Twitch Streamer Kai Cenat, Whose Giveaway Created NYC Riot, Wins Streamy Award

Kai Cenat, the popular Twitch streamer and influencer whose giveaway stunt led to huge riots in New York City earlier in the month, received an award for Streamer of the Year at the 2023 Streamy Awards.

"Man, if you were to tell me that I'll be winning this back-to-back years in a row a few years ago, I would have laughed and not even believed you," Cenat said while accepting the award. (He also won the same award in 2022.)

"This year has been crazy and I want to go ahead and thank god first, okay. I want to go ahead and thank my team...I'm just blessed."

On Aug. 4, thousands of Cenat fans descended on Union Square Park in hopes of getting free electronics that Cenat was giving away. The event soon devolved into chaos as some in the crowd threw objects and jumped onto cars. Cenat was charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly. Police initially said several people were injured, including at least four who were taken to hospitals, and 65 people were arrested, the Associated Press reported. 

Cenat, 21, is the one of the most-followed users on the livestreaming platform Twitch. The streamer is a member of the influencer collective Any Means Possible alongside the creators Agent 00, Fanum, Duke Dennis, ImDavisss and ChrisNxtDoor.

Some of Cenat's streams have even featured celebrity guests, including Drake and Ice Spice.

The influencer also has 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube. His high-octane content involves filming pranks, skits, gaming and sometimes simply vlogging his day-to-day life.