Streaming can seem like an unpredictable creature, and in many ways it is a bandwagon. Like Youtube, success compounds upon popularity. Many content creators have realized that once fame has found them, success inevitably follows, and it kills the spark. This is why many Youtubers and streamers simply vanish, but some return. Trick2g is one of those, and after a long vacation from League of Legends streaming, he has returned to take his throne.

There isn’t one quantifiable factor that points to success for streamers. Imaqtpie is worlds apart from Nightblue3, but both are at the top of the Twitch streamers list and both play League of Legends. The common element behind all major streamers, though, is branding. Imaqtpie became famous on Dignitas as the eccentric, long-haired carry of the team. His odd personality was something many gamers recognized in themselves or gaming culture, and he slowly used it to build an empire. For Imaqtpie, his brand is more relevant than his engagement, as he is often quiet or uncommunicative on his stream, but it’s the person that viewers are tuning in to watch.

This is where streamers like Trick2g excel. Trick is a loud, aggressive, boastful player. He blasts streams of smoke from his nose while he vapes and plays, he taunts enemy players constantly with, “later bitch,” and he embraces his persona. His brand is that of a high-stakes roller, the guy at the table making noise and winning hard and bouncing back from losses.

His departure from major streaming – and especially from League of Legends streaming – left a gap in the viewership. There are dozens of LoL streamers, but none of them had his same flare. His success is his bravado. When he runs into three enemies and laughs as they can’t hurt him, when he taunts an enemy, running circles around them, or when he jumps up to point out the dead body of someone that tried to gank him – and his greenscreen helps hugely with that – it all feeds into the Trick2g brand, and that brand is hilariously entertaining and completely unashamed.

Consistency helps as well. Many of his fans now associate him with Udyr, linking the two of them together forever. For fans of the game, playing against or with an Udyr automatically brings to mind Trick2g, and in that way, he has made himself as immortal as the game. Many streamers and professionals have their ‘main champs’, like Annie Bot with Annie and Tobias Fate with Gangplank, and it works amazingly in building a following.

No fan of streaming can think of Gangplank without thinking of Tobias Fate, and from his background, to his subscriber emotes to his music, Tobias Fate has become Gangplank. The same is true for Trick2g. Udyr’s ability to change stances and run circles around his enemies is more a signature move of Trick than it is Udyr. When he switches to turtle stance and then throws his hand in the air, mocking his opponents and telling them to hurt him, he is becoming Udyr and his streaming personality becomes what he is playing in game. It’s a lesson for all streamers and up and comers. Want to be successful? Brand successfully, and brand for the game you play. Just don’t choose Udyr. He’s taken.