Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, with an astounding 231 million monthly players. Saint Paul’s students are among this number, and they dream of being professional Fortnite players.    

There are thousands of professional Fortnite players, but five stand out among the rest. Fortnite players worldwide know famous names such as “Bugha,” “Epikwhale,” “Psalms,” “Aqua,” and “Anas.”

These players have made millions off their skills. Bugha’s winning the FNCS Championship in 2019 made him the highest-earning Fortnite player, with an astounding $3,491,745 over his career. He’s won this amount of money from multiple cash cups, competitive tournaments, and solo cups.

In addition, Aqua was one of the most talented competitors on the Fortnite eSports scene, and in his prime, he secured more than $2 million in winnings. In 2019, at the first and only Fortnite World Cup, Aqua won the Duos match alongside Nyhrox, picking up a massive $1.5 million prize.

Out of the 60 tournaments awarding cash prizes that Psalm competed in, the largest amount was $1.8 million from the Fortnite World Cup Finals in 2019. He started solo in 2019, and his second-place finish made up 91.86% of his total prize money won.

Then comes Epikwhale, who won $1,714,933 from 103 different competitive tournaments. Lastly, Anas, Bughas’ Fortnite no-build duo partner, has made $1,551,108 from 105 competitive tournaments and cash cups that he’s absolutely dominated.   

What makes these players so valuable is unquestionably their skill. But what skills separate the world’s best players from us?

There are several reasons why these smart, gifted, and mechanical players are on top of the Fortnite world. Their ability to see the game is different from that of other players. They can always comprehend steps and moves before other players can even realize them. Finally, their unmatched mechanics can be breathtaking. 

What’s interesting about the world’s top players is that they have different playing styles. Usually, the game is more on the aggressive and close combat side, while Aqua, Epikwhale, and Psalm’s strategy involves playing it slow and super precisely, always checking their surroundings and picking fights they can win. This defensive playing style is illustrated below:

Typically, a skin determines the type of player they’re going up against, but that doesn’t matter when they always have a plan of action. Whenever they are pushing or pressuring an opponent, they build protection around their back, sides, and top for maximum security. This allows them to focus on eliminating their opponent because their protection affords them this opportunity, and they do not have to worry about opponents in the distance shooting at them. Not always instantly engaging is the right course of action even though it seems counterintuitive. Letting the other players pressure you gives these pros an advantage from a slow and smart standpoint because they are already positioned in a way that they are on higher ground and can get shots off before even starting a fight.

On the other hand, Buhga and Anas both play super aggressively while giving little regard. They see a player and instantly engage in combat. 

This offensive playing style focuses less on building protection and more on getting high ground and shooting into a player’s box with speed and precision. For example, when a player’s shield gets cracked, they lose health and get down to normal HP, and that’s when Buhga immediately pressures his opponent into making mistakes, which eventually leads to elimination. 

Another example of offensive strategy is when Anas pushes up on a player. He cones himself, meaning he builds a cone and crouches under it while he’s on top of an opponent’s box. The opponent doesn’t realize that he’s about to get a scaring from a pro. Suddenly, the player edits down through the floor, aims his shotgun, and eliminates the opponent without even getting a chance to react.   

The offensive players like Buhga go on killing sprees to close the matches while everyone is scrambling in order to get as many points as possible to qualify for the finals.

Bugha makes his opponent sporadically button-mash their controller or keyboard, causing them to lose focus and make dumb mistakes. 

One of the common traits among the top players is that they all use a mouse and keyboard on a PC, as opposed to a controller or Switch. This allows them to build, move, and react much quicker than those playing on a console.

The system they play on helps with mechanics, which is the ability to press buttons in a timely manner. All the top players’ mechanics cannot be matched by casual players like us; it’s that impressive. According to CourageJD, a Fortnite streamer, “What makes a person good at a competitive game is hand-eye coordination, fast reflexes, quick decision-making, and strategy.” 

There is a phrase in the game called “piece control,” which is when an opponent gets completely boxed in and runs into a wall, panicking and usually ending in a free elimination. In order for that to happen, the offensive player must build an entire box around the opponent without getting shot. This requires super speedy hand movement with precise accuracy and timing.

It’s quite impressive how smooth all of the top players’ edits, building, and aiming are. They have to make every edit perfect and consistent to have an advantage over an opponent. 

Next, their building is always super smooth and unpredictable for other players to notice until they are killed. According to Sypher PK, who is a content creator and streamer of Fortnite, “what makes Bugha so good is his showmanship, tactical intelligence, and absolutely monstrous in-game sensitivity.” 

Lastly, aiming is a key component in Fortnite because It is literally a shooting game. Different guns either have better or worse recoil, which means whenever players shoot the gun, the crosshair goes up, making it harder to control. 

Aiming in Fortnite is essential for getting Victory Royales. While building is also important in many modes, eliminating opponents is almost impossible without a decent aim. Many factors can control aiming, such as aim assist, weapon selection to one’s controller, and mouse settings, like sensitivity, feel, and movement.   

For these reasons, the world’s best Fortnite players will remain on top, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use them to improve our skills and beat our friends.

Photo Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgtZH3CvrW8 
Photo Credit: https://www.repeat.gg/content/top-earners-in-fortnite/