The Fortnite World Championship is set for the end of July. The favorites are pros aged 14 or 15 years. An expert thinks one of these kids will go home with $4 million and finds it crazy. However, he believes that in the long run, the “big names” will also make the big money – not the kids.
Who is speaking? It is Alex “Golden Boy” Mendez, a well-known host and caster. He foresaw the eSports boom early on and discusses in an interview with Kotaku what is happening right now.
A major topic for him: The young eSport professionals who are often still minors, and the older Twitch streamers. Both groups, the entertainers and the athletes, shape Fortnite.
How much money is at stake in the Fortnite World Championship? From July 26 to 28, the 100 best solo players and the 50 best duos in the world will compete in the Fortnite World Cup.
In total, only during these 3 days, there is $30 million in prize money – another $12 million will be distributed during the ongoing qualification.
- Every player who qualifies for the World Cup is guaranteed at least $50,000
- The solo champion in Fortnite will receive $3 million
What the expert says: Mendez believes that it won’t be the “big Twitch streamers” competing for this money, but the young pros.
Only Tfue has qualified for the solo championship from the “big names”. There are a few other names known in the Fortnite community. But mainly, they are Fortnite pros: kids aged 14 or 15.
Throughout the tournament, the wheat will be separated from the chaff, and in the end, the best players will stand at the top.
Mendez says: “One of these kids will go home with $4 million.”
The journalist then says: “That’s crazy.”
Mendez responds: “That’s madness.”
What are these young pros like? It is noticeable that many of the people who have qualified are rather unknown names of whom little is known.
Those who then came into the public eye were often very young.
The 15-year-old “Benjy Fish” made headlines when his mother took him out of school so he could train for the World Cup. His partner, the Norwegian MrSavage, is the same age.
Another hot candidate is Mongraal (15), an Englishman with slight issues controlling his anger. However, he is considered incredibly talented in Fortnite.
Recently, a 12-year-old boy made headlines(cover image) because he was already signed as a professional, even though he was below the age limit of 13.
Special Case: Fortnite – Here Personality Counts
The catch is: The kid who wins the World Cup and so much money will probably still not be the most famous player with all the success, thinks Mendez.
Because Mendez believes that the “real winners” of Fortnite in the long run are not the young pros who are taking the prize money but the entertaining streamers with their huge Twitch channels like Ninja and those guys who are making money.
Because while prize money appears only sporadically, streams generate a steady income.
Therefore, many eSports players are considering leaving eSports and just streaming. Like Dafran did for Overwatch. He said after a short time in the Overwatch League, “You know what? I think I’d rather stream.”
With that, Dafran became more successful than ever before.
Also, Overwatch pro xQc has managed to make a career out of being dropped from his Overwatch team.
That’s why Fortnite is so ideal for streamers: Fortnite is a prime example of an eSport where viewers can identify much more with an individual rather than with a team, says Mendez.
There have been individual pros who became a brand: Like Poach, Vivid, 72Hrs, or Ayden. But they are not nearly as much a brand as Tfue, Nickmercs, or Ninja.
Therefore, in Fortnite, it is an option for players to leave eSports and just stream.
That’s also the difference between eSports and traditional sports; in traditional sports, nobody can say, “I’m streaming now.”
Even a Fortnite player became a pro, even though he wasn’t even 13 yet:
