UK Apex Legends streamer Holiwhirl announces retirement from streaming

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British Twitch streamer Holiwhirl, who previously played Overwatch before moving to Apex Legends, has quit streaming.

She made the announcement on Twitter today before broadcasting her very last stream.

Holiwhirl started streaming six years ago as a hobby and amassed almost 70,000 followers on Twitch. Going forward, she is switching to a career in software engineering and has already landed a job in that space.

“I’ve been very vocal about how unhappy I am with Twitch and the changes they’ve made,” Holiwhirl said as part of a statement on her Twitter page below. “It’s not the only reason for me leaving but plays a part in my decision.

“The changes I’ve made to my life this past year; focusing on my friendships, fitness and allowing myself to take longer breaks away from streaming have made my life 100% better. The thing I’ve come to realise is that the lifestyle I’m striving towards doesn’t work very well with being a streamer, at least in my experience.

“The grind mentality has broken down the passion that I had for making content and I struggle to find that anymore.

“I feel incredibly grateful to everyone that has supported me these past six years in making my childhood dream job become a reality. Thank you all for the memories that I will cherish forever, it’s been an incredible experience.”

Holiwhirl thanks Overwatch and Apex Legends communities as she leaves streaming behind

Holiwhirl first started to grow as a streamer playing Overwatch, and she thanked the game’s community and looked back on her time with it.

“I’m thankful to all the friends I made in that community, I’ve made some friends for life that I’ll continue to know even past my years with Twitch,” she said.

“I have had some incredible memories in this game, the cupcake streams, cursed cosplays, reaching top 500, all of the Overwatch front-page features. It was such a sick time and I really miss the days of Overwatch so much.”

Holiwhirl said she got burnout from Overwatch in 2021 and switched to Apex Legends.

In Apex, she reached Masters 21k RP. She was a Horizon main for most seasons, and racked up some 30,000+ kills on her.

In Overwatch, she was a top 500 support main and previously a GM Pharah player.

She said switching games was a scary experience but made easier through the support of the community, and said she was accepted into the streaming world of Apex with open arms.

“I don’t think any game has made me so passionate about wanting to grind my mechanics and become a great player like Apex did,” she added.

“I’m really proud of my achievements in the world of Twitch, Overwatch and Apex. It’s a bittersweet feeling but I truly feel like I’ve gotten everything out of streaming that it had to offer me. I’m ready for a new chapter in my life.”

Holiwhirl said goodbye to her community on stream earlier today:

The community wished Holiwhirl good luck in her new career and bid farewell to the friendly and funny streamer they grew to know.

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.