Earlier this week, we welcomed the newest member of our Card Kingdom affiliate network: Kenji “NumotTheNummy” Egashira! Kenji is one of the longest-tenured and most recognizable names in Magic streaming, and his star is rising in the wider world of esports. To say we’re thrilled to welcome him would be an understatement – and, by the looks of it, Kenji’s excited to join the CK family, too.
If you don’t already know Kenji, allow us to introduce you!
“Hello, Friend!”
Kenji launched his Twitch channel in late 2011, shortly after graduating from college. “I had started out watching other streamers on the original streaming platform…Justin.tv, and thought that it would be interesting to try it out for myself!” he says. “[Streaming] was fun and I thought I’d be able to do a good job not only entertaining people, but also teaching them a little bit about Magic.”
“NumotTheNummy” – named after his favorite commander, Numot, The Devastator – quickly became Magic: The Gathering Online’s most prolific streamer. He streamed Magic daily as part of a 365-day streaming challenge, and viewers started flocking to his channel. His draft skills and on-camera antics – including his “new subscriber” Kermit the Frog flail – endeared him to legions of Magic fans.
By the summer of 2013, Kenji was earning more money from streaming than he was at his day job. He decided to quit and pursue content creation full-time, and quickly became a fixture of community events. But his journey as a Magic competitor was only just beginning.
“Get the Sleeeeeves”
Kenji grew up around our hometown of Seattle, playing in weekly Friday Night Magic events in local shops. Magic was a hobby for him, but he didn’t set his sights on the competitive scene until after he’d started streaming. As his status in the community grew, Kenji started participating in larger events, both online and in person. He expanded his repertoire beyond drafting, branching out into competitive constructed formats like Modern, and found success in the format during the Splinter Twin era.
After years of hard work, Kenji qualified for the 2018 Magic Online Championship and his first Pro Tour. Those qualifications alone were career highlights for Kenji, and they would kick off a year of incredible accomplishments. In March 2019, he joined the roster of renowned esports organization Team SoloMid as their first Magic streamer. In May, he competed in the Magic Online Championship and finished second. And by the end of the year, he had qualified for the inaugural Magic Rivals League, where he’ll be battling some of the game’s biggest stars.
“Gaaame!”
We’ve had the pleasure of interacting with Kenji in our Seattle-area game stores, and we’re honored to welcome him to our affiliate network. He was a competitor in our first Chalice charity tournament, and we’re excited to partner with him for more events. Kenji will also be creating videos for our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe!
If you’d like to show Kenji some love, be sure to follow him on Twitch, where he streams every weekday. You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.