Tonight, the Australian Football League (AFL) will be hosting a $100,000 AUD charity Fortnite Duos tournament. Amidst the COVID-19 situation, many in-person events have been canceled. Gaming companies are banning together to give gamers exciting content during this time. Wargaming hosted a virtual parade, Razer has committed millions of dollars to the cause, and 100 Thieves released a commemorative jersey. Now, the AFL, one of Australia’s biggest sporting organizations, is jumping on the bandwagon with its Gamers Network.
Fortnite not a first for Australia
This won’t be the first time Fortnite has featured in Australia at a sporting event. Last year and early this year, Fortnite was hosted as part of the Australian Open. Australia is also taking esports to the next level whilst physical sport is not able to run. The Supercars have been broadcasting sim racing events every week. Both Australian and international drivers from all areas of motorsport have been involved.
This is now the chance for Australia to shine once again. Plenty of celebrities and influencers will be taking part in this charity tournament.
AFL stars and celebrities to take part
The Brisbane Lions’ AFL star Mitch Robinson is headlining the charity tournament. After raising over $15,000 AUD for bushfire relief on his first ever Twitch stream, Robinson took straight to gaming. He’s now a part of the Chiefs Esports team as a Fortnite player and streamer. Other celebrity gamers and streamers will be joining the battle. Elliott “Muselk” Watkins and Harley “MrFreshAsian” Fresh will be competing alongside the footballers. x2Twins (Jesse Eckley and Jordan Eckley), who have won Fortnite Summer Smash in the past, will be in the mix too.
With this kind of lineup, fans are sure to see some amazing and exciting gameplay. And the Head of Commercial Growth at the AFL, Ben Sellenger, is just as excited:
We are proud to partner with global giant Epic Games to put on this charity tournament, harnessing the strengths of both organisations, and providing what should be an amazing product for footy fans and gamers alike. Bringing together some of the biggest names in footy with the biggest names in Fortnite – we can’t wait to see who takes out the title.
Oh, and did we mention Lachlan will be playing too?! You definitely don’t want to miss this.
How’s this for a surprise announcement! 😲
Please welcome @LachlanYT and @elliott_jw to the #StreamKing tournament 👑
7pm, this Friday. Only on the #AFLGamers Network 🎮 pic.twitter.com/kcjsPqQwX8
— AFL Gamers Network (@AFLGamers) May 20, 2020
Prize money goes to charity
Like the Fortnite ProAm, this charity tournament sees the winners donate their prize earnings to a charity of their choice. Here’s the prize breakdown in Aussie dollars:
- First place duo: $50,000
- Second place duo: $30,000
- Third place duo: $15,000
- Fourth place duo: $5,000
Each player in the duo will choose to send their share of the winnings to any charity they like. We can certainly guess many of the players will donate to charities supporting coronavirus relief efforts.
Don’t miss out on seeing some of Australia’s biggest sporting stars and gamers battle it out in Fortnite.
All the games will be available to watch tonight from 7 p.m. AEST on the Gamers Network YouTube channel.
