IShowSpeed wins third Streamer of the Year, gives speech in Indonesian

IShowSpeed, the 21-year-old American streamer whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., won Streamer of the Year at The Streamer Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday 12 November 2026. He then gave his acceptance speech in Indonesian. It was his third consecutive win of the event's top prize, which IBTimes UK reports is a first.

The broadcast began at 2:30pm Pacific time, according to the awards' official account on X. That was about 5:30am on Friday 13 November in Jakarta. By Friday afternoon, Indonesian outlets including Kompas, detikInet, Medcom, IDN Times and Suara Merdeka had published stories on the speech, and "streamer awards" was trending in Indonesian searches.

What he said on stage

Kompas Tekno reports that Watkins spoke only Indonesian from the moment he walked on stage until he returned to his seat, without switching to English. Several Indonesian outlets quoted lines from the official Streamer Awards replay on YouTube.

Medcom quoted him opening with "Terima kasih banyak semuanya" ("Thank you very much, everyone"). DetikInet reported that he told viewers "Aku nggak akan berhenti, aku akan terus berjuang untuk kalian, aku cinta kalian semuanya", which translates as "I won't stop, I'll keep fighting for you, I love you all." Suara Merdeka quoted him describing himself as "cuman anak kecil dengan mimpi besar" ("just a kid with a big dream").

Suara Merdeka and Kompas Megapolitan both reported in their headlines that he wore a red-and-white jacket, the colours of Indonesia's flag. NewsWLD has not verified this against the footage.

IDN Times told readers that the clip circulating online is genuine and not generated by artificial intelligence, and directed them to the official replay.

No explanation yet for the choice of language

Watkins has not publicly explained why he spoke Indonesian. Kompas Tekno said the reason was not yet known, and Suara Merdeka said no explanation had been given.

Indonesian media have pointed to his existing links with the country. Suara Merdeka connected the speech to his visit to Indonesia in September 2024, when he picked up some phrases. IDN Times recalled an earlier viral clip in which he spoke Indonesian with Indonesian users on Omegle, a random video-chat site.

NewsWLD found no statement from the Indonesian government about the speech. During his 2024 visit, Indonesia's tourism and creative economy minister praised the trip, according to an earlier story linked by Suara Merdeka.

Analysis: addressing an awards audience in Indonesian suggests Watkins sees Indonesian and wider Southeast Asian viewers as an important part of his following. NewsWLD has no sourced figures on the size of his Indonesian audience.

How many awards he won

In the Streamer of the Year category he beat CaseOh, Joe Bartolozzi, Jynxzi and Stable Ronaldo, according to IBTimes UK. Medcom, detikInet and Business Upturn report that he also won Best IRL Streamer, a category for creators who broadcast from real-world locations rather than from a desk. Medcom said he dedicated that award to his crew.

Reports differ on whether he won a third prize. IBTimes UK and Geo TV say he also took Best Streamed Series for his World Cup Tour, and IDN Times reports he won three of his four nominations. Other outlets list only two. NewsWLD has not been able to confirm the third award against the official results, so he won at least two awards on the night.

Geo TV reports that Watkins was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 21 January 2005 and won Streamer of the Year in 2024 and 2025. It also puts his YouTube following at 62 million subscribers, a figure NewsWLD has not independently checked.

The other winners

Kai Cenat, who was not nominated for Streamer of the Year this year, won three awards. IBTimes UK linked his wins to his Streamer University project and his collaboration with the singer Tyla.

According to a full winners list published by Rolling Out:

• CaseOh won Best Variety Streamer
• Joe Bartolozzi won President of Chat
• Katie B won Best Breakout Streamer and Best Minecraft Streamer
• E11ysa received the Rising Star Award
• Quackity received the Legacy Award
• Maya Higa and Adapt won Best Streamer Collab
• Ironmouse won Best VTuber
• ashswag won Best International Streamer
• Lacy won Biggest Crashout
• supertf won Streamer's Choice
• Red Bull won Best Brand Partner

How the awards work

The Streamer Awards are organised by the streamer QTCinderella, who co-hosted this year's sixth edition with Caroline Kwan. The show was broadcast live on her Twitch and YouTube channels, according to Dexerto. It recognises creators on Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, as well as on YouTube and Kick.

Dexerto reported 37 categories decided by public vote. Watkins, Cenat and Jynxzi led the field with four nominations each. For the first time, any creator could apply to be considered for categories matching their work, with applications open from 31 August to 2 October 2026, according to Twitch's blog.

Wikipedia's page on the 2026 event says the ceremony was moved forward from 17 November because that date was close to the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. NewsWLD has not found a primary source confirming this. Sportskeeda described the show as the most-watched livestream on Twitch but gave no viewing figure.

Reaction and what comes next

Indonesian outlets described local audiences as surprised by the speech. Sportskeeda reported fans on X praising Watkins, with some calling him the "Goat", shorthand for greatest of all time.

The main open questions are whether Watkins will explain his choice of language on his own channels, whether official results confirm a third award, and whether peak live viewing figures for the 2026 broadcast are published. NewsWLD will update this report if Indonesian officials respond.