❘ Published: 2022-12-28T23:11:08
❘ Updated: 2022-12-28T23:11:56
Fortnite World Cup winner Bugha is now a free agent, following an announcement that esports team Sentinels will no longer focus on Epic’s battle royale.
The now-famous Fortnite Battle Royale player rose to stardom a few years ago upon winning the Fortnite World Cup in 2019.
Bugha, real name Kyle Giersdorf, joined the Sentinels organization in early 2019. His victory at the World Cup that summer earned him more than millions in prize money. The pro player’s likeness has since appeared in Fortnite as a cosmetic outfit, for example.
But the tide in esports currently sits in the midst of change; said change has come for Bugha’s role with the Sentinels.
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Sentinels’ Fortnite decision makes Bugha a free agent
Sentinels CEO Rob Moore has confirmed the organization’s plan to no longer compete in games geared towards Epic’s battle royale.
According to Moore, Sentinels will “focus on games that provide the opportunity to activate for [its] sponsors or offer team-branded in-game content.”
Since Fortnite presently offers no such option, the organization will stop participating in Fortnite competitions.
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Fortnite pros Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, Nick “Aspect” McGuire, and Brian “Zyfa” Wielgolaski are no longer signed with Sentinels as a result.
We will therefore not be resigning Bugha, Aspect or Zyfa. We thank our players , especially Kyle “Bugha”Giersdorf , who brought home the Sentinels first major championship with his win in the 2019 World Cup.
— Rob Moore (@robmooreEsports) December 28, 2022
Bugha’s departure will especially shock fans that have long followed the Fortnite esports scene. After all, his 2019 World Cup win marked the first consequential victory for the Sentinels brand.
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Esports organizations across the industry have begun to weigh their options going forward, as external investments aren’t what they used to be.
Organizations such as Sentinels, thus, need to monetize their efforts by other means. Highly publicized events where player jerseys and the like can advertise sponsors to viewers help tremendously in this regard.
But Epic presently shows no sign of hosting another event on the scale of the World Cup competition that Bugha won under the Sentinels label three years ago.