Bugha becomes Fortnite World Cup Solos Champion, pocketing $3 million in prize money

He's clearly the best in the world right now.

Sixteen-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Kiersdorf is the Fortnite World Cup Solo champion, having scored a total of 59 points across six games. He’s now $3 million richer too, which doesn’t make us envy him in the slightest, not at all.

Fortnite is a highly unpredictable game with many random elements, but Bugha’s victory was far from a stroke of luck. Right from the off, he stamped his authority with a Victory Royale in game one, and despite being eliminated early in game two, he recovered and placed highly in every other game which followed.

In the final game, Bugha’s point total was so far ahead of the competition, simply outlasting the opposition and reaching the top ten was more than enough to secure the championship. As the timer ticked down and the player count depleted, Bugha nervously wiped his hands on his shirt, shook his head in disbelief and smirked to himself. He knew he was close.

Remarkably, he managed to reach the top five and even secured a couple of eliminations too. For a split second, many believed he might go all the way. It didn’t happen, but it didn’t matter. He grinned, pushed himself away from the screen and waited for the confetti to fall.

Fortnite’s World Cup spanned three days and featured multiple events, including Creative and Duos competitions too. With a prize pool of $30 million, it was easily one of the most lucrative esports events ever held and rewarded many of its competitors with life-changing amounts of money.

It wasn’t just the Bugha show, either. Thirteen-year-old Thiago “King” Lapp from Argentina captured the crowd’s hearts by putting on a fierce display of talent with confident, aggressive play which managed to bag him fifth place in the final standings and a cool $900,000.

Epic hasn’t announced if it will host another Fortnite World Cup next year, but it’s highly likely it’ll return with a similarly enormous prize pool and even greater production value.

For a complete overview of the Fortnite World Cup results, standings, and VODs, make sure you head on over to our Fortnite World Cup guide.