The grand champion of the Fortnite
World Cup finals has been crowned. Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, a 16-year-old American boy, took home the trophy and a $3 million prize.
Congratulations @bugha! pic.twitter.com/nchRlL3wUC
— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) July 28, 2019
Giersdorf is a player for the Sentinels group, and managed to careen past his 99 other opponents by a wide margin, earning a total of 59 points. The runner up, Psalm, scored 33 points by comparison over the finals’ six matches. The World Cup used a point-scoring system that encouraged players to not only place higher up in the ranking, but also eliminate opponents, as to discourage players from simply hiding until the end game.
Who is Bugha?
Bugha is a professional Fortnite streamer and player for the Sentinels esports organization. Alongside Bugha, the Sentinels are known for managing the LA Gladiators Overwatch League team. The Fortnite World Cup championship is Bugha’s first major tournament title, but Epic Games has announced a new Fortnite Championship esports series, so there will be plenty of opportunities for Bugha to try and retain his title.
Going into the tournament, Bugha faced big name competitors like Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney, but Bugha became an early leader after winning a Victory Royale in his first match. He also notched nine eliminations that round, cementing his dominance in the Solos tournament early on.
The win at the Fortnite World Cup instantly catapulted Bugha into the upper echelons of competitive Fortnite. The new fame even brought unwanted attention as hackers briefly took over Bugha’s social media accounts following his $3 million win. Bugha’s social media team has since regained control of his social media channels.
“Words can’t even explain [how I feel] right now,” Giersdorf said from the Champion’s circle. “I’m just so happy. Everything I’ve done, the grind, it’s all paid off. It’s just insane.”
Notably, Bugha won by such a large spread that, unlike the duos finals on Saturday, there was almost no delay in calculating that he had won the overall tournament. Bugha’s aggression in the early matches put him at an advantage, allowing him to play more conservatively in later matches, entering match 6 with a 15-point lead.
You can see how the rest of the major contenders fared in the image below.
The Fortnite duos tournament held similarly charged energy, despite some controversy over a pair of known Fortnite cheaters being booed.Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and he’s dropping into a nap.
