Stewie2K: The Young Prodigy of CS:GO

Full Name: Jacky “Jake” Yip
Nick: Stewie2K
Also known as: Stew
Game(s): Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Current Team: Team Liquid
Ex Team: Cloud9, SK Gaming, MIBR
Date of Birth: January 7th, 1998
Height: 5ft10in (178cm)
Weight: 154lbs (70 kg)
Place of Birth: San Francisco, California, USA
Nationality: American
Relationship Status/Partners: N/A

Who is Stewie2K?

Stewie2K is the professional gaming tag of Jacky “Jake” Yip, an American professional gamer born on January 7th, 1998, in San Francisco, California. As a player, Yip specializes in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and currently plays as Team Liquid’s captain. 

Despite starting to play CS:GO relatively late, Stewie2K managed to overcome numerous personal and professional challenges in his quest to the top. He is one of the younger professional players and is mostly famous for his lightning-fast reflexes and strategic adaptability. Keep reading to learn everything about this fascinating CS:GO icon. 

How did Stewie2K get famous?

Yip’s professional gaming career started taking shape while he was still 17. The talented gamer had snuck his way under the spotlight thanks to competitive PUG performances soon after moving to Los Angeles (while underage). 

While in L.A., Yip caught wind that another expert professional player might soon retire and saw his opportunity. Patient by nature, Stewie decided to seize his chance to enter the big league and waited for the player (Sean Gares) to end his professional career with the Cloud9 team. 

Following the official announcement regarding Gares’ retirement, the Cloud9 team decided to accept Gares’ personal replacement recommendation and welcome Yip to the team. Becoming In-Game Leader from the onset and signing the contract merely hours after turning 18, Yip officially became a part of Cloud9 on January 11th, 2016. 

Stewie2K’s fruitful partnership with Cloud9 lasted for two years. During his time with Cloud9, Yip took home trophies from numerous tournaments such as the iBUYPOWER Masters 2017, DreamHack Open Denver 2017, and ESL Pro League Season 4. In January of 2018, Stewie2K also bagged his first (and only) major at the ELEAGUE Major: Boston. 

As luck (and other circumstances) would have it, 2018 was a significant turning point for Yip’s professional gaming career. In March of that year, he ended his run with Cloud9 and moved on to play for the German SK Gaming. His idea was to become part of the SK’s active gaming lineup by replacing Epitacio “TACO” de Melo. 

In one of the season’s most unexpected moves, Stewie2K only spent three months playing for SK gaming before the entire roster switched over to play under the MIBR (Made In Brazil) name.

Stewie2K’s debut in Team Liquid

In December of 2018, MIBR made a decision that would eventually skyrocket Yip’s gaming career. Their unrelenting attempts to get their hands on Epitacio “TACO” de Melo and Wilton “Zews” Prado came to fruition when MIBR traded Stewie2K to Team Liquid for the duo.

After moving around for almost all of 2018, 2019 would see Yip settling under Team Liquid’s banner to his great satisfaction. During a relatively calm year in terms of his new team, Stewie2K hit one tournament after the other and took home more than eight trophies.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the gaming events Stewie won 1st place in with Team Liquid during 2019: 

• IBUYPOWER Masters 2019
• IEM Sydney 2019
• DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019
• ESL Pro League Season 9
• ESL One Cologne 2019
• Intel Grand Slam Season 2
• BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles 2019
• Intel Extreme Masters XIV – Chicago.

All of these tournaments awarded the winner with a cash prize of $100,000 or higher, including a jaw-dropping $1million prize at the Intel Grand Slam Season 2. Simultaneously, this impressive achievement made Stewie2K the NA player in history who has earned $1 million from tournament prizes alone. 

In addition to this individual professional success, the quirky gamer also carried his entire team to tremendous success. Aside from Yip’s CS:GO, Team Liquid’s Fortnite, League of Legends, and DOTA 2 squads also thrived. However, most of the other teams fell into the shadow of the CS:GO crew’s success story, mostly since it featured none other than Stewie at the helm.

Yip’s skill, passion, and overall gaming prowess confirmed how much of an excellent call it was to add him to Liquid’s roster. So much so, in fact, that Team Liquid ended the gaming season as the second-highest-earning e-sports team in 2019.

Stewie2K streaming

Yip is a regular streamer on Twitch and provides plenty of fast-paced action to viewers. Aside from being a major tournament winner and overall wonder kid, Stewie2K’s temperament also shines through gaming.

Those who have attended any of his streams can testify to the top-tier, aggressive and high-energy gameplay Yip offers as quality content. You can often see this gamer enjoying casual rounds with friends with tons of banter and energy. Simultaneously, he won’t shy away from messing with both his opponents and teammates. 

If you’re lucky enough to catch Stewie’s stream while moE is also playing, get ready for an experience equivalent to watching two stand-up comedians taking shots at each other. Whether they’re teaming up or facing-off, expect plenty of laughter and great fun. 

As if ample entertainment was missing from Yip’s streams, he also had his fair share of mishaps on the platform. In April of 2020, Stewie2K took to Twitter to express his frustration upon learning that a scammer duplicated his Twitch account and faked his professional retirement from the gaming scene.

Yip went on the scammer’s channel, took a picture of his fake retirement, attached it to his legitimate Tweet, and noted, “It’s getting pretty ridiculous @TwitchSupport.” The Tweet also contained the message, “Give me power for the ban hammer. I’ll handle it,” aimed at permanently banning the impersonator.

Stewie2K’s girlfriend

Yip is currently single, and there has been no record of his romantic involvement since he began his professional career. You’ll often find information online mentioning Stewie dating some of his female gamer colleagues, but he has never admitted to or revealed any romantic interests to date.

Stewie2K personal info

Stewie’s birthplace is San Francisco, California, where he also lived until the age of 17. He was one of three children and has a brother and sister. His older brother Jason initially introduced Yip to Counter-Strike 1.6 and is credited as starting Yip on his professional gaming path.

The gaming prodigy’s relationship with his parents was turbulent while he was growing up. In addition to frequent absences due to business trips to China, Yip also describes his mom and dad as “stereotypical Asian parents” who disapproved of video games. Instead, they hoped that Yip would grow up to build a more mainstream career, such as a dentist, doctor, lawyer, or the like.

Stewie’s passion for video gaming was so strong that it eventually caused him and his parents to drift apart. Because his mother did not understand the growing professional gaming scene, she even told Stewie he would become a failure. The rift continued to grow and ultimately led Stewie to feel like his mother had not only failed him but also caused him to leave home. The newfound freedom at the age of 17 allowed Yip to pursue his gaming passion professionally, and he flew to L.A. as a result.

While there, Stewie2K temporarily explored Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, League of Legends, MapleStory, and RuneScape before returning to CS 1.6. In 2014, he began playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive obsessively after becoming inspired by Cloud9 team videos online. 

Because of his immense talent and gaming prowess, Yip was frequently (and falsely) accused of cheating during this time. The accusations pushed him harder into pursuing a professional gaming career, which culminated in signing a pro-contract with Cloud9 in 2016, as previously mentioned.

Stewie2K net worth & finances

Participation in numerous Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitions, events, and tournaments has brought Stewie most of his wealth. He has cumulatively won more than $1 million until September of 2020. In addition to professional gaming, Yip also earned income from YouTube ads, sponsors, and Twitch streaming. 

Team Liquid also pays salaries to its active players’ roster. While Stewie’s salary remains officially undisclosed, estimates place his earnings from the team at approximately $200,000 yearly. You’ll also see a paid Instagram post from Jacky on Instagram now and then, as he has around 396,000 followers on this social network. 

Estimates place Stewie’s net worth at close to $1 million, and here is a more detailed breakdown of his yearly earnings:

2020 – $80,000

2019 – $482,700

2018 – $273,150

2017 – $131,450

2016 – $136,550

2015 – $3,740.

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