16-Year-Old "Fortnite" World Champ Takes Home $3M At Tournament

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20222.4K Views

Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf celebrates after winning the Fortnite World Cup solo final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on July 28, 2019 in New York City.

16-year-old with a big bag to secure some V-Bucks with.

Fortnite took the world by storm last year and now, it's proving to be a cash cow for anyone who's leveled up their skillset in the game. Roughly 100 players gathered together in New York on Sunday to compete for $30M for the Fortnite World Cup. Some left with nothing while others, who are a year shy of graduating high school, have emerged victorious. One player came out of the tournament a couple million richer.

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According to CNBC, 16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf left the Fortnite World Cup with $3M. The teenage extraordinaire put up 59 points in the solo finals which ended up being 26 points more than his closest competitor. “Words can’t even explain it. I’m just so happy,” Giersdorf, who plays under the name "Bugha," told Sentinels following his multi-million dollar win. “Everything I’ve done, the grind, it’s all paid off. It’s just insane.”

He wasn't the only one that left with a few mill. Harrison Chang, better known as Psalm, left the competition with nearly $1.8M while Epikwhale took home $1.3M. For anyone who thinks they can't get rich off of playing video games, these guys prove otherwise. And as ESPN pointed out, Kyle Giersdorf left the Fortnite World Cup with a bigger monetary win than Tigers Woods at the 2019 Masters, Novak Djokavic at 2019 Wimbledon or 2019 PGA Brooks Koepka at the 2019 PGA.

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About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.