True Geordie enlists top Twitch streamers in UK’s first ever Twitch Rivals IRL sports event to raise money for Alan Shearer Foundation, as Twitch reports sport as one of its ‘strongest new verticles’

Some of the UK’s biggest online content creators will line-up in a charity five-a-side football tournament hosted by streaming personality True Geordie tomorrow (December 9th 2021).

It is the UK’s first ever IRL in-real-life live sports event hosted by livestreaming tournament series Twitch Rivals and will raise money for the Alan Shearer Foundation.

Teams will go head-to-head in the round robin football tournament, with a guaranteed $50,000 going to the Alan Shearer Foundation which supports disabled children and adults. 

The five-a-side tournament will bring together world-famous Twitch partners and streaming stars – including the likes of  True Geordie (253,000 Twitch followers), Behzinga (305,000 Twitch followers) and Calfreezy (3.81m YouTube subscribers).

The tournament will be streamed live on Twitch, offering players the opportunity to engage directly with fans as the action happens.

While Twitch has a strong heritage in gaming, non-gaming content has also quadrupled on the service in the last three years, with sport one of the strongest new verticals.

Star streamers will provide punditry on their rivals matches straight from the sidelines, speaking from a central broadcast desk.

Each team will also have its own dedicated stream station where their players can engage with fans through interactive and call-to-action moments to inspire charitable donations.

Explaining his motivations behind the event, TrueGeordie said: “I’ve always wanted to create a charity event, so to be able to do it with all my mates and raising money for my hero and the Alan Shearer Foundation is a dream come true.

“The work the Alan Shearer Centre does in the North East is vital for so many people, especially children. I hope this is the start of something special and people enjoy the show!”

The full list of confirmed players is as follows:

• Harry Wroetoshaw (1.1m Twitch followers)
• WillNE  (4.57 million Youtube subscribers)
• Cam Kirkham (242k Youtube subscribers)
• ImAllexx (155k Twitch followers)
• Spencer Owen (234k Twitch followers)
• Smiv (123k Youtube subscribers)
• StatmanDave (14.4k Twitch followers)
• Pieface (634k Twitch followers)
• Calfreezy (3.81m Youtube subscribers)
• Behzinga (305k Twitch followers)
• Reev (831k Youtube subscribers)
• True Geordie (253k Twitch followers)
• Elliot Hackney (21.3k Youtube subscribers)
• Laurence McKenna (The Kick Off – 411k Youtube subscribers)
• Rory Jennings (The Kick Off – 411k subscribers)
• Adam McKola (121k Youtube subscribers)
• Buvey (17.2k Youtube subscribers)
• Thogden (737k Youtube subscribers) 
• Spraggy (132k Twitch followers)

Elsewhere, True Geordie recently joined esports betting app Stakester as a shareholder, with the app allowing users to place bets on their own gameplay for cash and prizes.

Twitch Rivals is a series of competitive gaming events featuring well-known streamers, celebrities and also up-and-comers, competing head-to-head across several of the biggest games on Twitch. 

For example, in the summer the Twitch Rivals Summer Rumble took place with Team RossBoomsocks taking part, and UK organisation Team Delirium won a Twitch Rivals Warzone tournament.

The stream will go live at 3pm GMT on December 9th 2021 on the Twitch Rivals channel.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.