When Kyle Giersdorf first picked up his controller, he was one of 40 million competitors in the game. On Sunday, the 16-year-old walked away the champion.
Giersdorf — or “Bugha” — won the Fortnite World Cup on Sunday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, and brought home a $3 million prize.
Giersdorf kicked off his afternoon with a win in the first game, picking up nine eliminations right off the bat. By the sixth and final game, he had mounted a 15 point lead behind 18 kills and cruised to the 26-point win.
“The first game, the nerves were a little bit there,” Giersdorf said, via ESPN. “But after that I eased in and realized that I could really take this home if I focused up.”
Epic Games, the company behind the video game, awarded more than $40 million in prizes throughout the tournament. The top 100 players who advanced out of the initial field of 40 million advanced to the finals on site in New York.