Teenager Dropped Out of School To Become a FORTNITE Player, Now Earns More Money Than His Dad
- Alex Mackechnie, 17, dropped out of high school to pursue a gaming career
- He makes money playing Fortnite online and competitively for eight hours a day
- Alex has $45,000 in his bank and sometimes makes more money than his dad
- In one competition, he raked in $25,000 - but gave all his winnings to charity
Alex Mackechnie, 17, decided to pursue a career in competitive gaming after he found success streaming the battle royale game on Twitch full-time.
Twitch is a live video streaming service, where keen gamers can watch each other play live.
His father Matthew is a podiatrist and agreed to pull his son out of high school so he could focus on Fortnite after he saw the money he made from competitions.
With dreams of being a millionaire, sometimes Alex earns more than his dad just by playing video games for eight to 12 hours a day.
'Some days we compare how much we how much we've all made in a day and sometimes he wins,' Matthew Mackechnie told A Current Affair.
His parents never imagined they would pull their child out of Year 12 to play video games at home all day.
But Alex proved to his parents that playing Fortnite competitively was a career worth pursuing.
'It took a little convincing, but they saw I had potential,' Alex said.
His parents never imagined they would pull their child out of Year 12 to play video games at home all day.
But Alex proved to his parents that playing Fortnite competitively was a career worth pursuing.
'It took a little convincing, but they saw I had potential,' Alex said.
Matthew said Alex is currently ranked 77th out of 350 million players in the worldwide leaderboards of Fortnite.
'We're proud of him because he doesn't just do it for the money. He does it because he wants to be the best.'
Alex's success even allowed him to play the game with AFL player James Cousins from Hawthorne in a charity contest.
The pair won the competition and Alex donated his $25,000 prize to the Gold Coast Hospital.
The developer of Fortnite, Epic, recently put up a total of $100million in prize money for competitions they have hosted.
There is also a Fortnite World Cup, with the winner of last year's competition raking in $4.29million.
Alex hopes his Fortnite career will provide him with similar opportunities which will allow him to put his money into an investment property.
Fortnite sees up to 100 online players fight against each other in player versus player combat to be the last one standing in a virtual battle game.
There are an estimated 350 million players on Fortnite and it is hugely popular with children and teenagers because it can be played on mobile phones.
Fortnite is free but makes money by selling a $10 seasonal Battle Pass and digital items such as clothes, weapons, dances and reactions for players.
The majority of players spend money on the game.
[ By Mail Online ]
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