The long-awaited Fortnite World Cup has a start date set, Epic Games announced on Monday. Beginning on April 13, the tournament will have 10 weekly events alternating between solo and duo competition. It will run through June 16 with the finals taking place in New York on July 26-28.
When Fortnite announced its plans to put up a $100 million competitive prize pool, the esports world was stunned. Never before has there been an esport with that kind of money put up for its inaugural season. Some prominent esports haven’t even put up $100 million combined over the course of their existence. Although, it helps when the game is perhaps the most popular in the world.
Starting off, Fortnite simply tried to put its own spin on the battle royale genre. While it was the same concept, there was a different allure to it than other games. The building aspect and the industry-changing additions to microtransactions were just some of the things that set it aside. Since then, however, the game has evolved into one of the biggest esports on the planet. Fortnite has featured multiple $1 million-plus tournaments in the past, like at PAX West, but the World Cup is the true behemoth for competitive players.
This is your road to the Fortnite World Cup! Get all the details here: https://t.co/HM5iubonLq pic.twitter.com/Wi3uxUqGGQ
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) March 25, 2019
The World Cup is what every competitive Fortnite player has worked towards. For months, pros and amateurs alike have competed in online Gauntlets and Pop-up Cups to prepare. Their experience in these online formats will benefit them greatly in the World Cup. Every Saturday over a 10 week period, Fortnite will open up a competitive playlist, “Arena,” in-game to qualify for Sunday. This “Online Open” tournament will consist of each player competing in 10 matches, with the top 3,000 moving on. It’s unclear how the scoring system will work, but it’s safe to assume it will work similarly to in previous tournaments.
After these 3,000 players have qualified, they will compete on Sunday in the same format as Saturday’s. Over a three-hour period, competitors will play in 10 matches, with the highest score taking home the lion’s share of the $1 million prize. The same process will repeat every other week over 10 weeks, with a $1 million dollar prize pool up for grabs every time. The duos portion of this tournament will follow the same guidelines, taking place every other week.
In both the solo and duos tournaments, a handful of competitors will qualify for the finals. Each week, 21 solo players and 11 duo teams will punch their ticket to the finals where $30 million is up for grabs. It was previously announced by Epic that the winner of the solo finals will earn $3 million alone, with every entrant guaranteed a minimum of $50,000.
With so much money on the line, it’s safe to say that Fortnite will see a massive influx of activity. Players from all over the globe are chomping at the bit to compete and earn their share of the gargantuan prize pool.
What do you think of the Fortnite World Cup? Let us know in the comments below. Make sure to stay tuned to Daily Esports for all of your Fortnite news and updates.
