Fortnite World Cup is Big $
A teenage Fortnite champ just took home $3 million after winning the game’s first World Cup competition this weekend. 🤑💰 Fans and players who attended the event in New York told Brut what makes the game a world phenomenon.
Fortnite is the most popular game in the world
The first Fortnite World Cup Finals brought together 18,000 fans to watch 100 players fight to be the last person standing and split $30 million in prizes. 16-year-old American Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf won the $3 million solo prize — the largest individual prize in e-sports history according to Sentinel Management. Fortnite has become a cultural phenomenon since it launched in 2017 — with more than 250 million players worldwide according to Epic Games. French player Skite has been playing since he was 5 years old but decided to take gaming seriously and go pro in 2018. Skite recently overcame tendonitis in his wrist and placed 7th as a soloist and 10th in duos — winning a total of around $750,000 at the World Cup.
Fortnite is the most popular game in the world, but it’s also slowly becoming a major spectator sport. Developer Epic Games has invested a lot into making sure that’s the case. In 2018, the company pledged $100 million toward competitive Fortnite, which resulted in a series of major tournaments and a 10-week qualifying period for the spectacular Fortnite World Cup, which took place at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. Along the way, Epic has steadily made changes to improve the e-sports landscape, and the competitions have forged a new generation of stars on Twitch and YouTube. Projections strongly look like things will only grow from there.
The Fortnite World Cup was an esports spectacle, transforming New York City's Arthur Ashe Stadium into an outrageous festival modeled after the world's most popular game. By the end of the weekend, the Fortnite World Cup turned eight professional players into millionaires and attracted tens of thousands of viewers on YouTube and Twitch. But attending the Fortnite World Cup in-person is an amazing sight to behold that will leave an impression on esports fans for years to come.
Brut.
