Kyle Giersdorf, a 16-year-old competitive Fortnite player, bagged $3 million over the weekend at a tournament.
Participating players in the Fortnite World Cup were vying for a total of $30 million in available prize offerings at the big New York event Sunday. Giersdorf, a player from Pennsylvania who plays under the moniker "Bugha," emerged victorious in the solo finals sector of the showdown with 59 scored points. That's 26 higher than nearest competitor "Psalm," per CNBC.
"Everything I've done, the grind, it's all paid off," Giersdorf, who's signed to the Los Angeles-based eSports group Sentinels, said after his win at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "It's just insane."
Psalm, whose non-Fortnite name is Harrison Chang, walked away with a nothing-to-scoff-at $1.8 million in winnings. In third was Epikwhale, who's now $1.2 million richer, while Florida's Nate "Kreo" Kou was also welcomed into the million-dollar-winners club with a fourth place finish and $1.05 million.
The rest of the top 10 is as follows:
- KING - 30 points
- Crue - 27 points
- Skite - 26 points
- Nayte - 26 points
- Riversan - 24 points
- Fatch - 24 points
Fortnite World Cup qualifiers got into action back in April, concluding with the three-day spectacular in New York that started Friday. For the solo division, an estimated 40 million players threw their hat in the ring for a chance to battle fellow Epic Games enthusiasts, with just 100 making the cut.
In addition to Fortnite-related happenings at this year's World Cup, attendees and competitors alike were met with a special performance from Marshmello.
Predictably, some have expressed mild to medium levels of shock at the fact that something as clearly massively popular and profitable as Fortnite and related gaming experiences could birth a millions-strong competition.
About that:
