Teen who won over $1 million playing ‘Fortnite’ is buying his mom a house
The mom of a British teen who won more than $1 million playing the wildly popular video game “Fortnite” once threw his Xbox in the trash — but now, the high schooler is using his winnings to buy her a house, according to a new report.
Jaden Ashman, 15, and his Dutch partner came in second in the duos section at the game’s World Cup in Queens over the weekend, taking home a grand total of £1.8 million — about $2.2 million — that they split between the two of them, The Sun reported.
Jaden is looking to give his mom, Lisa, a piece of the prize — even though she used to scold him for spending so much time playing the shooter survival game.
“I’m definitely going to buy a house but I haven’t got a clue where,” Jaden told The Sun. “And some Gucci shoes. I might buy a car for my mum too, as she drives a little Fiat 500.”
His mom admitted to the outlet that she’d been “quite against Jaden and his gaming.”
“He’s only 15 and his schoolwork was a priority to me,” she said. “It’s not been easy. We’ve had our differences.”
“I’ve thrown out an Xbox and snapped a headset because I’ve got calls from school saying he is falling asleep in class,” she added.
Jaden — who competes in “Fortnite” under the name Wolfiez — started playing the game when it came out in 2017. Now he spends up to 10 hours each day with his eyes glued to the screen, and started working with a tactics coach for the World Cup, according to the report.
Since qualifying for the World Cup, held at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Jaden has signed a deal for nearly $59,000 with gaming team Lazarus.
Now, he says, his career is ready to really take off.
“At the start, my [mom] was against me playing ‘Fortnite,’ but I’ve proved to her that I wasn’t wasting the hours each day in my bedroom playing instead of doing my homework,” Jaden told the outlet. “I’m not planning on getting this money and just quitting. I’ve still got a full career of gaming ahead of me.”
“I’m in Year 10, but maybe I will try to push to quit school,” he added.
But his mom won’t hear any of that. She is adamant that he complete his General Certificate of Secondary Education exams at Abbs Cross Academy in Hornchurch, East London.
Still, she said, she swelled with pride when she saw her son listed as a “professional athlete” on forms when she applied for his US visa.
“Jaden is very academic and I want him to do well,” she told The Sun.
“I didn’t realize how big this all was. I thought he could play video games but needed to concentrate on schoolwork. The turning point was when he got through to the World Cup.”
A 16-year-old boy from Pennsylvania, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, became the first-ever “Fortnite” World Cup solo champion on Sunday and pocketed the $3 million top prize.
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