I sat down with world champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, one of the newest additions to Dignitas’ Fortnite roster. We discussed everything from the support he receives from his parents, his thoughts on the new meta this season, the future of competitive Fortnite, and his best advice for those aspiring to make a career in competitive Fortnite.

Welcome to Dignitas! What makes you the most excited about having joined DIG?

Bugha: They are one of the only few orgs currently that have a strong belief in Fortnite. They are also Philadelphia-based, which is local to me, so they are pretty close by if I ever need anything or if I want to go down for content purposes. They are a great team, and I also know a lot of the players on the team already. Overall, it’s a great system they have, and everything is going well.

Let’s talk a little bit about how it all started for you. Your parents are obviously some of your biggest fans. What sort of impact did your dad have on your start with gaming?

Bugha: My dad was the one who got me into gaming. I was really young, and he would buy me consoles and let me and my close friend play with him. We were just super little kids, we had no one to play with, and we didn’t know what we were doing, but he let us play with his friends. I’d play with his group of guys back then, and it was funny. But over time, you do something for so long, you practice it, and eventually, you’re going to get really good at it. I was in a good position to start at a really early age by having my dad be the main one to introduce me to everything. Those early days of gaming were super cool.

Having your parents' support has no doubt contributed to your success. When you won the World Cup, you proved to parents everywhere that gaming can actually take kids places. Despite our progress, many youths still don’t have the parental support system you’ve had. What would you say to parents of kids who are showing an interest in gaming, streaming, or content creation?

Bugha: My parents have always been supportive, but with that, I had to do things, also. We had to both come together and agree on things. I had to make sure I was still doing super well in school if I was going to put that much time into playing video games. They always wanted me to get outside more and hang out with my friends more during the time of Fortnite. But I was dialed in, and playing Fortnite was all I wanted to do. So, we had some discussions around that. You just have to ensure you are doing things that make your parents happy and can do your gaming things on the side. Gaming is impactful; it's crazy the number of things that have changed with gaming. I also think Fortnite was a great game to show that younger players, anyone above the age of 13, can literally make thousands of dollars playing a video game if they’re good enough at it. I think the future of gaming is incredible, and people just need to buy into it a little and trust the process.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start competing but is new to competitive gameplay?

Bugha: Everyone was once confused at the start. We all hopped into it and had no clue what was going on. The route that I took was that I would watch streamers, the highest-level players at the time, and see what they were doing. Most of them were doing scrimmages, and from there, I’d try to figure out what scrimmages it was and what the ladder leading up to get there was. So I had to play in a ladder and work my way up. Watch the top players and try to gain information from there. Try to figure out what they are doing and how to work your way up the scrimmage ladder, because there is a system. Tournaments now are a bit different, with most of them being so open. You can just compete, and if you qualify to finals, you’ll get your name out there and be invited to more. If you can’t do that, start with learning the scrimmage ladder system.

How did you feel when your previous team, The Sentinels, announced their exit from competitive Fortnite?

Bugha: The Sentinels gave me my start in esports back when I was literally nothing and had no credibility to my name. They took a risk on me, and I’ll be forever grateful to Rob and the team. I understand it is a business; they want to focus on other game titles. I wish them the best of luck.

Do you think teams that have since exited Fortnite will regret this in the future and make a return if Fortnite’s competitive landscape continues to grow?

Bugha: Competitive is still crushing it. They are announcing multiple LAN events, and just in the past two years, we have gotten more LAN events than ever before. The future is very bright. I think it shows that Fortnite does still care about the competitive scene. We also are continuing to gain more players into the Fortnite ecosystem, which is massive for everyone involved. I also believe the release of Creative 2.0 will be huge for tournaments and things like that.

Regarding Fortnite’s competitive scene, what changes would you like to see Epic Games make? What is Epic doing well?

Bugha: As far as changes, I’m used to things changing, so I try not to have an opinion on the metas. I just try to get in, see what the new items are, see what I can do, what I can adapt to, and play. Regarding what Epic is doing well, I like the recent map changes. I also like how they are changing the theme of the shotguns every season. It's always refreshing that they are changing things. I know some people hate that, but it keeps Fortnite fresh.

World Cup was your first LAN event. How do you prepare for big tournaments now vs. the World Cup days? You hadn’t even had a drop spot picked!

Bugha: It’s a lot different now than it was back then. People know what to expect regarding LAN events, how the environment is different, and how important your drop spot really is. I think it was important back then, but somehow I made the best of it in that situation. I was dropping somewhere where a lot of people were landing. I didn’t even have routes; I kind of just winged it, in a way. My mechanical skill was so ahead that it worked. But now, everyone’s mechanical skill is somewhat close to each other’s, so what separates you is how smart you are.

I believe one thing that makes you one of the best is your ability to win at a high level with a variety of different duo partners. Ex: Avery, Mero, Stretch. I believe this speaks to your character and overall skill level as a player. What do you think makes you a good teammate?

Bugha: By being an IGL (in-game leader), you can ultimately dictate the entire game by leading your teammates. It works out if you have a good understanding of the game and strong teammates that follow you and have their strengths as well.

You can keep your composure in intense games and situations. I never see you rage like other players. What do you do to keep your mental focus?

Bugha: I trained myself early on. I would get nervous while playing but would tell myself that I wouldn’t do well if I were preoccupied with being nervous the whole time. As far as now, since I’m essentially the leader of the team, I have to set an example for my teammates. If I start raging and getting upset, my teammates will follow. I recognize that I have to be a leader and keep my composure.

Many pros and streamers suffer from burnout, but you are able to strike a balance to avoid it. How do you do so?

Bugha: Of course, I’m not perfect, but I try my best to balance streaming and competitive play. At one point, I was streaming for a long time and streaming most competitive events, but it was getting kind of hard with stream snipers, and it’s also hard to improve when you are always playing on stream and you’re more focused on entertaining than you are competing. I took a bit of a step back and learned a lot more when I did. I just try to find the perfect balance that works for me.

Before we go, we must peer a little into the near future. What does it look like for Bugha?

Bugha: I hope to bring a championship home for Dignitas and continue to find more ways to impact the youth of gaming.

I’d like to thank Bugha for sitting down with us! To keep up with Bugha, follow him on:

Twitch
Twitter

And you can follow me on Twitter @KaylaSueStreams