Fortnite remains one of the biggest esports with $202 million in prize money. Here’s the full list of the top 20 highest paid Fortnite players, their earnings, ages, and regions, plus why Bugha and Aqua still dominate the all-time rankings.
Think Fortnite esports is dead? Think again. With over $202 million paid out to players, Fortnite still ranks as the second-richest esport of all time ahead of giants like Counter-Strike and League of Legends.
But there’s a catch: nearly half of that money came from a single year, the 2019 Fortnite World Cup - No, not the EWC. That legendary event, with $30 million split across solos and duos, remains the largest prize pool in Fortnite history and still defines who sits at the top of the all-time earnings list six years later.
Highest paid Fortnite players ever
The largest Fortnite prize pool ever for a single event is the Fortnite World Cup in 2019. The Fortnite World Cup had both solos and duos events, both of which had a total prize pool of $15 million.
Because of this event in 2019, many of the highest paid Fortnite players of all time are those who did exceptionally well during the Fortnite World Cup six years ago.
Multi-millionaire Fortnite players
A total of 20 Fortnite players have earned over $1 million from competitive Fortnite, but only two are multi-millionaires in terms of getting paid; Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorg and David "Aqua" Wang.
Bugha remains the highest earning Fortnite player by a massive margin with $3.7 million.
81% of Bugha's earnings came from his $3 million victory at the Solos event at the Fortnite World Cup in 2019. He would later go on to enjoy a very successful period from 2021 to 2023, winning multiple FNCS events.
Bugha also remains the highest earning esports player of all time outside of Dota 2 professionals.
Aqua on the other hand, had a much shorter career, but still earned $2.1 million in Fortnite prize money. In 2019, duos and trios player Aqua was in his prime, winning $1.9 million at just 17 years-old.
Rank | Player ID | Player Name | Total Earnings (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bugha | Kyle Giersdorf | $3,771,558.38 |
| 2 | Aqua | David Wang | $2,192,375.23 |
| 3 | psalm | Harrison Chang | $1,874,588.80 |
| 4 | EpikWhale | Shane Cotton | $1,857,487.32 |
| 5 | Anas | Anas El-Abd | $1,622,990.05 |
| 6 | Kami | Michał Kamiński | $1,562,075.34 |
| 7 | Nyhrox | Emil Bergquist Pedersen | $1,543,145.69 |
| 8 | Wolfiez | Jaden Ashman | $1,368,308.07 |
| 9 | Th0masHD | Thomas Høxbro Davidsen | $1,363,502.91 |
| 10 | Queasy | Aleksa Cvetkovic | $1,264,695.89 |
| 11 | TaySon | Tai Starčič | $1,258,370.74 |
| 12 | Kreo | Nate Kou | $1,244,334.74 |
| 13 | k1ng | Thiago Bautista Lapp | $1,230,075.00 |
| 14 | Setty | Iwo Zając | $1,222,997.37 |
| 15 | Rojo | Dave Jong | $1,215,593.33 |
| 16 | Saf | Rocco Morales | $1,210,207.02 |
| 17 | Ceice | Davis McClellan | $1,209,565.47 |
| 18 | Zayt | Williams Aubin | $1,204,856.42 |
| 19 | Malibuca | Danila Yakovenko | $1,067,890.32 |
| 20 | mero | Matthew Faitel | $1,018,350.00 |
Europe the strongest region
As a region, Europe has the best record in competitive Fortnite. Of the top 20 highest paid Fortnite players, 10 of them are from Europe (50%), including the likes of Aqua from Austria, Anas "Anas" El-Abd from Denmark and Michał "Kami" Kamiński from Poland.
Oldest and youngest players
Thiago "k1ng" Bautista Lapp is the youngest player in the top 20 at 18 years-old. He is also the only South American player.
Meanwhile, the oldest player in the top 20 is Harrison "psalm" Chang at 30 years-old, who quit Fortnite a year after the Fortnite World Cup to transition to VALORANT. The average current age of the highest earning Fortnite players in the top 20 is 22.5.
Overall, the peak age for Fortnite earnings is between the age of 16 to 22. Very few Fortnite players compete well into their 20s, and either retire from the game or transition to a different esport.
Where are Peterbot and Clix in highest paid Fortnite players?
Peterbot a late starter
- Didn't play in Fortnite World Cup 2019
- Only started competing in 2021
- 80% of prize money won in 2024-2025
Peter "Peterbot" Kata is not in the top 20 highest paid Fortnite players, but is currently ranked #23 with $906,674 in prize money.
While this may seem strange, Peterbot did not start competing until 2021, and it was not until 2024 that he really became widely regarded as the best player in the world.
80% of Peterbot's total earnings came from his performances in 2024-2025. In 2024 for example, PeterBot won three major tournaments; 2024 Fortnite Global Championship, FNCS Major 2 and FNCS Major 3. These three events earned him $340,000.
While Peterbot is incredibly successful in the last couple of years, it might take several years for him to climb to be the highest paid Fortnite player. Fortunately, many of the top 20 players no longer actively compete making it easier for him to catch up if Peterbot continues to win.
Clix - Popular but not ruthless
- Never won a major tournament (but placed top 4)
- Majority of prize money from streamer events
- Top 20 showing during Fortnite World Cup 2019
If this was a popularity contest, few would argue against Clix winning. Yet, in terms of prize money, Clix is #46 with $619,137. Unlike Peterbot, Clix did compete in the Fortnite World Cup in 2019, and took home $112,500 for #19 in the Solos event and $50K for #33-64th in Duos. A modest amount, but there was plenty more on the table.
The biggest reason why Clix is not one of the highest paid Fortnite players is he has never won a major international LAN title. He definitely has had strong performances in his region of NA.
Clix placed 4th at FNCS Major 1 and Major 3 in 2024. In 2025 Clix did even better, with 3rd place at FNCS Major 1 and 2nd at FNCS Major 2. However, the prize money for those four events combined is $102,500.
Conclusion
Fortnite esports has been very much a feast or famine game since the Fortnite World Cup 2019. While it did feature at the Esports World Cup 2024 with a $1 million+ prize pool, the game did not return for the Esports World Cup 2025.
Overall there is a lot less prize money to be won, meaning we're unlikely to see massive changes in our highest earning Fortnite players.
Unless Epic Games makes a massive new injection in Fortnite esports - which seems incredibly unlikely - the only way Bugha is knocked off the #1 spot is if Fortnite appears at the Esports World Cup and/or Esports Nations Cup in the future.
