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Twitch signs DrLupo, Lirik, TimTheTatman to multiyear contracts

Twitch announced Tuesday that popular streamers Benjamin "DrLupo" Lupo, Saqib "Lirik" Zahid and Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar have been re-signed by the streaming giant. Photo: EPA/ADAM S DAVIS

Twitch announced Tuesday that it has retained three of its most popular streamers with exclusive, multiyear contracts.

Benjamin "DrLupo" Lupo, Saqib "Lirik" Zahid and Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar have more than 10 million combined followers and 550 million combined unique views. According to Twitch Tracker on Tuesday, TimTheTatman's 4.17 million followers make him the seventh-most followed streamer on Twitch.

According to The Esports Observer, all three are represented by Loaded, and the company facilitated each gamer's deal.

"These professional streamers are a part of the core foundation of Twitch," Loaded founder and CEO Brandon Freytag told The Esports Observer. "Each started to stream in 2011/2012 and have built massive and passionate audiences due to their engaging streams and participation in several iconic events throughout the years. We are excited to have each of them continue their success with Twitch in an even bigger way for more years to come."

According to The Esports Observer, DrLupo has raised more than $1.3 million for charity partners in 2018, including a 24-hour livestream for St. Jude's Children's Hospital that raised more than $600,000.

Among the games the three play and stream are World of Warcraft, Fortnite and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The news comes after Tyler "Ninja" Blevins and Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek announced last fall that they were leaving Twitch to stream exclusively on Mixer, Microsoft's streaming platform.

-- Field Level Media