While PogU essentially has the same meaning and feel as PogChamp, PogO’s face is edited to have the lips closed, giving it a weirded out look, similar to WeirdChamp. Acknowledging that legacy, the company said while PogChamp is a huge. The PogO Twitch emote is a variation of PogU featuring Ryan Gootecks Gutierrez’s famous face. Either way, Twitch has promised that the PogChamp emote will make a return after a much-needed redesign. According to Twitch tracking service StreamElements, PogChamp was the fifth most-used expression on the livestreaming site. However other commenters, specifically on Twitch’s tweet promising to remove the emote, see Twitch’s move as an overreaction and as an attempt to regain some relevance on the back of a violence. After some streamers on the site preemptively prohibited the use of the PogChamp emote in their streams, some wondered if Twitch would act to take down the emote in light of the tweet. Gutierrez’s original tweet was received poorly by commenters on Twitter, seeing it as insensitive. We will work with the community to design a new emote for the most hype moments on Twitch.” However, we can’t in good conscience continue to enable the use of the image. This topic is an intersection of Twitch culture (the PogChamp emote), current events surrounding US politics (the 2020 Electoral College vote), and the face used for the image of the PogChamp emote (Gootecks) & their messages on Twitter regarding the IRL events that transpired at the US capital. In a series of tweets from the official Twitch Twitter account, the company said, “We’ve made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.” The company added, “We want the sentiment and use of Pog to live on - its meaning is much bigger than the person depicted or image itself - and it has a big place in Twitch culture.

Twitch pogchamp emote