Fortnite: Argentinian World Cup Standout k1ng Making A Run At FaZe5

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Fortnite: Argentinian World Cup Standout k1ng Making A Run At FaZe5

Argentina’s top Fortnite player embarks in the FaZe5 Challenge.


Thiago “k1ng” Lapp journeyed from Argentina to New York City to compete in the Fortnite World Cup over a year ago. It didn’t take long for the South American to make a name for himself on Fortnite’s most significant stage. He became the tournament's feel-good story with his slaying acumen and fearless approach to Fortnite. Although Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf walked away with the win, k1ng spent a lot of time on the official broadcast while millions watched across the globe.

At just 13-years-old, k1ng was the youngest player at the $30 million offline competition, but that fact did not deter him from making an impact. The Argentinian continues to crush Fortnite tournaments in his home region and is looking to catch the eye of FaZe Clan in the ongoing FaZe5 Recruitment Challenge.

The FaZe5 Recruitment Challenge

Popular esports organization FaZe Clan kicked off a campaign back on September 4, with intentions to recruit talented gamers and content creators. The contest, dubbed FaZe5, offers a FaZe Clan contract, a $20K USD dollar signing bonus and a potential G Fuel partnership to five lucky personalities who complete the recruitment process. FaZe resurrected this recruitment challenge from back in the early Call of Duty days, but will follow a similar format.

The first step requires all entrants to submit a video to FaZe Clan, explaining their desire to join the organization and promote themselves. The top 100 applicants will move on to the next stage, and eventually, there will only be five remaining. The Argentinian phenom known as k1ng has entered FaZe5 and wants to win the entire competition.

K1ng's FaZe5 Submission

K1ng's submission is simple and effective. He showcases his PC setup and mechanical Fortnite skills. His career beginning before the Fortnite World Cup until now should do the rest of the talking for him. The short 17-second Twitter clip has been viewed 1.6 million times and received nearly 100K likes. With an entire region of the world on his side, k1ng will take his career achievements and raw skills into the FaZe5 Challenge.

K1ng's Competitive History

Despite competing against the best of the best in competitive Fortnite, k1ng threw caution to the wind on all counts. He qualified for both the duo and solo events out of the lesser-known South America region. Across the Fortnite World Cup's six final matches, the 13-year-old compiled an astounding 21 eliminations, just two short of the eventual winner. He used the world's stage to his advantage, and in the process, collected $900K USD. It was a successful endeavor for an underdog coming into the finals. K1ng went home a subtle millionaire and continued dominating the South American Fortnite scene from his home's comfort.

Since his legendary performance at the World Cup, k1ng went on to win ten Fortnite tournaments over the last year. His most recent triumph took place in Chapter 2 – Season 3's flagship Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) event. That victory yielded him an additional $20K USD on top of the millions that he's won in such a short amount of time. With such impressive accolades to his credit, k1ng would make a substantial addition to FaZe Clan.

K1ng is already a star in competitive Fortnite at such a young age. South American players look to him as a role model for what is possible in gaming. The 14-year-old has struggled to find an organization to represent after leaving Arengina's 9z Team in February. One year removed from his stellar World Cup performance, k1ng wants to become FaZe Clan's first South American Fortnite player. He released a cryptic follow-up video, where he opens an envelope containing the initial FaZe5 tweet inside. What could it mean? It will surely be exciting to see if k1ng becomes one of the finalists in the recruitment process.

Stay tuned to ESTNN for more Fortnite news and updates!

Avatar of Matt Pryor
Matt Pryor
Matt is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University. He appreciates all esports titles but primarily focuses on Fortnite and Call of Duty. Matt continuously analyzes gameplay and plays the games himself to better understand in-game decisions by the best players in the world.