In Part 1 of our story of the life and times of Kyle "Bugha" Gielsdorf, we went over his life and personal details that you probably didn't know. Now, it is time to go over the things that matter the most – the Fortnite events he participated in and his path to victory. Of course, we will go over his entire Fortnite World Cup 2019 run so sit back and enjoy.
Was Bugha the biggest favorite to win the Fortnite World Cup 2019?
In 2019, Kyle was mostly known for being a YouTuber that uploaded his gameplay so everyone could watch him play. It was obvious that he was really good at the game but he was also so, so young.
Prior to the Fortnite World Cup 2019, Bugha was a complete outsider. However, once people saw him compete against top Fortnite professional athletes, they soon figured out how good he really is.
To summarize, Bugha was considered as a big underdog during the entire World Cup and the odds on him going all the way and the chances of him lifting the trophy were slim. Guess what, he proved everyone wrong. Despite being labeled as a kid without and LAN experience, he easily dominated all of the veterans such as Harrison "psalm" Chang and Turner "Tfue" Tenney.
Bugha had to qualify for the Fortnite World Cup
Yes, you heard it right. Unlike many other established professionals, Kyle did not have the chance to attend one of the biggest esports events the easy way. He had to work his way up and he managed to qualify via Week 1 Qualifiers.
One might argue that this is the right way to do it.
Kyle’s path to winning the 2019 Fortnite World Cup
As Bugha said himself, he was a regular 16-year-old kid at the time. Many people believed that as well, but then Mister Nobody showed them what he was really made of. This is the story of his World Cup run.
Once he arrived in New York, he was lost. Kyle had never been there and he did not know any other pro in person. His father stated in an interview that he never expected Kyle to go all the way.
The morning of the tournament, all of the players were transported to the arena via bus. However, Kyle’s mother was not with him as she did not want to cry in front of him. You can tell from the interviews that she was his biggest supporter.
It was finally time to compete and Bugha decided to prove his worth. In the first game, he dominated everyone by putting 9 kills on the board and winning the game. Definitely a game he could have only dreamed of.
However, the next was a wake-up call for Kyle. He thought he was invincible and made a big mistake. After a dominant showing during the entire first map, Bugha was eliminated very early in Game 2 and his point lead started to shrink.
Game 3 was highly contested but Bugha was still able to get the Top 10 finish. To be honest, a lot of players were bulked up in a small place and for him, a Top 10 spot was excellent.
During the entire Game 4, Kyle literally had nothing to work with. His materials were non-existent and eventually, he managed to place 3rd. It was more than enough for him to still have a decent lead once compared to others.
A lot of people thought that he would have a hard time if the pressure got to him, but did not happen. Despite this being his first LAN event, Bugha was not rattled.
After getting a high ground in Game 5, it really felt that Kyle could not be touched. After getting a very good zone for himself, he did alright and grabbed the 4th spot. At that time, him being the victor of the Fortnite World Cup 2019 was evident and something huge had to happen in order for him to not lift the trophy.
Honestly, Game 6 was basically a placeholder as Kyle dominated everyone prior to this game. Getting 5th place and 4 eliminations in the final game of the Fortnite World Cup was more than enough for the North American youngster to bring home $3 million in prize money. Imagine suddenly being richer than both your parents at 16.
The future is definitely bright for Bugha and we are eager to see him compete in the next edition of Fortnite World Cup.
And if you'd like to see more stories about the best and brightest in esports, check out our other Life and times two-part pieces and come back next week for another delve into the lives of esports stars:
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