US teenager wins $3m (£2.4m) at Fortnite World Cup

Winning a record-breaking $3m, 16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf, has won the solo event and become the World Champion of Fortnite.

The prize pool was the largest in esports history with $30m being shared amongst the winners. Taking second place in the duos event was 15-year-old Jaden Ashman, from London, who will split his £1.5m prize with his teammate.

The British teen told Sky News that he hopes to make a living out of gaming, through streaming and content creation.

The esports industry has evolved over recent years and Developer Epic Games said that over 40 million players participated in the qualifying events for Fortnite from all over the world, and over 2 million people tuned in to watch the final, which was held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, which also hosts the US Open tennis tournament.

Fortnite is a free game to play and features 100 players landing on an island, the aim is to eliminate the other players, with the last man standing winning the game. Players have to find new weapons and scavenge for materials to help survive and defend themselves. There are over 200 million registered players worldwide, and anyone can enter the tournament.

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