Fortnite descends on Arthur Ashe Stadium for gaming event

A fortnight as the tennis world knows it is built around the annual Championships held at Wimbledon, but another Fortnite entirely was afoot in late July at the site of the US Open.

The first-ever Fortnite World Cup, built up by a coalition of investors and the culture of a video game that emerged two years ago, took place in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York. A solid hundred individuals and 50 teams participated, with a prize pool of $30 million on the line. The competitors qualified by competing in Fortnite competitions in recent months before colliding online and in person in Queens.

When all was said and done, as the headlines had it, yes, a 16-year-old reaped the top profit of $3 million. As many a meme noted in the wake of the virtual battle, solo-division victor Kyle Giersdorf seized a paycheck that topped what Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep garnered for winning Wimbledon, what Tiger Woods won in taking the Masters this year, and so on.

Esports are well underway in taking over the world, and perhaps the power of the purse in entertainment. What a time to be alive.