Love it or hate it, Fortnite has taken the world by storm. And even though the Fortnite fever has waned for some, the battle royale Goliath still commands a truly massive fanbase. And, if the World Cup results have anything to say, the player base as well. There exists a whole cadre of streamers dedicated to Fortnite, with rabid followings on broadcasts and on social media.
But those superstars are not the ones that stole the show during the first ever Fortnite World Cup. The unknowns, the youngsters, and the definitely-now-famous dominated the leader boards. With $30 million in prize money, it's sure to change some parents minds about the illegitimacy of video games, and it certainly parallels the rise of eSports as a major realm in culture and in business.
The solo prize of $3 million went to a relative unknown US teenager whose gamertag is Bugha. And many other young gamers left the tournament sizably richer than when they entered. Many of the famous streamers and pro players that were famous prior to the World Cup did not fare as well in this debut tournament.
The Fortnite World Cup and Epic Games has assured us that the juggernaut is here to stay, and maybe that's a good thing for the video game industry and eSports at large. Congrats to the champs, and we'll see how the tournament evolves and grows for the next iteration.
