Dr DisRespect finally made his return to Twitch.tv today, and in the process managed to take the platform down. The streamer, whose real name is Guy Beahm, is one of the most popular around, and his caustic personality has gelled well with Twitch users. He's the (self-proclaimed) "face of Twitch" after all! The former video game developer has managed to pull in huge numbers with his PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds streams, leading to the doctor becoming one of the biggest Twitch celebrities and winner of two awards for it last year.

However, Dr DisRespect took a leave from Twitch in December. Beahm decided to take a hiatus from the platform after confessing to infidelity, stating that he needed to take time away from streaming to focus on his family. This January, he announced his return with a newly-branded 'Champions Club' and a streaming date set for February 5, 2018.

Related: Can PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Remain Popular Long-Term?

Now, that date has arrived, but Dr DisRespect's revival had something of a bumpy start. His stream was due to start at 2 p.m. ET, and very quickly picked up 350,000 concurrent users, but not before the entire site was plagued by a series of technical issues that even managed to break the front page. The streamer then stated that he had broken Twitch over on his Twitter account, although eventually things did get back to normal on the platform.

Dr DisRespect's stream ended up hitting a pretty major figure, breaking the record for the highest number of concurrent viewers in Twitch history and earning major subscriber numbers and donations throughout. At its peak, Dr DisRespect managed to bring in 388,000 viewers, pipping the previous record of set by League of Legends streamer Tyler1 in his own return to the service following a ban from League developer Riot Games. Although there claims that Tyler1 hit over 400,000 viewers, Twitch has confirmed that Dr DisRespect is now the record holder. With that in mind, it's no wonder that Twitch was struggling a little under the load.

It's not the only time that Twitch has faced difficulties when demands are made by a high number of users. Last August, Twitch had some major outages, with the service stuck down for several hours with only intermittent access. As the site grows larger and larger, no doubt the service will aim to stop these issues from cropping up again, particularly when dates that are likely to put a major strain on the service can be easily identified.

Exactly where Dr DisRespect goes now, though, is another matter entirely. The PUBG streamer has had an intense relationship with his Twitch fanbase, as shown by his previous tears during a stream, and that's likely to continue now he's made his return. Who knows: perhaps he can even break his own Twitch record in the future.

More: These Are The Best Video Games of 2017

Source: Twitch