- So do you anticipate being world-class in multiple games?
- I think so, yeah.
- [Gary] You got your perspective.
I just want to be happy.
Don't you want to be happy?
- We have a very special guest.
Probably the youngest of our guest speakers today.
We're really excited that Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf is here.
He's a 17 year old professional Fortnite streamer
and player of the Sentinels E-sports organization.
He has been crowned the Fortnite world champion in 2019
by beating out 40 million competitors.
Wow.
Worldwide.
And he outscored the final 100 contestants in the finals.
I don't know if you guys have ever seen Kyle play,
but the dexterity and the speed of which he works is
just phenomenal to watch.
Bugha was also crowned both the PC rookie player of the year
and the PC player of the year at the E-sports awards
last November of 2019.
Kyle or should we call you Bugha?
We are so excited that you are here.
He is at B-U-G-H-A on Twitter.
Welcome to the show.
- Sup, guys.
Thank you for having me.
- It's so good to see you.
We met last year at the Super Bowl with your parents,
and you have the coolest setup out of all of us.
I have to admit.
- And very good taste in hoodie material.
I'm very thankful for that, Kyle.
I appreciate the shout.
Brother, first of all it's great to see you.
Hope you've been well.
It's always great to see you instead of just texting.
What's the biggest thing from your perspective
as one of the great players in this space going through it,
obviously having the iconic moment that a lot of you,
like, you were the reason a lot of people took note
about E-sports or that tournament you're winning
and how big the prize money was.
Obviously that made enormous news throughout the world.
Like, what do you continue to, like,
laugh in your young man's head
when you hear people talking about E-sports
because you're in it.
And what kind of makes you snicker or laugh?
What's the biggest misperception you think from the masses
or the parents or the mainstream media
or just like that cliche thing
that always makes you kind of snicker of like,
"if they only knew?"
- Yeah, I mean, it would probably be, like,
thinking that all gamers are just these sit
behind their desk nerds.
They don't do anything else.
They just play the game 24/7, are unhealthy, all that.
Like, that's just, honestly, it's not true, at least for me.
But that's probably the biggest thing.
- And what about how you see, you know, the space evolving?
What's the biggest difference in the macro space?
And again, what's great about a show like this is
we have CMOs and we have, you know,
obviously after this a team owner,
but like, from just your perspective, from your eyes,
what's the biggest thing that's shifting
in the last six months or 12 months about the space,
about, and by the way, even if you want to go
into your own game play or things of that nature, like,
what's kind of happening?
- Yeah, I mean, recently E-sports has just been
like evolving and blowing up.
I've seen so many more businesses, organizations,
just everyone's just getting into E-sports now.
Just it's growing widely.
But for me right now playing Fortnite,
there hasn't been too much in the Fortnite scene.
Just kind of like a new season going on.
But you see a lot of new organizations popping in.
- What about, you know,
this is probably going to be fun for people to hear,
like, just your perspective.
What about the younger crew of players coming up, right?
Like, what are you even seeing
from like the 12, 13, 14 year old set?
And you're like, "Whoa, that kid."
Like, I think people,
you know, obviously you're paying attention,
you're seeing different ways people are playing.
And I also know that you're expanding
and trying out different games and things of that nature.
Anything catching your eye as an innovation?
Like anything from a hardware,
what kids are using, or mindsets,
or strategies or any kind of nerdy deep?
Like I know a lot of people watching who are players
or aspirational players,
so you can give us a different perspective here.
- Yeah, I mean, all the time players are evolving.
Everyone's getting better at the game.
Like, all the younger players right now are kind
of coming up and pushing some of the older guys out
because they're so much more mechanical,
and they're like way better in fights and everything.
So, some of them are kind of dominating right now.
But for me, I'm still hanging in there.
- Real quick, real quick.
Tell everybody how old you are
and how old these young guys are.
Because you know, literally,
you just delivered, "I'm still hanging in there."
And I think a collective 10,000 people just threw up
because they're like, "Wait, how old is this kid?"
But like paint the picture.
You as like "an older guy" or an OG,
like what age group are you talking
about some of the younger guys?
And where do you sit in comparison by age?
- Yeah, I'm 17.
And in the Fortnite scene right now,
that's kind of like middle age,
coming up to the, like, later ages.
And the younger guys are like 13, 14.
They're all coming up.
But yeah, I don't know.
It's kind of shocking.
Like, I'm 17 and I'm in the middle age group,
kind of later age group in a game.
Like, that's just so weird.
- Kyle, your perspective.
One last thing before we get to Rob,
and I really appreciate you taking time
because I know how busy you are,
for jumping on and giving us some firepower here.
Do you think in E-sports,
we don't think about LeBron,
even though LeBron James actually talks
about playing tight end in the NFL,
like the magnitude of like the way professional sports
as we've known it,
you haven't seen that crossover.
Your prediction, your own opinion of your own self,
and I know you have great quiet confidence,
so I'm just giving you the room to speak to that.
The crossover ability.
You know, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson,
two of the only ones who've ever really done it.
As these games get established,
and we really see seven, 12, 19, 22 E-sports
really capturing the attention of the world,
do you personally anticipate certain kids coming along
and being great at three or four?
Do you think that's too hard?
Your hot take.
'Cause I'm genuinely curious about how that plays out.
- Yeah, so I mean, like,
I think a lot of it is just dependent upon the person.
So like me, for example,
any game that I'm going to I'm always trying to improve.
I'm always trying to get really good at it.
Like, that's just my competitive drive.
So, I don't know.
I think it would be easy if you are that type of person,
but if you're not, maybe you're just good at one game.
But for me personally, I think it would be-
- So do you anticipate being world-class in multiple games?
- I think so, yeah.
- And when you watch other people,
and you're just watching the scene,
have you seen some people in,
do you think it is a psychological competitiveness?
- Oh, 100%, yeah.
- And you don't think it's a hand-eye kind of core,
like, you think it's certain genre games will map
like does Fortnite map to being good at FIFA?
Or is that completely impossible in your mind
of making that transition versus another game
that has a similar format?
- Yeah, like if we're going to another, like,
third person shooter, I think it could translate really well
but I think it would take more time to get used to, like,
a sports game or something entirely different.
So.
- Understood.
Well, Kyle, listen.
I want to get to Rob
because I think he's going to bring some great perspective
for the people on,
and I really appreciate you making the time
and kind of surprise guesting here.
So thank you.
- Thank you for having me, guys.
- Hey, everybody on YouTube.
First of all, thank you so much.
So humbled for your time.
I don't wear a watch, but time is the biggest asset,
so thank you for watching that video.
If you got some value out of that,
there's plenty more where that came from.
Feel free to check it out.