Don’t you want to rebuild your career?”
“Well,” says Myth. He has plans. But he does it his way. The most important thing for him is to be happy first. He doesn’t care about all the “fake shit.”
Myth seems to be an alternative to the other big Fortnite streamer of his time, Ninja. Ninja seems to be struggling with how his career has been going in recent years:
But he also had issues with all the attention from his young fans:
Myth had a quiet career, admits: He was actually terrible at Fortnite
In the time after Fortnite, Myth made a name for himself as an ironic, thoughtful streamer, who tried to provide his community with a warm, calm place where they could relax and feel comfortable.
Myth became a voice of reason on Twitch, respected and liked by many, even though he no longer played at the top for views, but settled for streaming in front of 8,000 viewers, sometimes a few more, sometimes a few less.
In 2020, he looked back on his time as a “Fortnite god” and said: God, he was terrible at Fortnite back then. No one just noticed. He had gotten the most out of his career: Others had to be pros and good at their games. He was a pro, but terribly bad. Yet he was still there. That was an achievement.
Myth switches to YouTube, has hardly any viewers there – Proud to be “normal”
This is what he does today: Myth accepted the offer from YouTube in 2022 after 6 years on Twitch and switched to YouTube Gaming. Obviously, he was offered one of those deals that can’t be refused.
For Twitch streamers, such a deal is a luxury: They get a lot of money, no longer have to chase Twitch subs, and can design their lives freely.
While other YouTubers like Valkyrae or TimTheTatman have been fully launching on YouTube, Myth seems to be taking it easy.
On YouTube, he has hardly any viewers compared to before: Although he has 4.5 million subscribers there, his videos only reach 10,000 viewers, sometimes 40,000 if things go well.
But he seems to have no problems with that at all. He posts on Twitter now:
“I am grateful for the fact that I did not lose my mind over all the internet celebrity crap when I fell off the popularity train. Good night.”
But he hasn’t really disappeared from the spotlight. The tweet was displayed 670,000 times.
A Twitter user asks him: “Don’t you want to rebuild your career?”
“Well,” says Myth. He has plans. But he does it his way. The most important thing for him is to be happy first. He doesn’t care about all the “fake shit.”
Myth seems to be an alternative to the other big Fortnite streamer of his time, Ninja. Ninja seems to be struggling with how his career has been going in recent years:
