Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, a 16-year-old from Pottsgrove, Pennsylvania, was the ultimate victor, scoring 59 points to win the Solo Finals top prize of $3 million as well as a Fortnite World Cup trophy.
The inaugural Fortnite World Cup Finals took place from 26 to 28 July 2019 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, USA. Qualifiers for the World Cup began online on 13 April and ended on 16 June 2019. Players were able to play and qualify across different modes available in Fortnite, which were: Solo, Duos and Creative. The prize pool at the Fortnite World Cup was $30 million.
The Solo Finals took place on 28 July and featured over 100 players from across the globe compete in one arena for the top prize.
“Words can’t even explain it right now, I’m just so happy. Everything I’ve done, the grind, it’s all paid off,” Giersdorf said in a post-match interview. Giersdorf’s prize winnings are reportedly more than Tiger Wood’s Masters’ winnings, with the golfing legend and superstar winning $2.07 million.
The Duos tournament was held on 27 July and featured 50 teams competing to for the top prize. The Duo team consisting of David “Aqua” W. and Emil “Nyhrox” Bergquist Pederson won the Duos tournament with both players sharing the prize money of $3 million. The Fortnite World Cup reportedly brought in 1.3 million viewers on streaming site Twitch during the Solo finals and over half a million on YouTube. The World Cup was also attended by e-sports celebrities such as Fortnite streamers Turner “Tfue” Tenney and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. Viewers were also able to get their hands on exclusive “Fortnite World Cup loot,” such as exclusive sprays and character skins.
Epic Games, the developer and publisher of popular battle royale game Fortnite, stated that over 40 million players worldwide competed during the World Cup Online Qualifiers for a chance to travel to New York to compete live during the Finals.
Edited by Kojo Essah
Follow Kojo Essah on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter
