Kai Cenat’s latest blockbuster stream is a 156-hour ‘Elden Ring’ marathon

Every gamer knows how it feels to die over and over against a difficult boss, but only Kai Cenat knows how it feels when more than 220,000 people witness your repeated failures. Cenat drew a massive audience during a 156-hour Twitch marathon that saw him complete an entire playthrough of the infamously hard FromSoftware game Elden Ring.

When Cenat began his week-long test of endurance, he had little experience with Elden Ring or the skill-intensive “soulslike” genre it belongs to. His inexperience soon became clear as he put up one “you died” screen after another. The more he failed, the larger his audience seemed to grow. According to Kotaku, Cenat’s Elden Ring viewership peaked at about 230,000 concurrents.

Cenat had some triumphs during the stream; he won $100,000 from Adin Ross after beating a specific boss on the first try. But for many of the viewers, the highlight of the marathon was Cenat’s encounter with the notoriously tough boss Malenia. With armor-clad friends cheering him on, he spent an entire day fighting Malenia. After 400 deaths, he eventually prevailed.

Finally, at approximately 5:10 ET on May 17, Cenat beat Elden Ring. He died 1,701 times during his 156-hour play session, but after beating the final boss, he was all smiles. “They said I couldn’t do it,” he boasted. “Everyone tell your mom, tell your grandma, tell your aunt.”

Cenat posted a celebratory tweet and prompted his fans to share it. At the time of this post, the tweet has been up for 30 minutes and has already reached 7,500 retweets.

The Elden Ring saga is the latest chapter in 22-year-old Cenat’s impressive legacy. He has broken Twitch records, won awards for his streams, and amassed more than 10 million followers. His rise has not come without controversy. He was charged with inciting a riot last year when one of his giveaways in New York City descended into chaos. After apologizing and paying a fine, he has avoided all charges in that case.