Teens rule at $30 million Fortnite World Cup, game gets a Season 10 teaser
A trio of teens took the top awards at the Fortnite World Cup this weekend in New York.
At the biggest "Fortnite" tournament to date, with $30 million in prizes awarded, Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf, 16, won $3 million Sunday by beating 99 others for the solo title. Those 100 made the cut from the 40 million players globally who initially entered the competition.
The previous day, Emil "Nyhrox" Bergquist Pedersen, 16, of Norway and Thomas "Aqua" Arnould, 17, of Austria won $1.5 million each when they were crowned the top duo.
Need more evidence that esports is big business? The Fortnite World Cup’s $3 million top prize surpasses the winner’s prize money in major traditional events such as Wimbledon ($2.98 million), The Indianapolis 500 ($2.53 million) and The Masters ($1.98 million), noted Statista.
You will find more infographics at Statista
The event took place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
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On Friday, the celebrity pro-am was won by Karim “Airwaks” Benghalia and RL Grime, each winning $1 million each for a charity of their choice.
#FortniteWorldCup Pro-Am winners @Airwaks and @RLGRIME talk to @ArdaOcalTV about getting the Victory Royale at Arthur Ashe Stadium. https://t.co/xZfHnku2oA pic.twitter.com/B1XwFlszIx
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) July 27, 2019
Also on Sunday, Epic Games revealed a teaser about the game's upcoming Season 10, which begins Thursday. The teaser image suggests the return of Dusty Depot, an area destroyed in Season 4, according to The Verge.
Think Back. 8.1.2019 pic.twitter.com/StlbA42Cwj
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) July 28, 2019
Epic Games also announced that this season the World Cup will include a new Fortnite Championship Series.
For now, "Fortnite" players can also play three games created during the Cup's creative competition by the winners, Fish Fam, which took home just over $1.3 million.
Congrats to the #FishFam for winning the #FortniteWorldCup Creative Finals!
You can play all 3 of the amazing player made games shown during the broadcast in-game right now. Head to the Creative Hub to check them all out.https://t.co/TZtli4X7wZ pic.twitter.com/mGg9KkRlvn— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) July 26, 2019
'Fortnite': 16-year-old Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf takes home $3 million prize for Fortnite World Cup win
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Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fortnite World Cup: Teens win millions in video game competition