LOS ANGELES -- Backstage in an anonymous hangar hidden on the outskirts of downtown during the second day of the Fortnite Secret Skirmish, caster Benjamin "Dr Lupo" Lupo watched the unfolding solos action on a nearby monitor. After a few moments, the broadcast shifted perspective to an unfamiliar face rotating north of Dusty Divot. Lupo pointed at the screen.
"That's my guy," Lupo told the surrounding crew. "I want that kid to win so bad."
The kid in question was Robert "Butter" Van Lingen, a 20-year-old from Torrance, California, who wasn't supposed to be there. Epic's latest LAN tournament was an invite-only event exclusive to players who had secured top-20 finishes in their past tournaments. Butter had never even qualified for such a contest. He'd only started playing Fortnite a few months ago at his brother's insistence. Yet somehow, Butter found himself sharing a stage with many of the game's brightest stars.
The Secret Skirmish 100-man lineup was a who's who of competitive Fortnite luminaries. Austin "Morgausse" Etue, the $250,000 winner of PAX West, was there. So was TwitchCon victors Dennis "Cloak" Lepore and Turner "Tfue" Tenney, the latter of whom rolled up to the venue in a bright yellow Lamborghini. Standouts like Thomas "72hrs" Mulligan, Nick "Nickmercs" Kolcheff and his Tilted Towers rival Aydan "Aydan" Conrad also held court.
To produce an event the size of Secret Skirmish, Epic Games contacted local players to test the equipment. Butter made the list, and for four days of full rehearsals, he pretended to be a professional player. The catered meals, comped hotel rooms and complimentary V-Bucks from Epic helped sell the illusion, but veterans like Lupo weren't fooled. Butter was the real deal, winning match after match with double-digit eliminations.
"He was just killing it," Lupo said. "The speed at which he was doing some of the stuff, he was on par with the rest of these pro players. It was very easy, even to the point where he was faking falling asleep in the middle of some of the matches. It makes me very happy seeing him have a chance at competing with everybody else."
The carriage turned back into a pumpkin at the conclusion of Wednesday's rehearsal, or so Butter thought. Behind the scenes, production had hit a snag: invited pro Myles "Gorilla" Cayenne suddenly dropped out due to a family emergency. As the braintrust discussed filling Gorilla's spot, they remembered the phenom who slayed out during the practice games.
"Honestly, this is the stuff we joke about all the time," said Jeremy Hoffmann, Epic's director of video production. "We're going to have bigger events going forward, what happens when a player doesn't make it? I'm like, I don't know, everyone at the event is a player, right? People look at me like I'm crazy, but why not? Just grab one of them from the audience. You never know who you're going to find."
Exhausted from days of testing, Butter initially missed Epic's email asking for his phone number.
"I didn't read it until the middle of the night, so they couldn't call me back yet," Butter remembered. "I kinda knew it would be an invite, so I kinda just didn't sleep all night. And they did call me at 11 a.m. asking if I would like to play in the Secret Skirmish, and I was like, 'Of course I want to play!'"
Butter was paired with Aydan for the duos portion, and the two controller players forged a bond over a shared love of dropping into Tilted Towers. But for Aydan, the similarities were more than superficial. When he looked at Butter, he saw himself five months ago.
"When I went to PAX [West], nobody knew me," Aydan said. "It was intimidating seeing all the pro players, all their jerseys on; like damn, I want to be like that. For [Butter], I just wanted to make it the best event possible. I wanted to give him the same opportunity to blow up like I did. He's such a nice guy, and he did very well."
Aydan and Butter were put to the test early in Game 1 when they engaged Robert "Slobings" Morales and Damien "Dafps" Adams at Tilted Towers. While Aydan started the fight with a knock on Dafps, Butter finished it, breaking through the wooden structure and eliminating Slobings with a blue submachine gun to revive Aydan. Their victory was short-lived; Aydan's old foe Nickmercs and Bryan "Harmful" Barba eliminated them underneath the basketball court. Butter and Aydan continued to struggle through their remaining matches, ending the day scoreless in 49th place.
"It was a little hard at first, trying to keep up with the pace," Butter said of playing with professionals. "Everything about them was way better than I've played against. All their building, their edits, their accuracy, it was all on point. You couldn't be messing around with them. I was playing a little bit more passive because I knew how good everyone was, and I was taking my time a little bit too much."
By Friday's solo matches, Butter's story had spread throughout the event crew. Game Director Phil Englert and his team of observers determined which players appeared on stream, switching back and forth between wide shots and player perspectives to showcase relevant action. They paid close attention to Butter's progress amid dozens of screens, eager to highlight his play on broadcast whenever the kid showed signs of life.
Midway through Game 2, the call went out: Butter just got his second kill. Butter almost has a point.
"Copy that. And, ready a two-box with 28," Englert said, ordering a camera transition into Butter's perspective. "You're still hot 12, keep it smooth. Nice ... ready to take right full. And, take right full."
Dressed in a pink Rabbit Raider Skin, Butter weaved through his makeshift brick tower, searching for an exposed enemy northeast of Snobby Shores. He found one peeking within range, but missed with the purple heavy sniper by inches.
"Awww, damn it Butter! Hit your shots," an observer cried out, disappointed.
Minutes later, Butter secured a point with his third elimination, a textbook wall break with the heavy sniper followed by a spray of shots from his legendary heavy assault rifle. The observer pit exploded with cheers and applause, the camera staying with Butter until he was dropped by Anthony "ZexRow" Colandro in Seventh Circle while negotiating a maze of metal. Butter finished in 16th place; the cutoff for placement points was 10th.
"What's really special about Fortnite is the idea that anyone can do it," Englert said. "You can go compete, you can make yourself a pro, all you've gotta do is work hard and love the game. If you put those things in, there's no reason that, wherever you are in the world, you have a shot.
"I was at PAX [West] when Morgausse came out of nowhere. That made his career. I'll never forget watching that moment where he saw that he won, the shock on his face. It brings me to tears just talking about it. It was such a powerful, real moment that we were a part of where it just changed this kid's life forever. And I think it's really cool to be a part of that."
Butter didn't have Morgausse's magical PAX West run at Secret Skirmish. He never secured another point after his Game 2 success, ending Friday's set in 46th, but a single point was better than the bagels posted by over a third of the lobby. Yet his journey remains a prime example of the kind of accessibility Epic hopes to provide with competitive Fortnite, offering life-changing money to players who never dared dream of it before. This time it was Butter; next time, it could be you.
For now, Butter is measured when discussing his future plans. He'll return to Torrance, take a few online classes, and figure out what shape his life will take. Whatever he decides, there's always Fortnite to grind or unwind with, and a competitive scene where he no longer has to pretend to be a professional-grade player.
"Maybe a couple of people will know me and I'll go on stream a little bit," Butter said. "Maybe I can get 10 viewers. It'll be lit."