Bugha officially joins Dignitas two months after leaving Sentinels
North American esports team Dignitas has officially signed one of the world’s best Fortnite players, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, two months after he left Sentinels.
Bugha will play for Dignitas alongside former partners Matthew “Mero” Faitel and Lucas “Duke” Cardenas. After taking home three FNCS titles as a team, they went their separate ways following the FNCS Invitational.
Dignitas also has other top-tier Fortnite players, such as Twitch Rivals winner Piero “pgod” Ramirez and 9-time Cash Cup champion Camron “Cam” Dean. Dignitas CEO Michael Prindiville said his team is overjoyed to “welcome Bugha to the team.”
He praised Bugha, saying the team would be lucky to have someone of his caliber. The CEO expressed excitement at the prospect of seeing him represent “Dignitas on the biggest stages in Fortnite.”
When asked about joining Dignitas, Bugha expressed gratitude and excitement. He said he was thrilled to be playing for a top esports organization that believes in him and the future of Fortnite.
He also discussed how he couldn’t wait to meet his new teammates and start competing with them to win championships together.
Bugha’s track record
Bugha has won over $3.5 million in prize money as the 2019 Fortnite World Cup champion and a three-time Fortnite Champion Series winner, making him one of the most successful professional players.
Bugha has also reached 15 of 16 FNCS Grand Finals. He has competed in 16 FNCS tournaments, winning three in a row to maintain his status as the sport’s all-time leader in victories.
After Bugha won the Fortnite World Cup in July 2021, Epic Games released an Icon Series collection in his honor in July 2022. In doing so, he became the first professional Fortnite player to have an outfit designed specifically for him.
The Bugha Icon Series Set had three versions of him, including a Fortnite World Cup trophy backpack with his dog Zoey, a dual-blade pickaxe and his famous “Bring It Around” emote.
Bugha recently teamed up with another FNCS champion, PeterBot, and the duo conquered the first two weeks of the FNCS Major 1.
It is still unclear when Bugha will debut under the Dignitas banner. However, the team will host a meet-and-greet on March 1 at the Localhost center in Philadelphia, featuring Bugha and the Fortnite and Rocket League teams.
Why Bugha left Sentinels
Previously, Bugha spent nearly three years with Sentinels. The 20-year-old player found himself without a team after Sentinels pulled out of Fortnite esports due to a lack of sponsorships in December.
Sentinels CEO Rob Moore took to Twitter and said the team would prioritize games where they can activate for sponsors or give team-branded in-game content. He explained that Fortnite has provided neither of those things.
“I am announcing today we will no longer be competing in Fortnite,” he said.
Moore said that since the Sentinels Fortnite team was disbanding, Bugha, Nick “Aspect” McGuire and Brian “Zyfa” Wielgolaski would also be let go.
However, Moore extended his gratitude to Bugha for his contributions to the team. In addition, Los Angeles-based team published an emotional video on its official channel titled “Thank You, Bugha.”
Bugha also thanked the company for all the opportunities it had provided him. “Today is my last day as SEN Bugha. I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity over the last 3 years,” he said.
He wrote that while 2023 marked the end of an era and a significant chapter in his career, it marked the beginning of a new and exciting one.
In response to Bugha’s contract loss with Sentinels, content creator Ali “SypherPK” Hassan said Fortnite’s competitiveness is in jeopardy.
According to a Twitch streamer, Bugha’s contract news concerns many professional players about “the future of their careers,” raising questions about the current state of Fortnite’s professional scene.
In one of his videos, SypherPK discussed why Fortnite lacks sponsorships. He said that in the last couple of years, most Fortnite competitions had been online, and many pro players didn’t even stream the event. Therefore, the sponsors have very few chances to be seen.
The problem is made far worse by the absence of in-game branding. He maintained that esports “team skins and weapon wraps” are commonly found in other competitive online games. Some teams receive a small share of the money, which is a “revenue source for them.” However, this system does not exist in Fortnite.
