Nigerian gaming content creator and streamer, Basiru Faruk, popularly known as DMS, on March 13, 2025 received the YouTube Silver Creator Award, becoming the first African gaming streamer to earn this prestigious recognition from the world’s largest video platform.

The award, presented to creators who surpass 100,000 subscribers, marks not only a personal milestone for DMS, but a historic moment for African gaming as a whole.

The significance of the achievement extends beyond the plaque. The YouTube Silver Creator Award is globally recognised as the first major validation marker on the platform, a sign that a creator has built a real, substantial, and engaged community. For an African gaming creator to reach this milestone speaks directly to the growing quality of gaming content being produced on the continent and the world’s readiness to receive it.

Faruk began his YouTube journey years before this moment. He started creating gaming content out of genuine passion, recording his gameplay wins as personal mementos. His first 1,000 subscribers arrived in 2022. By 2023, he had committed to the journey with full consistency, uploading regularly and engaging deeply with his audience. The momentum carried him across the 100,000 threshold by January 2025, with official recognition arriving weeks later.

“This award belongs to every young gamer in Africa who was told that gaming is not a career. It is proof that our passion has value, and that the world is watching.” — Basiru Faruk, DMS

DMS’s content spans multiple game titles, from Free Fire, where he first found his footing, to international titles like Call of Duty and PUBG Mobile. His content has attracted an audience that stretches well beyond Nigeria, reflecting the universal appeal of great gaming content regardless of geography.

As of April 2026, DMS has continued to build on this achievement. His YouTube channel now stands at 142,000 subscribers with over 12 million views, while his TikTok platform has grown to 2.3 million followers with 50 million views. His Facebook presence adds a further 108,000 followers and over 10 million views to a digital footprint that is, by all measures, the largest of any gaming content creator in Africa.

The YouTube Silver Creator Award was the first formal recognition of what the African gaming community already knew: DMS is the standard. And with the trajectory he is on, it is only the beginning.