No esport is growing faster than Fortnite. The Fortnite World Cup not only had a $30 million prize pool, but wooed the mainstream media in a way no other game has.
The public has become fascinated by the game as older demographics finally start to wake up to the fact that video games aren’t just a fun hobby, but something that takes legitimate skill and can make talented players real money. And make no mistake, there’s a lot of money to be made for top Fortnite esports earners.
Let’s take a look at the highest-earning Fortnite esports players, taking into account the prize money they’ve received from placing in various tournaments.
It’s no surprise that Bugha is the top Fortnite esports earner on the list. The 16-year-old became $3 million richer when he won the Fortnite World Cup Solo Finals earlier this year. While the sudden celebrity status plagued Bugha with stream sniping and other troubles, that didn’t stop him from continuing to compete in Fortnite tournaments.
He placed fourth the first week of the Fornite Championship Series: Season X, earning another $4,400. He also recently snagged $1,900 while playing in Epic’s Solo Cash Cup.
It could have been even more, but Bugha tweeted that he’d lost his connection mid-tourney. Still, what’s another thousand to a teenage millionaire?
Bugha stole the show at the Fortnite World Cup, but 24-year-old Psalm proved his worth by taking the still-lucrative second-place spot in the solo competition, which earned him a grand total of $1.8 million.
Like Bugha, the Counter Logic Gaming player continues to grind for even more cash prizes in the competitive world of Fortnite.
Along with his trusty trio, Psalm has competed in the Champion’s Trio Cash Cup each week, the Fortnite Champion Series: Season X, the Fortnite Champion Series: Season 2, and the Contender Solo Cash Cup. While his results have been wildly inconsistent, placing anywhere from sixth to 82nd, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
The Austrian competitor made waves when he and his duo partner, Emil “Nyhrox” Pedersen, placed first at the Fortnite World Cup Duos Finals. Both relatively unknown players split a $3 million prize for the victory, which both stated would pay for a better PC set up for streaming before they saved and invested the rest.
Since competing in the World Cup, Aqua has placed first at the Solo Cash Cup: Week 1 in Europe and placed first with a trio at the Fortnite Championship Series: Season X, Week 3: Europe. He also snagged another victory at the Fortnite Championship Series: Season X Grand Finals: Europe and then at the Contenders Solo Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 1, Week 1: Europe.
Nyhrox has also been playing Fortnite a lot since the multi-million dollar victory earlier this year, but he hasn’t been able to find the same sort of success that Aqua has in solo competitions. He still ranks well among the highest Fortnite esports earners, though.
Surprise! It’s another Fortnite player who placed near the top of the list thanks to the Fortnite World Cup.
EpikWhale took third place in the Solo Finals, earning $1.2 million but has reportedly earned more than $97,000 outside of the World Cup. That tally supports some of the theories swirling around that EpikWhale is quietly one of the best players out there.
EpikWhale has competed in so many tournaments since that life-changing event that it’s not even on his first page of tournament results anymore. Among these are a few first place finishes, including at Fortnite Championship Series: Season X, Week 4: NA-West and the Fortnite Championship Series: Chapter 2 Season 1, Weeks 2 and 4.
As the list of top Fortnite esports earnings continues, it becomes quite clear that almost every name on the list shot up the ranks thanks to the Fortnite World Cup. The Fortnite World Cup winners even beat big names like Dmitri “Mitr0” Van de Vrie, Turner “Tfue” Tenney, and Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson, who have earned $696,599, $581,900, and $567,454 respectively.
That said, Fortnite’s pro scene has also helped create a number of different millionaires through the game’s enduring popularity on Twitch. Though the Fortnite World Cup attracted the attention of the entire esports world, popular influencers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins have earned signicantly more through Twitch subscriptions and streaming deals than through prize pool winnings.
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