Getting started on Twitch can be a tricky situation that comes down to finding the right games, putting on an air of charisma, and sometimes a touch of luck to get noticed by a large enough community of viewers. There are often stories of streamers like Sykkuno taking off at record pace, but this isn't always the case for the vast majority of mid to low tier content creators that are still in the early stages of the grind to Affiliate and Partnered status.
Thankfully, it would appear that Twitch is attempting to make that final part a little easier for the creators on the website that have a dedicated enough community to give them a massive boost. It's a small gesture towards helping smaller streamers get their start, and begin building the overall community away from the current format where a select few hold the vast majority of consistent viewers.
This new feature Twitch is implementing will allow a streamer's viewers to donate channel points in order to promote the channel on the front page under the recommended tab. The feature will be called "Boost This Stream" and early reports claim that it the channel point cost will be different from streamer to streamer, likely taking in a host of analytics to keep the availability fair. To a similar degree, the ability to be boosted will also be fairly uncommon for most streamers, generally only being available once a month or so, and will require the channel points to be donated over the course of 48 hours.
The feature was intended to be tested on December 7th, although more recent reports have changed to Early December, likely so that Twitch can begin rolling out the stream boosts with less visibility in order to gage reactions more organically. If those tests go well, a larger announcement may follow as Twitch continues to boost Affiliate-level and other smaller streamers with the stream promotions. For now, the option may be appearing soon for some streamers, and channels that would prefer not to be promoted can choose to opt out of the feature for any reason.
The "Boost This Stream" feature itself might be exactly the type of thing that some streamers need to get a foothold on the platform, although it likely won't be enough to take a new channel to the top spot on Twitch. However, as a result of subscribers, donations, and the occasional sponsor, many streamers make a comfortable living streaming for a dedicated community. While this new feature might not lead to stardom, it can earn some relatively unknown, but high-quality, streamers this kind of community support.