# Komodohype

Komodohype is a Twitch emote showing a Komodo dragon with its mouth stretched wide open. Twitch officially made it the new PogChamp in February 2021 after removing the original emote in the wake of Ryan Gutierrez's Capitol riot tweet.

## Overview
Komodohype is a Twitch emote featuring a Komodo dragon with its jaws stretched wide open, an expression that reads as hype, awe, or sarcastic mock-shock in chat[1]. The image began as a stock photograph from 2008 and spent years bouncing around Photoshop threads before landing on Twitch in 2015 as a sponsored promotional emote[2].

For most of its life it sat behind PogChamp as a niche pick spammed in a few specific streamer chats. That changed in early 2021, when Twitch pulled PogChamp and eventually swapped Komodohype in as its permanent replacement[1].

## How It Spread
Early usage clustered around specific triggers: viewers spammed OSkomodo in League of Legends chat when Renekton showed up and during Beyond the Summit Dota tournaments after Chobra called a big play[6]. The turn came on January 6, 2021, when Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez, whose face is PogChamp, tweeted about the woman fatally shot during the storming of the U.S. Capitol and asked whether there would be "civil unrest" over her death[1]. Twitch removed PogChamp the same day, and viewers flooded the announcement thread pushing Komodohype as the replacement[2].

Streamer Mizkif's suggestion tweet pulled over 24,000 likes and 350 retweets in 40 hours, and YouTubers including Aztrosist quickly posted videos backing the switch[3]. Coverage from esports.com and ClutchPoints tracked the grassroots campaign the same day[1]. On January 8, Twitch answered day9tv publicly with an interim plan: PogChamp would rotate through a new face every 24 hours[2].

Twitch made Komodohype the permanent PogChamp on February 12, 2021, with an announcement tweet that pulled more than 1 million views, 38,000 likes and 5,500 retweets in four days[7]. Reception was split, with several top replies openly mocking the choice[7]. Komodohype later picked up a TwitchCon statue and a $40,000 "PogChomp" hype-train tier[3]. In the 2022 r/place canvas, a Komodohype piece built by Ludwig's pre-chat left only its eye on the final map, tucked between the r/carrot and r/shrimp territories[8].

## How to Use
Typing "KomodoHype" in a Twitch chat renders the emote and is the common convention for reacting to hype moments, big plays, or clutch shots. It is often used sarcastically too, spammed during whiffs or awkward silences to mock the idea of hype rather than express it.

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Komodohype?
Komodohype is a Twitch emote showing a Komodo dragon with its mouth wide open, used to react to hype or excitement in chat[1].

### Where did Komodohype come from?
The source photo is a 2008 stock image traced to Daqi.com, added to Twitch on April 14, 2015 as "OSkomodo" for an Old Spice sponsored stream[3].

### What does Komodohype mean?
It expresses hype or excitement during intense stream moments and is also used sarcastically to mock unearned excitement[3].

### How do you use Komodohype?
Type "KomodoHype" in Twitch chat to render the emote during clutch plays or hype spikes, a use pattern that predates its PogChamp promotion in 2021[1].

### Is Komodohype still popular?
Twitch made Komodohype the official PogChamp replacement on February 12, 2021, and later gave it a TwitchCon statue and a $40,000 "PogChomp" hype-train tier[7].

## References
1. [https://clutchpoints.com/twitch-removes-pogchamp-emote-in-light-of-the-recent-us-capitol-riots/](<https://clutchpoints.com/twitch-removes-pogchamp-emote-in-light-of-the-recent-us-capitol-riots/>)
2. [https://www.esports.com/en/twitch-deletes-pogchamp-emote-160272](<https://www.esports.com/en/twitch-deletes-pogchamp-emote-160272>)
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/komodohype](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/komodohype>)
4. [https://www.deviantart.com/vkdragonfire/art/Smaug-the-Komodo-Dragon-412265242](<https://www.deviantart.com/vkdragonfire/art/Smaug-the-Komodo-Dragon-412265242>)
5. [https://twitter.com/TwitchSupport/status/689612371359203329](<https://twitter.com/TwitchSupport/status/689612371359203329>)
6. [https://twitter.com/WillChobra/status/724261954806652930](<https://twitter.com/WillChobra/status/724261954806652930>)
7. [https://x.com/i/status/1360340937302552582](<https://x.com/i/status/1360340937302552582>)
8. [https://2022.place-atlas.stefanocoding.me/#/82/1231/522/2.859](<https://2022.place-atlas.stefanocoding.me/#/82/1231/522/2.859>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/komodohype
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