American teen ‘Bugha’ becomes solo fortnite champ, winning $3 million
New york: american kyle giersdorf, alias “bug ha ,” became the first fortnite world champion in the solo division, winning $3 million at age 16 on Sunday.
Originally from Pennsylvania, the young gamer took the lead in the first of six games and never looked back.
“It’s insane,” the young millionaire said ater the final, during which he scored almost double the points of his closest opponent (59 to 33).
Aside from the second of six games, Bugha was remarkably consistent despite playing in the first world cup final, with millions of dollars on the line, in the Arthur Ashe stadium, where the US Open tennis tournament takes place.
“This morning he was worriless, energetic, having fun to make sure he wasn’t stressed at all,” his best friend Colin Bradley said ater the final.
In the game, users are dropped onto an island where they must search for weapons and other resources while eliminating other players -- all while trying to stay alive.
A sense of placement, a talent for building, brilliance in close combat and rock solid selfcontrol -- Bugha had it all in the final.
“He’s one of the smartest players. He knows when to atack, when not to atack, to stay high ground. He’s a strategic player,” Bradley said.
Having a high position is oten a decisive advantage, especially in the closing stages of the game, making it easier to shoot other players.
“A lot of people think it’s just a game, but he is practicing, dedicated, determined,” said Bugha’s aunt, Dawn Seiders.
“I think he’s the definition of a professional.” Epic Games -- fortnite’s creators -- have spent a whopping $100 million on the inaugural event, including staging 10 weeks of qualifying culminating in this weekend’s tournament.
Over the three-day tournament, Epic Games gave out $30 million in prize money.
Every competitor is guaranteed to leave with $50,000, making them the envy of the schoolyard when they return home.
During Sunday’s final, the crown jewel of the tournament, three players in addition to Bugha also became millionaires: “Psalm” ($1.8 million), “Epikwhale” ($1.2 million) and Kreo ($1.05 million), all Americans.
Argentinian player Thiago Lapp, alias “King,” made a splash at only 13 years old. He just missed the million-dollar mark ($900,000) and finished fith, employing an ultra-aggressive style that helped him eliminate 21 competitors over six matches, the best ater Bugha (23).
“It’s beter than watching on TV or Twitch,” said Anthony Peralta, who attended the final.
During the weekend’s highlights, atendees filled about two-thirds of the Arthur Ashe stadium, which has a seating capacity of 23,000.
“I didn’t think it would be this much fun,” said Carlos Dacosta, another final audience member.
“The level of competition that these guy have, it’s crazy.”
“It’s massive, what they’ve done,” said French gamer “Kouto,” whose real name is Issam Taguine and is a member of France’s Team MCES.
“Especially everything they’ve invested in the players.”
Ater placing second during the “Creative Mode” final on Friday, which offers players new
game modes they can discover, Kouto will leave New York with $86,000, which he plans to give to his mother.
For him, the popularity of the game -- which is free to play and has 250 million users worldwide -- is higher than ever, thanks to its fast-paced updates.
“It’s the game with the most changes,” he said. “So you can come back four months later and you’ll never feel like you’ve played the same game. That’s what gives the game life.”
Fortnite superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has let Twitch and is taking his video game live streams to Microsoft’s Mixer platform, a stunning switch that could have wide-ranging consequences for the rapidly growing industry.
Blevins ends a hugely profitable partnership with Twitch, a live streaming giant owned by Amazon.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities Twitch has provided me,” Blevins said. “But as I looked at the next step in my career, I wanted to be somewhere that empowered me to push the boundaries of gaming and achieve bigger goals within the industry. Mixer provides me with more ways to connect with my community.”
Blevins has earned millions broadcasting himself playing Fortnite and other video games on Twitch and Youtube. He has over 14 million followers on Twitch, and the platform has hosted many of his pioneering esports moments, including a Fortnite event in March 2018 featuring rappers Drake and Travis Scot and football player Juju Smith-schuster that propelled the game into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.
Blevins will host his first Mixer live stream from Lollapalooza, a four-day music festival in Chicago. The 28-year-old has publicly invited Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf - the 16-year-old who earned $3 million on July 29 for winning the inaugural Fortnite World Cup — to join him. Blevins said he will not actively recruit other gamers to leave their current platform, but if more streamers follow him to Mixer, it could become a legitimate competitor in a market dominated by Twitch.
Mixer launched in 2016 but hasn’t nearly matched Twitch’s popularity - Microsoft reported 10 million monthly users last year, compared to well over 100 million for Twitch, which launched in 2011. Mixer has been praised for its interface and its management of toxic players, though, and Blevins said he expects to connect to fans with “more interactivity and variety than before” because of Mixer’s technological abilities — for example, streamers can share their controller with fans, and the chat function has a greater array of features. Blevins also anticipates the deal with Mixer will free him up to do more live events and other non-streaming content.
“I love what I do and will still be actively streaming and continuing to interact with my fans,” he said. “With Mixer, I get to further engage with the tools on the platform, which I am excited about.”
Within 40 minutes of the announcement, Mixer was the top trending topic on Twiter in the United States, and Ninja’s Mixer page had over 28,000 subscribers.
Blevins first emerged in the streaming community eight years ago while playing Halo. Ater some competitive success with batle royale games H1Z1 and Player unknown’s Battlegrounds, he broke into the mainstream as the face of Fortnite last year. He’s the most followed gamer on Twitch, although his popularity has slowed. He ranked fourth in hours watched on the platform in June, about 6 million hours behind Turner “Tfue” Tenney, according to Stream elements.
Blevins said that at Mixer, “I will do my part to ensure I am helping to create a fun and welcoming community,” and that includes playing with female gamers.
“I will play with any gamer who loves gaming as much as I do,” he said.