cold

When Joshua Butler, better known in the community as Cold, first tried his hand at Fortnite, he was only 13. Today he turned 18, and he is already considered one of the most successful young players in the United States. He has 57 tournaments, hundreds of hours of training, and a prize pool of $590,175 under his belt. All this before he even became an adult. Joshua was born on May 23, 2007. An ordinary guy from the United States with an unusual talent. His path in eSports began modestly, but quickly turned into a story of true determination and love for the game. Today, Cold ranks 439th in the world in terms of prize money earned and 66th among all US players. And this is just the beginning. Joshua won his first real money back in 2020 — only $750, but even that was an important impetus. He believed that he could achieve something. With each passing year, his confidence grew stronger — along with the results:

• 2021 — $33,900: first stable victories, first fans.
• 2022 — $133,125: Cold becomes a noticeable figure on the scene.
• 2023 — $165,450: breakthrough year, including offline tournaments.
• 2024 — as much as $251,950: one of the best players in the world according to FNCS.
• 2025 — $5,000 so far, but the whole season is still ahead.

Not every success story happens so quickly, but Cold didn't just play — he worked on himself, studied the meta, analyzed his opponents, and learned to play with the best. The most impressive thing is that Cold managed to earn all of his prize money before he turned 18. Here's what his path looked like by age:

• At 13, he was just starting out — $750.
• At 14, he already had $55,100.
• At 15 — $193,975 (!).
• At 16 — another $181,850.
• At 17 — $158,500.

Many people at this age are still looking for their own business. Cold has already built a career for himself. Interestingly, most of Joshua's career took place outside of major organizations. He earned and won while remaining an independent player:

• XSET — a short collaboration, but a big one: $100,000 in one tournament.
• Manchester City Esports — a symbolic participation and $1,500 in prize money.
• He won the remaining $488,675 as an independent esports athlete — an incredible figure in an industry where most rely on the support of teams.

Some tournaments became real milestones for Cold:

• Esports World Cup 2024 — first place and a record-breaking $100,000.
• FNCS: Major 1 2024 — $70,000 for the win.
• FNCS Invitational 2022 — $60,000 and an incredible fight in the final.
• FNCS Major 1 2023 — another $60,000 to his credit.

And he has dozens of such tournaments. In total, Cold became the champion 18 times, reached the second place 5 more times, and stopped at the semi-final stage in 9 tournaments. Joshua earned his first $100,000 in May 2022, when he took second place in FNCS: Chapter 3 Season 2. He was 15 years old then, and became one of the youngest players to cross this threshold. Cold is not just a nickname in the tournament table. This is a real guy who knows exactly what he wants. He is reserved on social networks, rarely appears in scandals, but is always stable on the battlefield. He focuses on the game, and this gives results. And yes, if you were inspired by his story, why not try it yourself? On our website, you can even launch Fortnite through a free Steam account - start small, as Cold once did.