Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf netted himself a cool $3 million from Epic Games after securing 1st place at the Fortnite World Cup, and now he’s being immortalized in the game itself.
Out of 40 million competitors total in qualifiers, Bugha came out on top when the final 100 players went head-to-head in the solo tournament in New York City on July 28.
He won himself the largest prize pot for a single esports player in history, and instantly elevated himself to new levels of fame.
:movie_camera: @GhostGaming: A Fortnite World Cup Story by Dexerto
:starstruck: Ep.1: Motivations
:fire: Ft. @Ghost_Bizzle, @aydan, @seanpcc, @GhostSaf
w/@elgatogaming | #FortniteWorldCup pic.twitter.com/DFvpFJm3gN
— DEXERTO.COM (@Dexerto) August 12, 2019
His landing spot, aptly named ‘Lucky Landing’, was the location from which he would start all of his six matches at the finals, and now Epic Games has commemorated his victory with a special, personalized addition.
A replica of Bugha’s trophy now sits in the center of Lucky Landing itself, after being added in the v10.10 update on August 14.
As well as Bugha, duo champions Nyhrox and Aqua have also been commemorated, with their trophy located at Happy Hamlet.
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damn @aquaa pic.twitter.com/U9CGX5WjTm
— nyhrox (@nyhrox) August 14, 2019
Not only is Bugha recognized in-game, he’s become an overnight superstar out of it too. Immediately after his big win his following on all social media skyrocketed, and he is currently the fastest growing streamer on Twitch, by some distance.
He’s remained down to earth though, and has even spoken out against Epic Games due to their addition of the BRUTE mechs in Season 10, which has caused anger among the competitive community especially.
:trophy: Episode 2: Expectations
:movie_camera: @GhostGaming: A Fortnite World Cup Story
⭐️ Starring: @Ghost_Bizzle, @aydan, @seanpcc, @GhostSaf, @ghostissa7
w/@ElgatoGaming | #FortniteWorldCup pic.twitter.com/D54xTQHuuj
— DEXERTO.COM (@Dexerto) August 13, 2019
His new found fame has also had some drawbacks too of course, most notably having armed police show up at his family home after a successful ‘SWATting’ attempt.
Thankfully, the situation was resolved quickly without anyone coming to harm. Other trolls also hacked into his Twitter account almost immediately after he won the World Cup, though that situation too was resolved swiftly.