As Youtube and Twitch grow in popularity and show up in the news with articles on big personalities like Logan Paul and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, more and more people are exploring the two platforms for daily entertainment. Creators are focused on making bigger and better content, and, to that end, they collaborate. Although 2018 isn’t even halfway over, there have already been some amazing videos and streams between juggernauts of the industries. Here’s a countdown of 5 of the best collaborations so far this year. 

If you’re interested in the top 5 collaborations of 2017 check them out here<

#5 Philip DeFranco x Sean Evans – Record-Breaking ‘Hot Ones’ Run (April 2018)

Sean Evans is the daring host of ‘Hot Ones,’ a First We Feast series where Sean interviews well-known figures in many industries while he and his interviewees test their mettle by eating chicken wings dabbed in eye-watering spicy hot sauces. Other featured guests on the show include Neil deGrasse Tyson, Alton Brown, and H3H3. However, when YouTube juggernaut Philip DeFranco joined Sean at the table, he not only provided an entertaining and informational interview, but a record-breaking Hot Ones run. Philip DeFranco has never been known to do things halfway. He started on YouTube in 2006 and since then has grown to accumulate 6.08 million subscribers and over 2 billion views with his down to earth, fast-paced daily news show, the Philip DeFranco Show. Philip showed his tenacity while facing off against Sean, and went above and beyond the normal 10 wings eaten during a Hot Ones episode. After dressing the final two available wings in a sauce with a Scoville level of over 2,000,000, he became the first guest on Hot Ones to go above and beyond.

#4 Pentatonix x Fine Brothers – Pentatonix Crash Fine Bros. React Video (April 2018)

Pentatonix began posting videos of their stunning acapella covers on Youtube in 2012. Since then they have gathered a fanbase of millions, reflected in their 15,000,000+ Youtube subscriber count and over 3 billion views on their videos, as well as 4 albums. And so, a partnership with Pentatonix was an obvious choice for React series famed Fine Brothers. But instead of a normal ‘Kids/Teens/Adults/Seniors React’ video, the Fine Brothers were given permission to show their subjects a brand new, as-of-then unreleased video. During the Q&A afterwards two Pentatonix members, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi, surprised the interviewees, all of whom were extremely happy to meet part of the group they admired so much. Pentatonix then made a video on their own channel, with the whole group filming their own reactions to the full Fine Bros. video.

#3 KSI x Joe Weller – Youtube Grudge Match Boxing (February 2018)

Youtube, like any social media platform, has its fair share of user rivalry and “beef.” Most people stick to vague-tweeting, callout posts, and the occasional diss track. However, for gamer-turned-rapper and all-around entertainer KSI (real name Olajide William “JJ” Olatunji) and Youtuber Joe Weller that wasn’t enough. After trading jabs on social media and dancing around the idea of a friendly fight (as both are boxers) KSI throws down the gauntlet at a live event. “Joe Weller is nothing compared to me,” he said. Joe replied in a video, yelling, “No one [redacted] cares JJ, thank you for the views!” The two trained up and faced off in the boxing ring to resolve their drama once and for all in a highly publicized match that sold out its venue and garnered millions of views online.

#2 MrBeast x Quidd – Donating $30,000 During Charity Stream

Youtubers don’t only partner with each other though. MrBeast is a Youtuber well known for his crazy schemes and huge donations to livestreamers on Twitch.tv, often out of his own pocket. When top livestreamer Ninja held a charity stream for suicide awareness and prevention, MrBeast partnered with card collection app Quidd to donate $30,000 over the course of the stream. Ninja donated $1,000 of his own money to the charity for each $10,000 donated, and the two bantered over the course of the donations. Overall Ninja managed to raise over $100,000, putting his huge popularity to work. MrBeast’s video on the livestream gained over 18 million views alone, proving the appeal of seeing the two juggernauts working in tandem to help others.

#1 Ninja x Drake – Playing Fortnite and Breaking Records (All in God’s Plan)

Ninja is on this list twice for a reason. His Twitch stream is one of the largest on the site, and every day over a hundred thousand people tune in to watch the ex-Halo pro play Fortnite. In what was undisputedly the biggest collaboration of the year thus far, he partnered up with Drake. Yes, the Drake. The two played duos on Fortnite, discussing music, gaming in general, and the future of Fortnite specifically. Their collaboration smashed through Twitch records, setting a new non-tournament record of 628,000 concurrent viewers. Ninja reportedly earned over $250,000 in Twitch subscriptions in the single stream. Drake wasn’t the only “IRL” entertainer that joined them. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and rapper Travis Scott tagged in later to form a full squad.

So, what has been your favorite collaboration of 2018 so far? Which YouTubers and Twitch streamers would you like to see work together in future? As Twitch and Youtube grow and become more and more mainstream, we’re likely to see cross-pollination between the two sites and more traditional entertainers. There are lots of exciting possibilities in the future!