Jeremy Wang, better known for his alias Disguised Toast, officially left the leading live streaming platform Twitch for Facebook Gaming. The announcement was made by Facebook on Nov. 22 (Friday).
Meet Twitch's 'Hearthstone Game-Breaker'
Jeremy Wang is a 28-year-old streamer from Taipei, Taiwan raised in Toronto, Canada. Wang has two YouTube channels, where one is made exclusively for his "Hearthstone" games.
In the video game industry, Disguised Toast is considered as one of the most recognizable faces in the Blizzard-based card game "Hearthstone." With more than 1 million followers on Twitch, Wang was described by Shot Callers Esports as the platform's "Hearthstone" game-breaker.
Wang started broadcasting his gameplay in 2015, hiding behind a mask of a toast with sunglasses until he accidentally revealed himself on a live stream.
Over the years, he has also accumulated massive following for playing "Apex Legends," "Teamfight Tactics," and games from the "League of Legends" franchise. He also became famous for using combo decks, such as Exodia Mage, and decks with the Yogg–Saron card.
In a Twitter post on Friday, Wang announced the exclusive streaming deal with Facebook, which he described as the "big news" and expressed his excitement about this "new chapter."
Disguised Toast's Deal With Facebook Gaming
CNN referred to Wang as Facebook's "biggest name yet" to compete in the live streaming wars. When asked to comment on his move to the platform, he admitted that he received offers from major streaming platforms but believes Facebook has the most "explosive potential."
"It's always a risk to move platforms, but my research has made me confident in my choice," he added.
As part of the deal, Disguised Toast has to stream all of his games exclusively on Facebook—a huge blow to rival platform Twitch, an Amazon-owned platform. Meanwhile, Wang and his videos can still appear on other platforms, such as Offline TV. Offline TV is a channel on YouTube, a Google-owned company.
Neither Facebook nor Wang disclosed any sum of money included in the deal.
Trending Streaming Platform War
Disguised Toast's shift from Twitch to Facebook marks the first time a major English-speaking streamer moved to a rival platform. Recently, there has been a trend among the major live streaming platforms where they sign players from rival sites to draw in fans and gamers.
In August, online gaming star Richard Tyler Blevins a.k.a. Ninja left Twitch for Microsoft's Mixer. Two months later, Mixer's Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek left the platform for Twitch.
What's Next for Facebook Gaming
To keep up with the trend and to up its effort to compete with rival streaming platforms, Facebook signed two lead "Fortnite" streamers: Sergio Moles Montes a.k.a. NexxuzHED and Manuel Fernández a.k.a. Lolito FDEZ.
For StreamElements' CEO Doron Nir, Disguised Toast's platform switch is part of Facebook's strategic moves to "showcase their competitive spirit."
"It's been heavily focusing on attracting talent in other regions, such as Latin America and Europe. With today's announcement, they are hitting closer to home, which should make others take notice," he added.
