HOME / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

What is PogChamp? Twitch removes oldest emote after Ryan Gootecks encourages ‘further violence’ at Capitol Hill

'We've made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol,' Twitch said in a statement

Pogchamp, one of gaming culture’s most prominent gaming emote, has been removed from the live streaming service Twitch, the company announced. The decision was considered in light of its real-world face, fighting game personality Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez, who used social media to, in Twitch’s words, encourage “further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.”

Following a violent attack that took place in Capitol Hill by Trump supporters and calls to impeach from major political figures, Gutierrez asked his fans and followers to continue the “civil unrest” that unfolded on January 6. He invoked the name of the woman who died during the Trump supporters takeover, encouraging his followers to watch a video about her passing.

A few hours later, Twitch made the decision to remove the emote, citing “We've made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today."

Twitch added, "We want the sentiment and use of Pog to live on – its meaning is much bigger than the person depicted or image itself– and it has a big place in Twitch culture. However, we can't in good conscience continue to enable use of the image."

What is PogChamp?

PogChamp (also known as Pog champion) one of the oldest emotes on Twitch, is based on Gootecks, a professional Street Fighter player, and is mainly used to express surprise in response to something happening on stream. PogChamp is based on a video from 2000 but was given the name PogChamp because of a Mad Catz fight stick promo released in 2011 for a tournament that Gootecks was competing in.

PogChamp is still one of the most popular emotes, and part of the reason is that it’s pretty safe. It is usually spammed in Twitch chat when something exciting or epic happens. It's a depiction of Gootecks from CrossCounterTV.

As soon as the news of the removal of PogChamp made its way to social media, one user asked, "WHY DID I JUST LOG ON HERE TO SEE THAT TWITCH IS REMOVING THE POGCHAMP EMOTE. WHAT IS THIS." Another said, "We have crossed some line with this one, but I do understand why Twitch did it. I can't believe Gootecks actually sided with those terrorists. WeirdChamp PogChamp is a legendary emote and I feel kinda sad seeing it go."

One said, "tfw Twitch removes the iconic pogchamp emoji just because he disagrees with their ideas." Another wrote, "at first i thought it was stupid that @twitch
removed pogchamp but looking into it... i am happy they did. good job on this one."

A user wrote, "At first i was sad pogchamp was removed from twitch, as it was my favorite emote. Now with the context given to me. I get it now. I am no longer sad and back to neutral old me. I will now recreate pogchamp but with my oc and use that instead." Calling it a dark day, another said, "PogChamp has been has been removed from twitch, it is a dark day for all of interent history, one that will go down in infamy."