Sure, it was cringe-worthy but it had an undeniable effect on the world for a point in time. Many would shout or say "Poggers" in response to something cool or interesting, as a verbal way of using PogChamp. The original emote was so iconic, it spread outside of Twitch. It's hard to say if Twitch's new reptilian friend will gain enough of a following to really compete with PogChamp. The emote has existed on Twitch for a while and there were even movements to try and get KomodoHype as a replacement to PogChamp prior to last month's controversy from Gootecks. KomodoHype was an early favorite in this process and ultimately ended up winning the fan vote to take the metaphorical throne in the Twitch chats. The choice comes following a month-long search for the new PogChamp, where one new face would take over as the emote each day. Twitch has officially made a decision (via Kotaku) on who the new face for the emote will be.
Related: Fortnite Streamer Grefg Skin Reveal Breaks Multiple Twitch Records This, of course, prompted Twitch to remove him as the face of PogChamp, an emote he already hated being associated with. After a woman was fatally shot while storming the building, Gootecks suggested that she would die in vain if other rioters didn't make an effort to continue their push. Gootecks made a Tweet on Januregarding the riots at the US Capitol.
He's been known to spread conspiracies regarding subjects like COVID-19 amongst many other things but in January, there was one straw that broke the camel's back. Unfortunately, he has a reputation that was wrought with controversy. The former face of the emote, Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez, is a professional Street Fighter player and also the co-founder of Cross Counter TV. The new emote comes following the removal of the original PogChamp last month. Yes, that's right, the replacement to the iconic Twitch emote is not a human being, it's a reptile.
The new Twitch PogChamp emote is.a lizard.