US teen 'Bugha' wins $4.5 million in Fortnite World Cup

Kyle Giersdorf celebrates after winning the Fortnite World Cup at the Arthur Ashe Stadium today. Photo / Getty Images

A US teenager has gone home with a NZ$4.5 million prize after winning the Fortnite World Cup.

Kyle Giersdorf, known online as "Bugha", is a 16-year-old Fortnite player and now the world champion of the online game.

He won the solo event of the inaugural championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium, in Queens, New York, in front of a crowd of thousands - the same stadium that will host the US Open tennis major in just a few weeks.

It was a clear win for Bugha, who finished with nearly double the points of the second-place finisher.

Giersdorf first claimed the Victory Royale in the opening round and then went on to build an incredible lead for the remaining five rounds.

More than forty million people tried to qualify for the Fortnite Wrold Cup but only 100 made it in.

The cup had the largest prize pool in the history of e-sports, with NZ$45 million in prizes shared among the winners of the different events in the championship.

Chris Hunt and Sam Pearson, from the Warriors ESports team, represented New Zealand in the championship.

Two Warriors in the big city, about to take on the world... pic.twitter.com/m34riqxOXa

— Warriors Esports (@WarriorsESC) July 27, 2019

The pair competed in the duos event, and finished last out of the 50 teams.

The last place still earned them a NZ$150,000 prize.