tarik is the American VALORANT streamer and former CS:GO pro whose watch parties have become the default way VALORANT fans experience VCT esports. This profile covers his verified stats, stream schedule, setup, crosshair settings and career highlights.
tarik profile: key facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Tarık Çelik (written Tarik Celik) |
| Born | February 18, 1996 |
| Country | United States (Turkish descent) |
| Languages | English, Turkish |
| Primary game | VALORANT |
| Games historically | CS:GO (professional, 2014-2021) |
| Main platform | twitch.tv/tarik |
| Org | Signed to Sentinels as a content creator in 2022 |
| Data verified | September 6, 2026 |
Who is tarik?
Tarık Çelik, known mononymously as tarik, is an American Twitch streamer and retired professional Counter-Strike player. Born on February 18, 1996 and of Turkish descent, he built his reputation as an entry rifler across nearly a decade of top-tier CS:GO, representing NetcodeGuides.com, mouseSpaz, Counter Logic Gaming, OpTic Gaming, Cloud9, MIBR, NRG Esports and Evil Geniuses between 2014 and 2021.
The defining result of his playing career came in January 2018, when he was part of the Cloud9 roster that won the ELEAGUE Boston Major – still the only CS:GO Major won by a North American team. He also represented Team USA at the 2015 World Championships and Team Turkey in 2016, and served as a founding board member of the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA).
After stepping back from professional play in 2021, tarik pivoted full-time to streaming and signed with Sentinels as a content creator in 2022. He speaks both English and Turkish, and his community knows him by the nicknames “Content King” and “Lil Bro”.
What tarik streams (and why it works)
tarik’s channel is built around VALORANT. Rather than grinding ranked alone, his signature format is the watch party: he co-streams official VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) matches live, layering pro-player analysis, reactions and chat banter on top of the broadcast. Liquipedia currently lists him as one of the most popular VALORANT co-streamers in the world, and during international VCT events his channel regularly posts some of the biggest concurrent viewer counts on Twitch.
Between esports events he streams standard VALORANT content – ranked games with chat, Customs with other creators, and reaction content – which keeps the channel active almost daily. For fans who cannot watch a full VCT broadcast, his VODs double as condensed, entertaining highlight reels of every event.
Why follow tarik?
- The most-watched VALORANT watch-party home for VCT Champions, Masters and regional events.
- Pro-level CS:GO pedigree: a Boston 2018 Major winner explaining pro play in plain language.
- Consistent output – the channel streams most days, not just during tournaments.
- Bilingual content personality (English/Turkish) with a deeply engaged chat culture.
tarik stream schedule
Estimate: tarik does not publish a fixed weekly timetable, and hours shift around VCT event times. The typical pattern below is an estimate based on his recent streaming behaviour – confirm on his Twitch channel for exact times (all times US Eastern).
| Day | Typical status (ESTIMATE) |
|---|---|
| Mon – Thu | Usually live, afternoon-to-late evening ET: VALORANT ranked, reactions, casual streams |
| Fri – Sun | Live most of the day when VCT events run; watch parties follow Riot’s official broadcast schedule |
| Event days | Co-stream starts at the official VCT broadcast time and runs until the day’s matches end |
tarik stats (verified)
| Stat | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Twitch followers | 3,306,994 | September 6, 2026 |
| Twitch channel created | September 21, 2012 | verified via Twitch API |
| YouTube subscribers | ~1.02 million | September 6, 2026 |
| YouTube total views | ~516 million | September 6, 2026 |
Note: average and peak concurrent viewers change event by event; we only publish figures we can verify with a source and date, so live-viewer records are intentionally omitted here.
tarik’s setup and settings
His most recently documented competitive settings date from his CS:GO playing days (last verified January 2022 via his Nightbot configuration, as recorded by Liquipedia). Current streaming-era gear may differ – treat the table below as his last publicly confirmed configuration.
| Component | Spec (last verified Jan 2022) |
|---|---|
| Mouse | Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro |
| DPI / in-game sensitivity | 800 DPI / 1.5 (CS:GO) |
| Polling rate | 1000 Hz |
| Keyboard | Logitech G Pro |
| Mousepad | Artisan Ninja FX Zero Soft |
| Headset | Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO |
| Monitor | LG UltraGear 27GN750-B, 240 Hz |
| Resolution | 1280×960 stretched (CS:GO) |
tarik crosshair code (CS:GO, dated)
Last publicly confirmed CS:GO crosshair share code (December 12, 2021, via a FACEIT match record): CSGO-Sd8TP-f88Vw-3Ks4m-xHWYo-ekrqK
Note: tarik’s current VALORANT crosshair code has not been confirmed from a primary source, so we do not publish one here. Copy-paste codes claimed on third-party sites should be treated with caution. For a verified VALORANT crosshair, see our TenZ profile.
Career achievements
- ELEAGUE Boston Major champion with Cloud9 (January 2018) – first and only Major title for a North American CS:GO team.
- Founding board member of the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA).
- Represented Team USA at TWC 2015 and Team Turkey at TWC 2016.
- Signed to Sentinels as a content creator (2022); became one of the most-watched VALORANT co-streamers in the world.
- 3.3+ million Twitch followers (verified September 6, 2026).
Socials: where to watch tarik
- Twitch (twitch.tv/tarik) – main live channel
- YouTube (@tarik) – VODs and highlights
- X / Twitter (@tarik) – announcements
- Instagram (officialtarik)
- tarik.gg – official site
tarik FAQ
What is tarik’s real name?
His real name is Tarık Çelik (commonly written Tarik Celik). He was born on February 18, 1996 in the United States and is of Turkish descent.
Is tarik still a professional player?
No. He retired from professional CS:GO in 2021 after stints with Evil Geniuses, NRG, MIBR, Cloud9 and others. Since 2022 he has been a full-time streamer and content creator, signed to Sentinels.
Why is tarik so popular in VALORANT?
He popularized the VCT watch-party format: co-streaming official VALORANT esports matches with his own commentary and community. His CS:GO Major-winning pedigree gives his analysis credibility, and his entertaining stream personality keeps casual viewers around between matches.
What sensitivity and crosshair does tarik use?
His last confirmed CS:GO configuration was 800 DPI with 1.5 in-game sensitivity and a 1280×960 stretched resolution (January 2022). His current VALORANT crosshair code has not been confirmed from a primary source, so we do not list one.
More streamer profiles on Hunter Gamer
- shroud – another ex-CS:GO pro who became a top VALORANT streamer
- TenZ – VALORANT’s most iconic aimer, with verified crosshair settings
- Full Hunter Gamer streamer directory
- All VALORANT streamers
- All United States streamers
Editorial note: all statistics on this page were verified on September 6, 2026 with dated sources (Liquipedia, Wikipedia, Twitch API, YouTube). Figures marked as estimates are clearly labelled.