Bugha (gamer)
American professional esports player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kyle Giersdorf (born December 30, 2002), better known by his online streamer name Bugha (/ˈbuːɡə/), is an American streamer on Twitch and professional Fortnite Battle Royale player.[2] He won the Fortnite World Cup 2019 and is often regarded as the best Fortnite player of all time.[3][4][5][6] Holding the distinction as the highest-earning Fortnite Battle Royale player, his World Cup victory alone earned him more prize money than any other player has accumulated.[7]
| Bugha | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Name | Kyle Giersdorf |
| Born | December 30, 2002[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Signature | |
| Career information | |
| Game | Fortnite |
| Playing career | 2018–present |
| Team history | |
| 2018 | No Clout |
| 2019–2022 | Sentinels |
| 2023–2025 | Dignitas |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Twitch information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Followers | 5.5 million |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2018–present |
| Subscribers | 4.6 million |
| Views | 378.3 million |
| Last updated: October 14, 2024 | |
Early life
Giersdorf's nickname comes from his grandfather who used to call him Bugha when he was younger.[8] He was first introduced to Fortnite when his father, also a gamer, told him about the Save the World game mode.[9]
Professional career
After playing with team No Clout, Giersdorf signed with esports organization Sentinels on March 25, 2019, as a member of their Fortnite team.[10] Giersdorf qualified and attended the 1st Annual Fortnite World Cup that took place on July 26–28, 2019.[9] He competed for Solos that took place on the 28th.[11] Giersdorf had the chance to play 6 matches against 99 other players who had also qualified.[12] Giersdorf finished first with 59 points, nearly doubling the 33 points scored by second-place finisher Psalm.[13] Giersdorf won $3,000,000 in prize money.[14][15]
Epic Games gave Giersdorf a cosmetic outfit of his likeness in July 2021 as part of Fortnite's Icon Series. Other figures, such as football player Neymar and streamer Ninja, also have outfits.[16]
Hack
Hours after winning the Fortnite World Cup, Giersdorf's X (Twitter) and Twitch accounts were hacked. The attacker used his Twitch account to gift 100 subscriptions to random streamers and posted vulgar messages from his Twitter account.[17][18]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Game Awards | Best Esports Athlete | Won | [19][20] |
| 2020 | Shorty Award | Best in Gaming | Won | [21][22] |
| Forbes 30 Under 30 | Games | Included | [23] |
FNCS results
| Tournament | Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official name | Start date | End date | Season | Team size | Team mate(s) | Region | Made Grand Finals | Placement | Earnings | Source(s) |
| FNCS: Season X | August 16, 2019 | September 22, 2019 | C1SX | Trios |  clarityG & Stretch |
NAE | Yes | 26th | $26,000 | [24] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 – Season 1 | November 2, 2019 | December 8, 2019 | C2S1 | Squads | thwifo, clarityG & Stretch |
NAE | Yes | 21st | $4,000 | [24] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 2 | March 20, 2020 | April 19, 2020 | C2S2 | Duos | Stretch |
NAE | Yes | 5th | $13,450 | [24] |
| FNCS – Invitational | May 1, 2020 | May 24, 2020 | C2S2 | Solos | N/A | NAE | Yes | 40th | $900 | [24] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 3 | July 31, 2020 | August 16, 2020 | C2S3 | Solos | N/A | NAE | Yes | 4th | $28,200 | [24] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 4 | October 8, 2020 | November 1, 2020 | C2S4 | Trios |  Avery & Jamper |
NAE | Yes | 3rd | $7,050 | [24] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 5 | February 11, 2021 | March 14, 2021 | C2S5 | Trios | Clix & Bizzle |
NAE | Yes | 5th | $18,000 | [25] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 6 | April 22, 2021 | May 30, 2021 | C2S6 | Trios | Clix & Bizzle |
NAE | Eliminated in heats | — | [26] | |
| FNCS All-Star Showdown | June 17, 2021 | June 26, 2021 | C2S7 | Solos | N/A | NAE | Yes | 21st | $3,500 | [27] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 7 | July 29, 2021 | September 5, 2021 | C2S7 | Trios | Avery & Nosh |
NAE | Yes | 8th | $8,000 | [28] |
| FNCS: Chapter 2 Season 8 | October 14, 2021 | October 31, 2021 | C2S8 | Trios | Mero &  Muz |
NAE | Yes | 1st | $45,000 | [28] |
| 2021 FNCS Grand Royale | November 12, 2021 | November 20, 2021 | C2S8 | Trios | Mero &  Dukez |
NAE | Yes | 1st | $95,000 | [28] |
| FNCS: Chapter 3 Season 1 | February 17, 2022 | March 6, 2022 | C3S1 | Duos | Mero |
NAE | Yes | 1st | $65,000 | [29] |
| FNCS: Chapter 3 Season 2 | May 2, 2022 | May 29, 2022 | C3S2 | Duos | Mero |
NAE | Yes | 3rd | $35,000 | [30] |
| FNCS: Chapter 3 Season 3 | July 6, 2022 | August 14, 2022 | C3S3 | Duos | Mero |
NAE | Yes | 2nd | $50,000 | [31] |
| FNCS Invitational 2022 | November 12, 2022 | November 13, 2022 | C3S4 | Duos | Mero | Global | N/A | 36th | $1,000 | [32] |
| FNCS Major 1 – 2023 | February 2, 2023 | March 5, 2023 | C4S1 | Duos | Peterbot |
NAE | Yes | 16th | $2,000 | [33] |
| FNCS Major 2 – 2023 | April 13, 2023 | May 14, 2023 | C4S2 | Duos |  Threats |
NAC | Yes | 5th | $20,000 | [34] |
| FNCS Major 3 – 2023 | July 20, 2023 | August 13, 2023 | C4S3 | Duos | Threats |
NAC | Yes | 2nd | $47,500 | [35] |
| 2023 FNCS Global Championship | October 13, 2023 | October 15, 2023 | C4S4 | Duos | Threats | Global | Yes | 23rd | $10,000 | [36] |
| FNCS Major 1 – 2024 | January 26, 2024 | February 25, 2024 | C5S1 | Duos | Avivv |
NAC | Yes | 3rd | $35,000 | [37] |
| FNCS Major 2 – 2024 | April 12, 2024 | May 12, 2024 | C5S2 | Duos | Ajerss |
NAC | Yes | 13th | $3,750 | [38] |
| FNCS Major 3 – 2024 | June 14, 2024 | July 28, 2024 | C5S3 | Duos | Avivv |
NAC | Yes | 7th | $15,000 | [39] |
| 2024 FNCS Global Championship | September 7, 2024 | September 8, 2024 | C5S4 | Duos | Avivv | Global | N/A | 14th | $12,000 | [40] |
| FNCS Major 1 – 2025 | January 29, 2025 | February 16, 2025 | C6S1 | Trios | Avivv & Threats |
NAC | Yes | 7th | $6,800 | [41] |
| FNCS Major 2 – 2025 | April 9, 2025 | April 27, 2025 | C6S2 | Trios | Rapid & Threats |
NAC | Yes | 6th | $6,800 | [42] |
| FNCS Major 3 – 2025 | July 16, 2025 | August 3, 2025 | C6S3 | Trios | Kraez & Threats |
NAC | Yes | 7th | $6,800 | [43] |
| 2025 FNCS Global Championship | September 6, 2025 | September 7, 2025 | C6S4 | Trios | Failed to qualify through either Major | |||||
| Chapter | Out of | Played | Placements | LAN appearances | Most frequent team mate(s) | Earnings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Top 2 | Top 3 | Top 5 | Top 10 | Grand Finals | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | clarityG & Stretch (1 each) |
$26,000 |
| 2 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 5 different team mates (2 each) | $223,100 | |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1/1 | Mero (4) |
$151,000 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1/1 | Threats (3) |
$79,500 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1/1 | Avivv (3) |
$65,750 |
| 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0/1 | Threats (3) |
$24,000 |
| Total | 28 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 26 | 3/4 | Mero & Threats (6 each) |
$569,350 |