In 2019, a 15-year-old British teenager, known by the pseudonym BenjyFishy, found himself in the spotlight. His exceptional talent in Fortnite pushed his mother to make a controversial decision: remove him from the traditional school system to devote himself entirely to the game. Five years later, where is he today?
BenjyFishy: leaving school for Fortnite
While studying at home, with the goal of graduating within three years, BenjyFishy was able to continue pursuing his dream. Very soon, he began to show impressive results: he won 11,300 euros in an online tournament, and then, at the age of 15, he accumulated almost $392,000 through various tournaments on Fortnite. At age 16, he added another $147,000 to his tally, although the money remained tied up until he came of age.
With schedules aligned with those of American competitions, Benjy had difficulty following traditional classes. His mother's decision finally allowed Benjy to devote himself fully to his passion, and the profits were there. But starting in 2021, interest in the competitive Fortnite scene began to wane, and with it, tournament winnings.
In the meantime, his Twitch channel has exploded in popularity. In 2020, it brought together an average of 24,000 spectators and accumulated nearly 20 million hours of viewing. His personality, combined with his skills, has attracted a large audience of Fortnite fans. However, despite this success, BenjyFishy announced in 2022 the end of his career on Fortnite to devote himself to another game: Valorant, Riot Games' answer to Counter-Strike.
A transition from Fortnite to Valorant
Switching from Fortnite to Valorant hasn't been without its challenges. Although BenjyFishy quickly adapted and performed very well, he faced a significant drop in his viewership on Twitch. Many of his viewers followed him specifically for Fortnite and lost interest when Benjy changed game. In 2023, its audience fell by 53%, and hours viewed fell by almost 70%. He went from an average of 24,000 viewers to around 2,200 viewers per stream, a considerable decrease from his “Fortnite” days.
Despite this, BenjyFishy has not given up on his dream of becoming a professional in Valorant. In 2023, he left American team NRG to join Team Heretics. The reconversion seems to be working well for the young man, now 19 years old. He recently extended his contract until 2025 and is now living in Spain, enjoying a new stage in his career. If his audience on Twitch no longer reaches the heights of the Fortnite era, he remains a recognized figure in the Valorant community, appearing among the 150 most followed channels for this game.
