Fortnite Championship Series FNCS PRO-AM 2025 By Juan Markos
I attended this year’s Biggest Fortnite event, the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) Pro-AM, on Saturday, May 10th. The event hadn’t taken place since 2019 and brought together the top Fortnite professional players and creators. I witnessed a triumphant return that drew in over 643,000 viewers.
A total of the best players in the world were paired into twenty teams of two from all over the globe; they not only won a trophy and bragging rights but also half a million dollars. The event was hosted by Blast at USC’s Galen Center. I had the chance to interview some of the Fortnite legends: Bugha, Typical Gamer, Alex, and the iconic LoserFruit.
When I first read the press release for the event, I kind of ignored it, but after a while, I became super interested. I have seen Fortnite evolve and engulf so many of my friends over the past few years, and I was intrigued. It seems kind of addictive, as it has this whole community of players of all ages. When I arrived at the Galen Center, I was a bit taken aback by all the bells and whistles; the event was a huge production. The players had many fans eager to meet or even see them, with some even standing over hedges to get a chance to view their favorite players. I need to start playing this game ASAP.
So, I interviewed LoserFruit and Alex first. I asked them how on earth they got paired, as I was a bit confused about how the pairing happened. I thought it was random, which I think would bring the drama, but LoserFruit told me Epic pairs them. They’re both Australian players and are part of PWR, which makes a lot more sense. They have both met several times over the past couple of years. Of course, LoserFruit was in her skin, which is amazing. She told me how her skin is in the locker next to Ariana Grande.
I tried to bring the drama and asked them about sabotage—if there’s any sabotage strategy involved. LoserFruit told me there’s more betrayal than sabotage. I asked Alex if there was a particular player he’s played online who he doesn’t like. He didn’t say he disliked anyone, but he mentioned a couple of players he was intimidated by: “Peterbot,” whom he says is the best player there, and “Lachlan,” who’s his boss but with whom he doesn’t particularly get along. He’s not scared of anyone else; they’re both rivals of Lachlan, and it’s important to score more points than him. LoserFruit just wants to outperform all the other Icon skins. When I asked them what they would spend the prize money on, they both agreed on V-Bucks and skins. Like, oh my god, V-Bucks! Y’all need to get a Benz or something.
The first thing I asked Typical Gamer and Bugha was where their names came from. Typical Gamer told me his brother came up with the name; he had considered “Gaming Injection,” and he’s glad he went with his brother’s choice. So do I—“Gaming Injection” sounds a little dark. Bugha had a more relatable backstory to his player’s name; Bugha was a nickname given to him by his grandfather when he was a baby, and it stuck with his family. They had met before but never competed against each other. I asked Bugha what it felt like to be the world champion of Fortnite. He told me it feels great to be at the top of Fortnite. Typical Gamer said he’s not stressed by playing with such elite players and that he feels great about it. I kept my questions to these two a little less dramatic. I asked them how long they have been playing, and they both have been playing from the very beginning. Bugha has played since “Chapter One, Season 1,” and Typical Gamer has played since before the release, as he filmed content for the game before its release. They didn’t mention any rival players, saying there are a few content creators with whom they have a friendly rivalry, but it’s just funny.
After six rounds of intense competition, PeterBot and Aussie Antics emerged triumphant.
