Kyle Giersdorf stood in disbelief in the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium as snippets of blue confetti flew around the newly rich teenager’s ears. Again and again, the new Fortnite world champion and multi-millionaire shook his head – holding the golden winner’s trophy. From one moment to the next, the 16-year-old US American, who calls himself “Bugha” as an eSportsman, became worth three million dollars.

And the mega-event in New York made several minors millionaires at once. But sports cars, fur coats and gold-plated steaks – all the things that soccer stars usually afford – are still a long way off for Giersdorf. Even now. “Honestly, I’m going to save all that money – for the future,” the Pennsylvania State boy told ESPN. Giersdorf had brought his aunt, sister, brother and parents with him to New York. “It’s changing his life,” mother Darcy said, “He’s been playing video games since he was three years old, it’s his passion.”

“Maybe a new PC”

99 other eSports players had easily left their son behind. The top 4 are all from Fortnite’s motherland, the USA. They are all now dollar millionaires. “What am I going to do with that? Maybe I’ll go to the casino. Bet a million on black. And if I lose the rest on red,” said 24-year-old Harrison “Psalm” Chang with a laugh. He had just won $1.8 million there as second in the solo competition behind “bugha.” Austria’s David “aqua” Wang (17) and Emil “Nyhrox” Bergquist Pedersen (16) from Norway, who have to share the prize money of three million for their victory in the duo on Saturday, want to afford “maybe a new PC”.

Top earner among the German participants was 15-year-old Fabian “Derox” Real, who finished eighth in the duo with his partner Calum “itemm” MacGillivray from Scotland. For this there was 187,500 dollars per person, in the singles all Germans remained under far and collected “only” the entry bonus of 50,000 dollars.

Game can be expensive for children

Despite all the joy and the millions in winnings, however, questions remain. The minimum age to participate in the tournament was 13. Game manufacturer Epic Games demanded consent forms from parents, whereby the idea of children fighting for millions is likely to piss off many parents’ representatives and child psychologists.

In the casual gaming space, Fortnite is lucrative for Epic primarily because of its microtransactions, which allow even underage players to pay for additional content. At the same time, Fortnite has problems being recognized as an eSport in the scene. The influence of chance on the game’s outcome is too great, and the game is too susceptible to cheating. Epic Games is certainly not bothered by this. The Fortnite business is booming and the first World Cup was a success.

Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, where the US Open in tennis is actually held, was packed, especially for the solo final. The second – Season in the competitive Fortnite has already been announced by Epic. In a new tournament series, the “Fortnite Championship Series”, millions will be at stake again. The manufacturer, which according to Forbes made three billion dollars in profit in 2018 and invested 100 million in eSports, can afford it. Three of them now belong to Kyle Giersdorf.