How a Fortnite Star Earned $1.6M from BAYC’s NFT Game

How a Fortnite Star Earned $1.6M from BAYC’s NFT Game

Time Stamp: March 1, 2023 4:00 PM
Source Node: 1986710
  • Yuga Labs released one of the hottest gaming challenges this year, Dookey Dash. 
  • The BAYC NFT Game challenge broke records, raking in millions of dollars in secondary sales and hours in playtime. 
  • A Fortnite esports star placed first out of thousands of players and sold his winning prize for over $1.6 million. 

Yuga Labs, masterminds behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, recently ventured into web3 gaming with Dookey Dash. The Temple-run lookalike had players swarming to compete and climb the ranks, fueled by the lure of a mysterious gift.

However, despite the competition being plagued by bots, cheaters, and hackers, an English esports star went against all odds, placing first out of thousands of players. Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson” emerged as the champion, outmaneuvering the foul play. 

As impressive as his victory was, the champion stunned everyone with his decision to cash in his one-of-one prize, pawning it for a whopping $1.6 million. The incredible feat not only tripled his lifetime earnings but also put his story in the history books. 

The First BAYC NFT Game. 

Yuga Labs, the company behind the most successful blue-chip NFT collection ever, released its first game, Dookey Dash, a skill-based arcade runner game, on January 18th, 2023. 

Gamers had to acquire a Sewer Pass NFT to play the BAYC NFT game for three weeks until February 15th. The Bored Ape Yacht Club distributed these passes to every Bored Ape Yacht Club or Mutant Ape Yacht Club member. 

Subsequently, non-members could get their hands on a Sewer Pass NFT on secondary markets. Hours after the announcements, the inaugural Sewer Pass mint fetched over $6 million, helping Dookey Dash to top the chart in NFT sales in January 2023. 

The cheapest NFT pass, the Tier 1 Sewer Pass NFT, cost 1.635 ETH or approximately $2479.79 at the time. Whereas the highest tiered Sewer Pass NFT cost at least 5.25 ETH, equalling a whopping $7962.62 at the time.  

The reason everyone was swarming to get their hands on the Sewer Pass was because of how BAYC made it interesting. 

A Mysterious Gift

BAYC shared that Sewer Pass NFT holders would compete for a mysterious gift. The highest single-run score on the specific Sewer Pass and accompanying wallet would receive said “mysterious” gift. 

Many speculated and theorized what the nature of the mysterious gift was. This led to over 25,000 players competing for high scores. However, the newfound fame soon garnered attention from malicious actors. Hackers and cheaters joined players in the race, using every means possible to not go down the drain. 

While many players used their mechanics to swipe left and right in the browser-based BAYC NFT game, hackers and cheaters, on the other hand, used every means possible to cheat their way out of the sewers. 

Many players were reported using boosters, for-hire players who played on accounts to pump up their ranks. Interestingly, Boosters were charging as high as 2.5 ETH, almost equal to $4,200 for a score of 700,000 or higher. 

Additionally, hackers tried their best to circumvent the anti-cheating measures and script their way to the top. At the same time, some actors worked on bringing the Dookey Dash website down and breaching their accounts. 

However, Yuga Labs quickly brought the ban hammer down and ensured the game was as fair as possible. The BAYC creators reset scores for cheaters, returning them to the line’s start. 

Pay-to-Win or Play-to-Win? 

After three long weeks of surviving the sewers and dodging toxic obstacles, Dookey Dash finally declared a winner on February 15th, 2023. Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson, an English esports star who gained fame playing Fortnite, beat over 25,000 players with a total score of 928,522, coming first out of the pipes. 

The Fortnite star bought 14 of the highest-tiered Sewer Passes and APE for boosts, giving him the best chance of earning the highest score. The pro gamer dominated the ranks, finishing with 14 of the top 56 scores, including the number one score, earning him the Sewer Pass Golden Key #21915.

Bidding Battles

The Fortnite star later listed his winning key NFT for 2,222 ETH, which converts to $3.5 million, on OpenSea on February 16th, 2023. Mongraal’s listing stirred quite the controversy, as NFT enthusiasts went into a frenzy trying to get their hands on the key. 

UpDAO, an upcoming NFT marketplace, placed a bid of a whopping 690 ETH or approximately $1.1 million on the NFT on February 24th. Additionally, 9GAG, a popular meme-focused media platform, placed a sky-high 999 ETH bid, roughly converting to over $1.6 million. 

However, with hours left on the bid, Adam Weitsman swept through 9GAG’s offer by one dollar, bidding 1,000 ETH. After days of declining bids, the esports star finally bowed down and agreed to sell the key for 1,000 ETH, or approximately over $1.6 million, on February 28th, 2023. 

Interestingly, the pro gamer bagged more than double his lifetime earning of $700,000 in one swoop. Moreover, despite collecting over 36,000 ETH, or $60 million in secondary sales, Yuga Labs received an additional 50 wETH, or approximately $80,000 in royalties, from the winning key sale. 

On The Flipside

  • Two investors sued BAYC creators in December 2022 with a class-action lawsuit regarding the promotion of BAYC products.
  • Each Dookey Dash player had an average playtime of 28 hours. 
  • The starting prize pool for the League of Legends Worlds 2022 Event, the game’s biggest event, amounted to $2.2 million. 

Why You Should Care

Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson’s story highlights how far web3 gaming has come in the future with its potential to provide opportunities to gamers. It also gives a glimpse into the future of web3 esports and how well web3 games can do if there’s a competitive edge to it. 

Read our guide on the best NFT games:

Top 12 NFT Games to Play in 2022.

Find how Yuga Labs tapped into Bitcoin Ordinals:

BAYC Creators Yuga Labs Drop First NFT Collection on Bitcoin

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