Nicholas "NickMercs" Kolcheff, one of the biggest streamers on Twitch, has renewed his deal with the streaming platform. The news comes after weeks of speculation that he might follow the likes of Benjamin "DrLupo" Lupo and Timothy "TimTheTatman" Betar in moving to YouTube, and confirms that Twitch has at least managed to secure one of their big names on a new deal.

The doubt around his commitment to the platform had swirled as outlets had reported on Twitch’s move away from big-money deals for streamers. According to a report published in the Washington Post, this was a significant motivation for streamers like Lupo and Tim, who are balancing their stream careers with more real-life commitments, such as raising a family, at this point in their careers.

The deal sees Mercs continue a relationship that began back in 2010, when Twitch was still known as Justin.tv. His playing career began in Gears of War, but his rise to prominence as a streamer came after he joined 100Thieves in 2018 and played Fortnite at a high level when the game was gaining popularity, with Mercs winning the inaugural Fortnite Friday event.

According to Twitchtracker, Mercs is 14th in followers on the platform, with nearly 7M fans, and has almost 29K subscribers at the time of writing. He is known for connecting well with his fans, who he dubs the MFAM, and recently ran a meet and greet that drew criticism from some quarters given the lack of safety provision with the COVID pandemic in mind.

Mercs' decision may have been made easier by the departure of names like Tim and previously Dr Disrespect, who played similar titles and would have been his direct competitor. The last few months saw him dive into the world of Apex Legends as Warzone, the Call of Duty battle royale so popular with young fans, experienced issues related to game quality, and a proliferation of cheaters.