I'm looking for a word to describe someone who is famous to a small group of people.
For example I play a competitive card game and there are several people who are famous within the gaming community, but outside of that community they are just your average people. Most people wouldn't recognize them as celebrities.
Cult Hero - a writer, musician, artist, or other public figure who is greatly admired by a relatively small audience or is influential despite limited commercial success. OED
You could use the idiom "a big fish in a small pond" to describe the person.
a big fish in a small pond: one of the most important people in a small group or organization, who would have much less power and importance if they were part of a larger group or organization (Free Dictionary).
A word of arguable authority (apparently absent from major dictionaries, although used by mainstream publications), is demicelebrity.
demicelebrity
- uncountable Minor fame
- countable A minor celebrity; a person of restricted fame
Is the life of a demicelebrity like Schwartz worth reading about? Absolutely.
Example of use from Boston Magazine:
What does it mean for such a demi-celebrity to tell a reporter that their very silly project—one completely unrelated to the thing for which he is famous...
Use in the book The Star of Istanbul:
And so a famous mother could be helpful, given Selene's apparent obliviousness to my own wide demicelebrity among Chicago cabdrivers and shoe shine boys and shop owners...all of whom knew my name pretty well.
You could say these people have a niche following:
denoting or relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population.
"Person XYZ has a niche following in the gaming community."
Try this concatenated phrase:
"micro-notoriety"
Usage: "... Within the team, Carter has achieved a certain level of micro-notoriety...".
Source: Used in Guide to the Cinema of Stephen King, by Caputo.
You can get a very specific version of this by prepending the specific interest or locality in which the individual is famous.
For localities:
For interest groups:
These aren't standard English words, or even single words, really, but they will largely be understood as meaning 'famous' but for that specific niche.
Local Hero - you can also enjoy a nice film with the same name.
Semi-renowned?
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, they say someone is "Halifamous" :)
Source for Halifamous: The Coast, Halifax's website
I lean toward the use of "royalty", prefacing it with the specific community in mind.
1.3 "The most successful, famous, or highly regarded members of a particular group." (oxforddictionaries.com)
Actually, most of the other answers will also work in the same fashion, but I think this feels most natural.
- World Poker royalty
- Xtreme Sports royalty
- Beverly Hills-adjacent, above-Sunset, 2nd generation Persian-Jewish royalty
- Food Network royalty
- Washington High, Class of '73 royalty
This fits neatly into the "big fish in a small/specific pond" idea
"Noteworthy" or "Of note" would suffice. While not strictly required a context is usually provided as "he is a bridge player of note" or "his writings on bridge are noteworthy".
"Notorious" is of the same derivation but has incurred negative connotations.
esoteric:
intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
relatively famous is the term that popped into my mind.
But it might be relatively applicable.
Recently I was telling someone about meeting a person who a lot of people with my hobby watch on YouTube but who outsiders wouldn't know. I didn't know how else to explain it, so I called him "internet famous."
Legend totally works for somebody who's accomplished impressive feats (like winning many of these card game tournaments).
I am afraid it is not an established expression but I still would propose "pocket universe deity" as it is still reasonably succinct and descriptive.
The word "demigod" is also sometimes employed with similar meaning, but even when used in the non-literal sense it often refers rather to a limit in rank rather than scope.
