Félix Lengyel (born November 12, 1995) is known to the gaming community as xQcOW or xQc for short. This Canadian-born gamer amassed over 1 million Twitch followers much in thanks to his penchant for playing Overwatch.
Beginnings for xQcOW
When Lengyel first started playing Overwatch, he joined team Q? As a member of team Q?, xQc was branded the role of main tank player. Eventually, his talents caught the eye of Denial eSports, who swooped in and signed the performer.
After a while, Denial eSports disbanded. Lengyel quickly rebounded with a couple of former Denial partners and some other gamers to form YIKES!, which transformed into Arc 6. After failing to win the big prize at the Season Zero of Overwatch Contenders, the team dismembered. They decided it was wiser for the individuals to focus solely on the tryouts for Season 1 over Overwatch League.
2017 Overwatch World Cup MVP
In 2017, xQc joined Team Canada for the 2017 Overwatch World Cup. They defeated Netherlands 3-0 to qualify for the event. The highly motivated team made it all the way to the finals before succumbing to incumbent champions, South Korea.
Although Team Canada lost, xQcOW was able to walk out with his head held high. He won the MVP of the tournament. Furthermore, the MVP was decided by a fan vote. That honor makes the award that much more prestigious.
Dallas Fuel and Controversy
After being a standout in the Overwatch World Cup, Overwatch League group, Dallas Fuel, signed xQc to join their group. However, the honeymoon period was short-lived. Controversial homophobic comments made by xQcOW against Austina Muma Wilmot during a Twitch stream made the press circles.
Homophobic slurs are against the Overwatch League Code of Conduct. Due to xQc’s negligent behavior, he was suspended for four months and served a fine of $2,000. Furthermore, Dallas Fuel suspended xQc for the whole Stage 1 portion of the season, allowing him to return on Stage 2, where he led the team to defeat the Los Angeles Gladiators.
In his return game, xQc was named the HP’s Player of the Match by Omen. Once again, the honeymoon came to a screeching halt. The star was suspended and fined for disparaging remarks. This time, the gamer used racially insensitive emojis in a Twitch chat. The emoji was a TriHard and was directed toward an African American. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Dallas as xQc was released from his deal.
Retirement from Competitive to Streaming
Having trouble playing by the books, xQc decided to quit professional play to stream full-time. That, too, was short-lived as the star signed on with the Contender Trials NA Team, GOATS.
xQc partnered up with his old-time partners, Team Canada once again for the 2018 Overwatch World Cup. He reprised his role as the main tank. Not one to learn from his mistakes, xQc was almost suspended from gameplay in this tournament as well. His own teammates ratted him out for using abusive language in a private chat. While the star did get an official warning, the committee still allowed him to play.
Currently, xQc plays for the Gladiators of Legion. They are the academy team for a group he knows pretty well, the Los Angeles Gladiators.
