Fortnite World Cup: meet the youngest players

Benjy and his family were left homeless when he was a baby after his father passed away from cancer, and if he wins he wants to buy his mother Anne, who is also his manager, a house so she can stop renting.

They live on an island on a river in England, where they have to walk 10 minutes to get to their car from their home. Benjy did not want to reveal the name of the island on Thursday when talking to the press.

“You have to walk over a bridge to get across to it. It’s a nice community; everybody there knows what I do. I have lived on river islands all my life and I am used to it,” Benjy said.

When his mother noticed how good Benjy was at Fortnite, she suggested he be home schooled.

“A lot of people think I have dropped school but I haven’t, I keep on top of my work but just at home. It’s a lot easier because when I went to regular school I was having trouble sleeping because I used to stay up late practicing, but it’s easier now.”

The British teen has over 1.9 million followers across Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch, while his teammate Savage has 3.1 million followers. Both sell their own merchandise.

It’s just normal to me at this point

Benjy, on having millions of followers as a teenager

“I wouldn’t say everything is the same because of my following but I do the same type of thing and play Fortnite and record it and stream it,” Benjy said when asked if he has to regulate his fame and exposure given his age.

“It’s everything I loved doing and it all blew up. It’s just normal to me at this point.”

Savage answered: “That’s a tough question. I am still a normal person. I don’t feel much has changed because I have followers on Instagram. I still go to school, I still do normal stuff that a 14-year-old would do.”

50,000 people recently tuned in on Twitch to watch the pair practice while a video of MrSavage visiting Benjy in London had more than 1.6 million views.

On Saturday, Benjy and Savage will compete in the duos division of what Fortnite‘s publisher Epic Games is calling the biggest and richest esports tournament ever.

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They will also compete in Sunday’s solo competition, with the winner taking home $US3 million.

Fortnite has some 250 million registered users worldwide, with 40 million of those attempting to qualify for the World Cup.

“I have had experience playing in front of a big audience before, it’s just I did it over the internet. I stream,” Savage said of performing in front of a 23,000 strong crowd on the weekend.

“So I have…