Epic Games' Fortnite has been around for a while, and it is one of the biggest games of 21. st century. In the world of professional Fortnite, 2023 promises to be an exciting year with some of the best players in the game competing at the highest level.

With numerous tournament wins and high placements under their belts in the Fortnite champion series, these players have solidified their positions as the best of the best.

Best Professional Fortnite Players in 2023

Professional Fortnite players are some of the most skilled and competitive individuals in the gaming world. These players have achieved numerous high placements and wins in various cash cups, showcasing their talents and cementing their status as some of the best in the game. Let's check out who are the best active players in 2023!

Harry "Veno" Pearson

Tournament Winnings: $509,965

Harry "Veno" Pearson is a professional Fortnite British player. At the moment, he is playing competitive Fortnite for Tundra Esports.

Veno started his Fortnite career in early 2022, he has eight Top 1 placements in the Fortnite Championship series, and his average tournament place is 24.5.

Besides Tundra Esports, he is teaming up with Quaesy and Th0masHDexe in duo events, and winning cash cups left and right.

His biggest achievement last year was second place in duos on the Fortnite Championship Series 2022 Invitational alongside Queasy, arguably one of the best Fortnite players in the world.

Anas "Anas" El-Abd

Tournament Winnings: $446,192

Anas is a Danish Fortnite player who currently plays for Guild Esports. Even though he has 13 Top 1 placements in the FNCS tournaments, his average placement is 196,7. Despite that, he has 2,029 total wins and an average 3,37 K/D ratio.

In addition to the money he made from prize pools with Guild Esports, he made headlines by winning $1 million in MrBeast's Extreme Survival Challenge.

That made him a recipient of the highest Fornite prize since Bugha's win at the 2019 World Cup and one of the top earners and the highest earning Fortnite player outside of tournament prize pools.

He's also a seasoned competitor in top cash cups and FNCS Invitationals. Anas is a top-ranked pro player and aims to become the Battle Royale champion after his recent creative mode triumph.

Even though he's officially a Guild Esports player, Anas's favorite teammates are Pinq and Hen from Tundra Esports, but he also occasionally plays with Th0masHD with whom he achieved some notable placements in various European tournaments.

Shane "EpikWhale" Cotton

Tournament Winnings: $1,718,675

EpikWhale is a 21-year-old American Fortnite player who plays for team TSM. He was one of the best professional Fortnite players in the world. He has 44 FNCS Top 1 placements, but only 2 of those were in the last year.

He won the 3. rd place as a solo player at the 2019 World Cup Finals and took home $1,2 million.

After the Fortnite World Cup, Shane "EpikWhale" Cotton won the Grand Royale and multiple Chapter 2 FNCS tournaments. In Chapter 3, despite a drop in performance, EpikWhale still placed well, including 11th in Season 3 and a win at Gamers8 LAN.

Danila "Malibuca" Yakovenko

Tournament Winnings: $277,290

Malibuca is a Russian professional player known for his exceptional gameplay and competitiveness. He competes in various tournaments, solo, duos, trios, and squads, displaying his incredible skills and strategies against other top players.

Despite only being active since 2021, he has proven himself as one of the top rising stars in the game. He and EpikWhale won the Gamers8 LAN in 2022.

While playing primarily with Merstach, he also took 2nd place in Chapter 3 Season 3 FNCS and 4th place in Chapter 3 Season 2. He is quickly rising in the rankings, solidifying his position as one of the best players in the world.

He has 5 Top 1 placements in FNCS tournaments with 1713 wins and a 2,77 KD ratio.

Jannis "JannisZ" Matwin

Tournament Earnings: $706,622

JannisZ is one of the youngest players on the list with a bright future. He was born in April 2005 which makes him only 17 years old. Despite being a young player, he earned more than $700,000 during his professional career. He made a name for himself by winning the Chapter Two Season Invitational FNCS tournament final in Europe, as well as placing 5th at the Grand Royale.

While not as consistent as other top players, JannisZ's impressive performance at the FNCS sets him apart as a standout in the current Fortnite scene.

He's not only an outstanding Fortnite player but also one of the most famous Fortnite streamers of the Fortnite community who boasts more than 486,000 followers on Twitch. Jannis started playing Fortnite professionally at Wave Esports in July 2019, when he was only 14 years old.

He left in March 2020 after two successful years at the helm. He is still playing Fortnite but is currently without a team and mostly plays with rezon ayy in duos.

Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf

Tournament Winnings: $3,483,808

Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf is a professional Fortnite player from the United States. Burgha is the highest earning Fortnite player on this list, with almost $3,5 million in prize money from tournament earnings.

Bugha rose to fame in 2019 when he played solo and won the first Fortnite World Cup event, taking home the biggest prize in Fortnite ever, $3 million USD. He is considered one of the top players in the game and continues to be a dominant force in the Fortnite competitive scene.

In 2022, he secured first place in Chapter 3 Season 1, and followed up with consistently high placements, taking 3rd in the next season and 2nd in Season 3.

Considering the fact that there hasn't been a Fortnite World Cup since 2019, Bugha is the longest-reigning Champion in Fortnite history.

Thomas "Th0masHD" Høxbro Davidsen

Tournament Winnings: $751,687

Thomas is a Fortnite player from Denmark who currently plays for the Astralis team, one of the best Esports organizations in various games. He has a reputation for being a skilled and strategic player, regularly competing in major tournaments and showcasing his abilities in team mode.

Thomas won 11 Top 1 session placements and 3,403 wins with an astonishing 5,17 K/D ratio. Even though he is currently playing for Astralis, when it comes to duos, he can play and win with literally anyone. Without any doubt, he is one of the most consistent players in the world right now and, in terms of tournament winnings, the highest earning Fortnite player of 2022.

Matthew "Mero" Faitel

Tournament Earnings: $452,625

Mero is a popular streamer and Fortnite content creator known for his entertaining gameplay and commentary. He has a large following on various social media platforms and is well-known for his humor and high-energy streams.

Besides that, Mero is a talented player who also plays professional Fortnite. He started his professional career in 2020, and since then, he won 19 Top 1. season placements at FNCS.

So far, he played for 9 different Esports teams as he tends to change multiple teams during the same season. His current team is Dignitas.

In 2022, Mero won first place in the Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 8 Champion Series and continued his success by winning the 2022 Grand Royale with Bugha and Muz.

Mero's Chapter 3 results have been impressive too, winning 1st place in the Chapter 3 season 1 FNCS and consistently placing in the top 3 in other seasons. He and Bugha adapt well to game changes, always performing at the highest level.

He was one of the best Fortnite players in 2022, and if he continues to perform like he previously did, he will surely be one of the top players in 2023 as well.

Iwo "Setty" Zając

Tournament Earnings: $641,683

Setty is a Polish Fortnite player who previously played for Become Legends. He is currently a free agent and mostly known for efficient resource collection and fast rotations. He also has one of the lowest sensitivities of all professional players, only 4,8%.

His previous Major competition wins include FNCS Axe of Champions, trio C2S8: FNCS - Grand Finals Europe, and solo DreamHack Summer 2022: battle Royale - Final. He also won $200,000 in FNCS Invitational 2022 with partner Kami, defeating pros like Aqua, Bugha, and Veno.

Iwo has 8 Top 1 placements in FNCS and 2,853 wins with 4,41 K/D ratio.

Aleksa "Queasy" Cvetkovic

Tournament Winnings: $701,152

Queasy is arguably the best Fortnite player. This trio and duo FNCS winner played for a long time without a team until Galaxy Racer Esports took him. Not only that he didn't have a team, but he also didn't have a PC. In his early beginnings, he played at coffee shops and PC playgrounds. Despite all the odds against him, he still managed to become one of the best Fortnite players in the world.

He has 10 Top 1 placements in FNCS tournaments with almost 2000 wins and a 2,56 K/D ratio.

Even though he does not have astonishing records, he excels in important tournaments. Last year, he demonstrated his abilities alongside Veno in the Major tournament FNCS Invitational 2022, where they placed 2nd after a strong showing against World Champion Bugha's team. He also won 1. st place at the FNCS duos Finals in Europe alongside Guild hen.

FAQs

How many Fortnite Players are there?

There are more than 250 million active Fortnite players every month. However, only a thousand of them can be considered professional players.

Who is the best Fortnite player right now?

It is hard to say, in terms of earnings, it is definitely Bugha, but in terms of recent gameplay, we have to say either Queasy or Th0masHD.

Who won the Fortnite World Cup?

The only Fortnite World Cup was in 2019 and Bugha won it and took home the prize pool of $3 million USD.

Who is the richest Fortnite player?

If we only count money made through a professional career, then it is Bugha. However, the richest Fortnite player is a streamer Ninja who earned tens of millions from Twitch. He reportedly has a 40 million USD net worth.