Who Are The Best Fortnite Players in 2018?

Fortnite’s widespread popularity has birthed a burgeoning competitive scene. Succeeding in competitive Fortnite requires a high degree of skill across many categories. You need exceptional aim, build like the world’s greatest architect under constant duress, and think like Garry Kasparov in front of a chess board. To reach the upper echelons of competition in Fortnite is becoming increasingly doable. But there are only ten players whose achievements and skills have warranted placement in my article, so let's get to it. 

10. TSM_Myth

Stylin' and Profilin' 

Our first top pro representing Team SoloMid is Ali “Myth” Kabbani. There was a point in time when Myth was arguably number one on this list. He adopted Fortnite early on. Every stream he pumped out was like a tutorial on how to dominate in every facet of the game. His immediate high-level play set him apart from virtually all of his peers. But his head start has mattered less over the past few months, as many of his fiercest competitors have closed the gap.

Myth’s gaming career started with Paragon. But Epic had another game on the burner that would soon consume all of Myth’s energies. His commitment to Fortnite paid off when he was signed by the legendary TSM brand early in 2018.

Apparently, Myth has an affinity for popular female Twitch streamer and YouTuber Pokimane. Perhaps a #1 Victory Royale at a major Fortnite LAN event would improve his chances.

Whatever romantic encounters Myth may chase in real life, his ability to generate action in-game is largely unrivaled. His core strength is building. He has a knack for surviving encounters from any vantage point. His ability to ward off opponents’ shots with endless defensive structures while building-up massive towers to gain high ground is magical. These unorthodox building strategies and improvisational edits place him alongside Nick Eh 30 as one of the premier builders in Fortnite. These men craft entire cities in seconds. Blink for one second in battle and you’d think the architectural legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright fell upon you.

A thinking man’s favorite player is the best way to describe Myth. He seems to always make split-second decisions evaluating risk vs. reward. While he hasn’t fared as well at competitive LAN events, he’s still gifted. He probably just needs to gain more experience. Falling off platforms to an untimely death is not how you want to leave your mark.   

9. SypherPK

That's one handsome gamer

A pro player for Luminosity, SypherPK is infamous for his innovate and intricate trap creations. I believe he has also achieved the most solo kills of any pro player.

Sypher’s passion for gaming started at a young age with Runescape. He gradually built-up his streaming presence playing The Elder Scrolls Online. His popularity on Twitch grew playing For Honor. Now, he focuses all his time and energy on Fortnite.

His playstyle is highly aggressive. But he balances the aggression quite well with his high accuracy, quick-scoping. He’s a competent builder as well. But trapping is where he makes his mark. He’s like a sadistic movie villain delighting in the design of his impromptu trap towers. His devious creativity calls to mind the Jigsaw character from Saw. It’s like his sole mission in-game is not to vanquish your being, but to torture you. It’s really entertaining to watch.

8. Cloakzy

Don't mistake my kindness for weakness

Cloakzy joined the obscenely popular Faze clan back in March. He was a competitive H1Z1 player, which explains his smooth transition to Fortnite: Battle Royale. It’s a genre that he’s been well-positioned to excel in ever since he started to game professionally.

Cloakzy is a slaying machine who’s unafraid to enter any battle. There’s a cool confidence to his aggression. He’s flashy at times. But, for the most part, his focus is winning engagements by any means necessary. He has quick aim, high-accuracy, and a jerky combat movement, which makes it difficult for the opposition to fire shots at him cleanly.

There’s a reason him and his duo partner Tfue have dominated Keemstar’s Friday Fortnites. Aside from their stellar communication and obvious chemistry, they always accumulate a high number of kills while managing to stay alive for long periods of time. It’s almost like the Terminator and Rambo have decided to team-up. Nobody is safe.

Cloakzy once lived with a few other prominent Twitch streamers in Austin, Texas before moving out and committing fulltime to Fortnite. It’s safe to say he made the right decision.

7. TSM_Hamlinz

It's time to go HAM!

Considered underrated by many of the Fortnite community for a long while, TSM_Hamlinz has finally started to gain recognition for being an incredibly talented player. His gaming skills were honed in the competitive Call of Duty and Halo scenes. He joined TSM in early 2018 to flex his muscles in Fortnite: BR.

Hamlinz has awesome situational awareness. He translates that awareness into a frenzy of kills. But what separates him from most of his peers is his versatility. He simply performs well in every facet of the game. Building, shot-gunning, firing rifles; close quarters, long range, it just simply doesn’t matter what or where the combat goes down. This guy will eat your soul if you give him an inch of daylight.

Hamlinz used to grind Runescape and freestyle. Catch any of his live Twitch streams and you’ll get a glimpse of his freestyling past.

6. TSM_Daequan

Turning your dreams into nightmares all day, every day 

Signed to TSM in February 2018, TSM_Daequan owns a hyper-aggressive playstyle that captures his personality pretty closely. He has an extensive professional gaming background, which includes Destiny 1 PvP, Black Desert Online, GunZ, Wildstar and Smite. His familiarity with competitive BR began with H1Z1.

Daequan is perhaps most known for advancing the Meta of Fortnite. He’s often called the Pump King because of his exceptional talents with the pump-action shotgun. He was too good; in fact, Epic Games had to remove the ability to double-pump altogether. Talk about transformative talent.

Changing the Fortnite Meta is not the only wild precedent Daequan has set. He also famously held an epic 39-kill game that should have been 40. That ending should piss everybody off. Also, he is responsible for popularizing two comical catchphrases on his stream; “What d’you mean? and “doo-doo.” This guy’s just a winner in all phases of life.

5. Dakotaz

I dare you to peak

Dakotaz is probably your favorite streamer’s favorite streamer. His focus is high-level gameplay. There are no frills, bells or whistles. If your purpose in clicking his stream is to be entertained by insanely hard-to-duplicate plays, then you’ve come to the right place. He refuses to use a webcam, and he doesn’t center his streams around wacky commentary; though he’s not a boring personality by any means.

Dakotaz joined TSM in January 2018. His streaming career began in 2013. He was initially a streamer who specialized in the survivor genre such as WarZ and Infestation before switching to Fortnite.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that Dakotaz has the best sniper in the game. He quick scopes with such efficiency and regularity that his enemies’ hate turns to envy. There’s a certain twisted novelty to being outplayed so badly that a player replaces your disappointment with awe. That’s the psychic act that transpires every time somebody comes face-to-face with Dakotaz in-game. Heck, you may be but a mere pixel in the distance before his pristine aim ends your stay.

4. Jaomock

Fast and furious is the only mode I know 

The Faze clan is known for their recruitment of a certain type of “flashy” gamer. Jaomock partnered with them for this very reason. His dynamic, hyper quick gameplay best suits their brand. What stands out most about his gameplay is his extremely quick build speed. Everybody knows he plays at a superfast sensitivity. But the control he demonstrates within such frantic conditions is amazing. It makes his playstyle stand out as some of the most unique I’ve seen to date.

Jaomock is also an above-average build editor, which allows him to succeed in a variety of battles. He's so fast that it seems even the video and stream's bitrate cannot keep up with his speed; it's heavily pixelated because there is quite literally too much information to process. Speed and momentum on that scale is unrivaled by every other pro in the scene. It’s like he briefly flicks his wrist at the screen and entire civilizations are born.

 Once his gunplay catches up to his tenacious, high-level building, he’ll be an unstoppable force. His aim isn’t too shabby either. He’s a confident shooter. Just needs to hone his mechanics with greater experience and he’ll be even more complete on the battlefield.

3. Ninja

A gaming behemoth with unstoppable momentum 

The most famous gamer on the planet right now is Ninja. The face of Fortnite has rotations of legitimate celebrities angling to join his streams. Drake started the trend way back in March. Countless others have followed in his footsteps.

Ninja has a pretty extensive competitive gaming background. First and foremost, he was once a lowly console pleb. For at least seven years of his life, he was a dedicated Halo pro. Throughout the first six-to-seven years of his Twitch career, he streamed primarily Halo titles from Halo: Reach and Halo 4 to MCC and Halo 5. He won a few events during this time while continuing to build his Twitch channel.

Ninja’s fortunes changed when he won the first twitch H1Z1 invitational back in 2015. Ninja finally started to shift his focus to Battle Royales and PC gaming. Then, he won a PUBG tournament in 2017 before Fortnite burst into his consciousness and absorbed all his energy.

Now, he’s still fighting to remain the fiercest alpha in Fortnite’s competitive ecosystem. While he’s inarguably the most famous and visible figure in gaming, his exploits as a competitor are a little less certain. But he’s a ferocious player, nonetheless. His high-energy, aggressive playstyle lends itself nicely to flashy gameplay, which converts newcomers of the scene into full-blown addicts.  This guy’s fan base just keeps metastasizing.

Ninja’s greatest strength as a player is his versatility. He’s competent with every weapon. No matter the circumstance, he’s relentless in his efforts to gain an edge or exploit an enemies’ vulnerability. Couple this approach with his fast building and you have a potent competitor in your midst.

While Ninja may no longer be the number one pro in the competitive scene today – juggling countless other responsibilities that come with being as big an Internet star as he’s now become – he’s still among the very best. And for that reason, he makes it to number three on my list.

2. Nick Eh 30

You're staring at the Michelangelo of virtual building 

Nicholas Teddy Amyoony is a Canadian YouTuber with Lebanese descent. His rapid rise to prominence in the Fortnite scene is even more impressive when you consider his lack of an FPS gaming background. His YouTube career began by making The Last of Us videos before he graduated to Unchartered 4 and Resident Evil 7.

He once received a shout-out from PewDiePie when he was a relative unknown in the YouTube space. His popularity has risen to such massive heights today that I’m sure Nick could easily pay the gesture forward. Only time will tell.

Nick’s a high-IQ player. His specialties are his exceptional building strategies and his sophisticated edits. They’re so fast and smooth you’d think Quentin Tarantino was in the editing bay polishing off the finished version of Pulp Fiction. Being an adept builder is what separates Nick from most of his peers who rely more on superior gunskill or instinctive first-person shooting techniques. But Nick also has outstanding aim, so his balance of attack positions him well in virtually every engagement.

1. Tfue

A juggernaut of skill who has yet to face his equal 

Considered by many to be the best Fortnite player in the world is Turner “Tfue” Tenney who comes to us at number one on my list of the “Top 10 Best Fortnite Players of 2018. Tfue has a brother who did not make this list. But he’s also a successful content creator for YouTube. He goes by the alias Joogsquad. I guess being a key influencer runs in the family.

Tfue’s greatest attributes are easy to recognize once you examine his gameplay. He’s a methodical killing machine. A big part of what makes him such an effective slayer is his unique playstyle. He pioneered what can aptly be described as the ‘Peeking move.” Essentially this tactic involves the usual assortment of stairs and walls, but Tfue takes it to a frightening level. He uses this combination of stairs and walls to duck up and down while he pops in and out of cover between every shot he takes.  It makes him nearly impossible to kill while he fires off deadly rounds. Couple this strategy with his precise accuracy -- Tfue probably has the best AR shot in the game -- and you have a virtual Terminator on your tail.

Tenner’s considerable success in Keemstar’s tournaments has shown the real potential of his potency. He leads his teammate Cloakzy with such confidence that it feels there’s little their opposition can do to impede their march to victory. Their communication is clear and their rotations are calculated to maximum precision. They work in perfect unison.

Tfue’s building structures are designed in such a way to optimize his slaying power. There are no unnecessary materials or wasted moves. Every action is methodical. Such tight control allows Tfue to casually end the lives of every player in his path. It is a scary reality for every other competitor in the pro Fortnite scene.

To put it in more direct terms, Tfue is a species not of this world.

Honorable Mentions: Svennoss | High Distortion |NICKMERC |Hysteria | KingRichard

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