Phillip Watson (born 1 March 1988), known online as Philza or Ph1LzA, is an English

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

streamer and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

. He is known for his ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

'' hardcore series, where he plays the game on its most difficult setting, with permadeath (one life per game) and no respawns. Watson also formerly held the world record for the longest-running ''Minecraft'' hardcore world. As of May 2024, he had 4.3 million followers on Twitch.

Early life

Phillip Watson was born on 1 March 1988. He is from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, England. He worked in a retail job for more than a decade while making content on

and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

before quitting his job to become a full-time content creator.

Career

2006–2013: Early career

Watson created his YouTube account in 2006 and started his channel by uploading ''

Halo 2 ''Halo 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox console. ''Halo 2'' is the second installment in the ''Halo'' franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclai ...

'' and ''

Skate 2 ''Skate 2'' is a 2009 skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title '' Skate It''. It is the sequel to ...

'' content. He created his

(then

Justin.tv Justin.tv was a website created by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt in 2007 to allow anyone to broadcast video online. Justin.tv user accounts were called "channels", like those on YouTube, and users were encouraged t ...

) account "Philza" in 2009.

2014–2019: ''Minecraft'' hardcore series and initial growth

In 2014, Watson started his ''

'' hardcore series, playing the game in its most difficult setting with increased mobs difficulty,

permadeath Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...

(one life per game), and no

respawns Spawning in video games refers to the process by which entities, such as player characters, non-player characters, enemies or items, are generated and placed into the game world. Closely related concepts include respawning, which involves reint ...

. The series garnered significant attention in April 2019 when Watson's then-world-record five-year hardcore run ended due to a surprise attack by a fully enchanted golden-armoured baby zombie, a spider, and a skeleton. Watson has described this event as a turning point in his career, propelling him from an average viewership of 5–15 per stream to roughly 180 viewers on Twitch. The success of the series ultimately led him to leave his retail job and pursue content creation full-time. On 26 July 2019, Watson was featured in the official ''Minecraft'' series ''Meet a Minecrafter.''

2020''–''present: Continued growth

In October 2021, Watson appeared in the Twitch leaks, which disclosed the top Twitch streamers' revenue from August 2019 to October 2021. Watson placed 47th on the list, with a reported payout of $1,364,215.61 for this time period. In 2023, Watson, along with fellow Twitch streamers and YouTubers

TommyInnit Thomas Michael Simons (born 9 April 2004), better known as TommyInnit ( ), is a British YouTuber, Twitch streamer, comedian and author. He produces ''Minecraft''-related videos and live streams, including collaborations with fellow YouTubers ...

Wilbur Soot William Patrick Spencer Gold (born 14 September 1996), known professionally as Wilbur Soot, is an English Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and musician. He first became known in 2017 for his work with the group comedy YouTube channel SootHouse, wher ...

, Slimecicle, and Ranboo, started a new comedy group YouTube channel called The Sorry Boys. The channel mainly posted sketch comedy group vlog content. The group went on an indefinite hiatus in March 2024.

Philanthropy

In September 2021, Watson participated in a charity livestream fundraising event organized by fellow streamer and YouTuber

Technoblade Alexander (June 1, 1999 – June 2022), known online as Technoblade ( ), was an American YouTuber known for his ''Minecraft'' videos, Livestreaming, livestreams, and involvement in the Dream SMP. Technoblade registered his main channel on YouT ...

. The event featured a ''Minecraft'' game where Watson served as one of the "hunters" tasked with pursuing Technoblade. They managed to raise more than $324,000 for the Sarcoma Foundation of America.

Personal life

Watson met his wife, Kristin Rosales, an American, on Twitch and began dating. They were married on 12 March 2020, at the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana, California.

Filmography

Web

Notes

References

External links

* * {{twitch, philza Minecraft YouTubers 1988 births Living people English Twitch (service) streamers 21st-century English people English gaming YouTubers Gaming-related YouTube channels 2006 establishments in England English-language YouTube channels Ph1LzA World record holders