Mom took 15-year-old out of school so he could play Fortnite – now he’s quitting

On June 26, 2022By Garmin Philip

In May 2019, the English teenager Benjy “Benjyfishy” Fish (15) made a name for himself: His mother took the then 15-year-old out of school so that he could gamble with his friends in the USA at night and prepare for the Fortnite World Cup can. 3 years later it’s over with Fortnite.

This story made Bejyfishy famous: In May 2019 Benjyfishy was heard for the first time worldwide:

At that time he had qualified for the Fortnite World Cup in solo and duo. He was guaranteed a $100,000 sign-on bonus and also had the opportunity to earn millions of dollars at the World Cup
His mother, who was also his manager at the same time, took him from school because he was always “tired and unfocused” anyway because he played the tournaments at night according to US time
Instead of normal school, he should now focus on Fortnite and be homeschooled – Benjyfishy should now learn the material from 2 years of school in 3 years

Fortnite was a huge topic in gaming, especially in 2018 and 2019:

Everything you need to know about the battle royale shooter Fortnite

Teen Wins $600,000 Prize, Builds Major Twitch Channel

How did that go for Benjyfishy? Right after the story back in 2019, things were going really well for Benjyfishy:

In 2019, when he left school, he earned $393,736 in prize money alone. There weren’t millions in winnings at the World Cup, but twice the $50,000 entry fee, and later in the year he kept winning tens of thousands of dollars for good placements
In 2020 he was still earning $113,000 with e-sports when the Fortnite hype was already waning
In 2021 it didn’t look so great anymore, $ 60,000 in prize money came in

With the Fortnite hype, so did the viewers

Benjyfishy is now more active on Twitch, where he has built up a large channel with 3.8 million followers.

However, it has lost over 60% of its viewers in the last year and has slipped from being one of the top 20 fastest growing channels to being closer to the 188 range.

A year and a half ago, in January 2021, Benjyfishy was already critical of the future of eSports in Fortnite:

“Love lost to Fortnite” – Benjyfishy retires from pro career

This is what Benjyfishy says now: 18-year-old Benjyfishy seems finally fed up with Fortnite after criticizing the scene and e-sports in the past.

Now he says: With Chapter 3 Season 2 he “lost his love for Fortnite”, for him it is “pointless to continue with something” that he no longer enjoys.

But he is incredibly grateful for the last few years and doesn’t want to miss them. After all, Fortnite has fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming an e-sports professional.

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What is he doing now? Benjyfishy wants to devote himself fully to the e-sports title Valorant. He’s had as much fun there as he hasn’t had since his World Cup at Fortnite.

The young man expressly thanks his mother: Without her none of this would have been possible.