This past weekend, 64 Fortnite players competed for a $50,000 prize at the Simon Cup, a national amateur esports competition held at the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Daryl “Bugzvii” John ended up emerging victorious in the Grand Finals. While the 20-year old did not do so well in the beginning rounds, he quickly made up for these elimination points in the last three rounds.
Bugzvii wins Simon Cup
“I knew I had a chance to win it all in the last game, and I thought let’s go, let’s get this,” Bugzvii said on his win. “I was confident heading into the Grand Final but beating this group of players is amazing. They’re all really good…there’s no way this is happening right now!”
Hosted by esports venue company Allied Esports and American commercial real estate company Simon Property Group, the Simon Cup started as a six-week tournament. Thousands of Fortnite players entered the competition through qualifying rounds, which led to an in-person Regional Finals at two locations. This included the Roosevelt Field in Garden City, New York and Ontario Mills in Ontario, California.
$50,000 to first place
“There are super talented gamers in every corner of the U.S. and around the world and we are incredibly proud to present a platform like the Simon Cup, where gamers can put their skills on display against top competition,” said Allied Esports CEO Jud Hannigan. “We congratulate Daryl and the other finalists who advanced to Las Vegas, and we look forward to working with Simon to raise the bar next year.”
The competitors were narrowed down into a final 64 participants, which included players aged between 13 and 25. These finalists clashed in a Fortnite solo custom lobby, with over 500 attendees spectating the event in the HyperX Esports Arena. The action was also livestreamed on the Twitch channels of several Fortnite influencers, as well as the main Allied Esports channel.
While Bugzvii was able to take home a $50,000 prize in the form of a shopping spree, regional finalists also took home consolation prizes. This included $10,000 each to New York Regional winner Alexander Szumski from Rahway, N.J., California Regional winner Nick Singer from Ladera Ranch, Calif., and open online tournament winner Dennis Castro-Betancourt from Keyport, N.J.
