Fortnite’s first world champion claims $3m prize

Fortnite has crowned its first world champion, 16-year-old Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf.

The US teenager won the solo event at the inaugural Fortnite World Cup, which was held in New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium over the weekend, taking home the biggest prize in the history of esports.

The Fortnite World Cup had a prize pool of $30 million (£24.3 million), which is claimed to be the biggest ever for an esports event.

More than 100 finalists took part, down from around 40 million who attempted to qualify.

Solo winner Giersdorf earned $3 million (£2.43 million) for his efforts, which played out in front of enthusiastic fans at the stadium and millions more watching online.

“All I want is a new desk and maybe a desk for my trophy,” he told the BBC following the event.

The duos winners, Emil Bergquist Pedersen from Norway and Austrian partner David W, took home a total of $3 million in prize money.

Fortnite maker Epic Games has also teased the next season of content for the game, which has over 200 million registered users worldwide.

Fortnite season 10 looks set to begin on Thursday August 1 and it could feature the reintroduction of Dusty Depot, a map location previously wiped out by a meteor.