Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik has announced that he has made the decision to move away from co-streaming competitive Valorant.
The American became the face of Valorant co-streams as Valorant emerged as an esport, capturing consistently strong viewership and leading the Valorant watch party trend, but he has decided to end his VCT watch parties.
The 2018 Counter-Strike Boston Major MVP noted that he will take a short break from streaming before returning to gaming streams.
tarik steps away from VCT watch parties
Tarik announced the move on X, posting the following:
“Hey guys. To keep it short and sweet, I’m stepping away from hosting watch parties. The past few years have flown by and it’s been a hell of a ride.
“Special shoutout to everyone who was a part of it. After a short break, I’ll be back to gaming streams. Thanks for the memories”
The American was an early adopter of Valorant co-streaming, becoming a predominant part of Valorant’s viewership and ecosystem, with his stream frequently capturing more viewership than the main stream.
Signing with Sentinels as a content creator in 2022, tarik has been a consistent presence across VCT Americas and international competitions at that time.
tarik remained the most-watched Valorant co-streamer in 2025, according to data from Streams Charts, attracting 25.3 million hours watched, as Óscar ‘mixwell’ Cañellas was a distant second with 14.4 million.
Co-streaming has consistently grown as a portion of viewership in recent years, accounting for 58.4% of the total Valorant Champions Paris viewership, according to Esports Charts.
tarik departure raises questions about the co-streaming model
The move will provide fascinating insight into the viewership patterns of those who watch co-streams.
For years, the debate around co-streaming has centred on whether co-streaming viewers become fans of the underlying product or are primarily attached to the streamer instead of the esport.
tarik’s previous viewership may find a new home in another watch party or the main broadcast, or may not translate to Valorant esports viewership elsewhere, potentially providing valuable data on how effective co-streaming is at creating fans of the esport.
Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta may be the chief beneficiary of tarik viewers who wish to continue to watch VCT. The former Valorant and Counter-Strike pro has gone from strength to strength to become the most-watched Valorant co-streamer.
The Canadian captured 3.78 million hours watched and over 90,000 peak viewers across Valorant Champions Paris 2025, according to Esports Charts, and is likely to continue to show similarly strong viewership at Valorant Champions Shanghai from September onwards.
Are you a tarik viewer? How will you watch VCT now? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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