Not just a LoL star: Tyler1 has battled to top 0.5 percent of chess players

Famous for his League of Legends streams, Tyler1 is now among the top 0.5 percent of Rapid chess players in under a year of taking up the game.

Tyler1 reached an impressive peak of 1,900 rating on May 6, streaming his games on a Twitch channel called SpectateTyler1. While he stormed to 1,400 rating in less than three months, making him better than most chess players, this high Elo ranks him in the top 0.5 percent. What’s more surprising is that it only took Tyler1 10 months to achieve this feat, stunning viewers and the chess community alike.

Fans praised him on a Reddit thread for his determination and impressive progress in the online game. “His only gift is his persistence. May we never overlook this as there’s a lesson to be learned from his efforts,” one fan wrote. On top of this, chess Master and commentator Levy “Gotham Chess” Rozman also considered this achievement “absolutely insane.” The chess guru questioned if Tyler1 is human, given how quickly he gained Elo in chess.

For reference, chess players are considered Expert/National Candidate Master when they surpass the 2,000 Elo threshold, according to the Elo rating system on chess.com. Tyler1 reached a 1,900 rating in Rapid chess after playing 5,956 games. Given that he created his account on July 7, 2023, he has played an average of 20 games daily. 

The streamer’s relentless grind began after participating in the invitational chess tournament Pogchamp 5 in August 2023, where his journey ended in the quarterfinals. Despite the naysayers like Hikaru, who said in November 2023 that “Tyler1 needs to get back to League of Legends,” Tyler1 has continued his progress, surpassing the 1,800 rating on April 20, just a day after his daughter’s birth.