After winning the Trending Gamer Award at The Game Awards on Dec 7, 2017, Twitch streamer Dr DisRespect took a hiatus from streaming to deal with some personal issues. At the time, it was unknown how long this break would last if it wasn't permanent, but now Dr DisRespect has made a video officially announcing his return, promising to be “stronger, bigger, faster, more dominant than ever.”

During his absence, Twitch has continued to expand, brokering deal after deal. After acquiring exclusive rights to the Overwatch League, Twitch has also made a deal with Disney to bring some of its most prominent YouTubers to Twitch. However, the new faces appearing on Twitch do not seem likely to mess with Dr DisRespect’s popularity.

Although Dr DisRespect would not have been part of the Disney Digital Network deal that brought YouTubers to Twitch, his return occurs about the same time. While content from the new YouTubers has begun to launch, Dr DisRespect dated his return for Feb 5, 2018. He even appears to be undergoing some rebranding: “We formed a new club. I call it the Champion’s club. Doc 2.0 coming soon; by the way, did I mention my wife’s an assassin? Correction: she’s a deadly assassin.” Check out Dr DisRespect’s official announcement here:

While many gamers may miss his Slick Daddy club, Dr DisRespect seems intent on moving forward for his fans – not back. The mention of his wife also seems to suggest she will be involved in the Champion’s club in some capacity, although this remains to be seen. Moreover, it does not seem this “rebranding” will affect his signature look of the mullet, mustache, and sunglasses (to many viewer’s relief.)

Dr DisRespect’s return to Twitch may be welcome by many viewers with open arms; it seems clear that his popularity exceeded even his own expectations, as he shared a tender moment with fans in the past. Although Dr DisRespect is clearly attempting to move forward, it seems highly likely that fans and viewers can expect the doc to be the same streamer he was before – just “more dominant than ever.”