British teenager becomes millionaire in online shooting game

A British teenager has won almost £1 million after finishing second in one of the finals at the Fortnite World Cup.

Jaden Ashman, 15, who goes by the gamer name Wolfiez, will split the $2.25m (£1.8m) win with his Dutch gaming partner Dave “Rojo” Jong.

The pair were narrowly beaten in the duos event of the online shooter game contest by Norwegian Emil Bergquist Pedersen and Austrian David W.

Jaden, from Essex, told the BBC he was “stunned” to have finished so high in the first world cup, which is being held in New York.

Unlike many of the finalists, the schoolboy is not well known in gaming circles and only has a few thousand followers on social media.

Fifteen-year-old Benjy Fish, another British youngster, from Surrey, came 14th in the duos contest but said he still had high hopes of winning Sunday’s solo tournament.

More than 100 finalists are taking part in the three-day event’s various competitions, having been whittled down from about 40 million who attempted to qualify for the tournament. There is $30m on offer in prize money.

The singles final on Sunday will take place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium where the US Open tennis is also held.

The online battle royale game has become a cultural sensation since its launch two years ago, with more than 250 million people playing the game.

The game, developed by Epic Games, involves 100 players who are dropped on an island and have to compete against each other by finding weapons and building structures until all but one is eliminated.

The Independent