After eight grueling weeks of competition, the first Fortnite Summer Skirmish has come to an end. Following the seven matches involved for the Grand Finals, held at PAX West, MorgausseTV has come out on top. For doing so, he takes home the top prize of $225,000 USD. He also secured $25,000 for earning a Victory Royale during one of the matches, bringing his total to $250,000. Furthermore, he was the only player to have a total of 20 eliminations across the seven matches.
However, a total of $1.5 million was up for grabs this weekend. The top rankings are:
- 1st – MorgausseTV
- 2nd – Ghost Bizzle
- 3rd – Liquid Poach
- 4th – Nate Hill
- 5th – Tendons
- 6th – C9 Blind
- 7th – Liquid 72Hrs
- 8th – Sean Was Taken
- 9th – Lanjok_Twitch
- 10th – Bolt Naga Ops
Players who placed 11th-15th receive $22,500 each; 16th-2oth receive $11,250 each; and everyone from 21st through 100th receives $5,000 each. As mentioned earlier, each Victory Royale was worth $25k. The complete rankings are on Epic’s website.
For now, let’s break down some of what we saw during the final day of the Summer Skirmish.
Summer Skirmish Grand Finals
In case you missed this weekend’s competition, here’s a brief recap of the rules. This event was a 3-stage Solo event held from Friday to Monday. Each day used the same scoring system:
- Victory Royale: +3 Points
- 2nd-3rd Place: +2 Points
- 4th-10th Place: +1 Point
- 3-4 Eliminations: +1 Point
- 5-6 Eliminations: +2 Points
- 7+ Eliminations: +3 Points
Per Epic, the Eliminations points do not stack. For example, 10 eliminations provide 3 points total, and no additional points were gained for further eliminations at that point.
The competitions from Friday to Sunday began with a Stage One heat which was open to the first players able to register on-site each day. This marked the first Summer Skirmish competition open to the general public. From here, two matches determined placements, and the top 32 players moved on to the Stage Two Nightly Qualifier for each day.
Lastly, the top 33 players during the Nightly Qualifiers advanced to today’s Grand Finals, which consisted of seven total matches.
Victory Royale: The saga of MorgausseTV
MorgausseTV, referred to by the casters as Morgausse, took an early lead on the scoreboards. Though his performance was quiet during the first two matches of the Grand Finals, he skyrocketed up the rankings in Game Three. In a high-intensity match, Morgausse secured three points for having seven or more eliminations. Furthermore, he topped off his “perfect game” by earning another three points by winning the match. It was a close call, however, and the match ended in what’s known as a “heal off.” Morgausse and Liquid Poach were both alive as the final storm circle closed in. At this point, the storm ticks for enough damage that it’s a better strategy for players to try and heal themselves while hoping the other player will succumb to the storm first. Fortunately for Morgausse, he won out.
Morgausse held the top spot for the remainder of the tournament, though not without others steadily climbing the ranks beneath him. Entering the final rounds, Morgausse was tied. He managed to pull ahead with a high number of eliminations in Game Seven. Although he was eventually eliminated in-game by fan-favorite player Tfue, Morgausse’s total eliminations ensured he sailed above the competition. Ghost Bizzle managed to win the final match, which brought him up to second place in the overall standings.
Though Morgausse is currently not signed to any professional organizations, he made numerous references to Faze Team in his interview following Game Four. We’ll see if they heed his call.
Game Four’s Anti-Gravity controversy
A few weeks ago, Fortnite players noticed a peculiar phenomenon in-game. Lightning had begun striking the ground near Paradise Palms, and after increasing in frequency, a large, mysterious cube appeared where the lightning struck. In the time since, the cube has been slowly rolling across the map, creating odd runes on the ground in its path. Aside from changing the appearance of the landscape, the cube is also surrounded by an anti-gravity field. While within this dome created by the cube, the normal rules of gravity no longer apply, and each passing day further changes how this affects players.
Unfortunately, this resulted in a bit of confusion during Game Four of the Grand Finals. As the storm began closing in on the dome created by the cube, players realized the anti-gravity was much stronger than any of them had anticipated. Players began flying through the air, weightless, with clear expressions of confusion visible on each of their webcams. Even the commentators, Courage JD and Dr. Lupo, two experienced players in their own right, were baffled. In the screenshot above, you can see Haste Fairiko as he jettisoned through the air, launching rockets down on other players. Desperate, players tried to build wherever they could in order to contain their freefalls.
While some may have considered this an entertaining wildcard, players eliminated during this time were likely frustrated. Following the match, Epic announced that anti-gravity zones would be deactivated for the remainder of the games in the Grand Finals. Furthermore, a bonus match, round seven, was added. While it was not explicitly stated that this was in response to players’ reactions to the cube’s interference with their match, the modified ruleset speaks for itself.
Aydan’s Towers: The Nickmercs vs. Aydan rivalry
One of the highlights during the last day of the tournament was the rivalry between Nickmercs and Aydan. Nickmercs, a popular streamer, as well as a contestant and caster in previous Summer Skirmishes, is known for his preference to land at Tilted Towers. However, he was met with some serious opposition during today’s Grand Finals. Aydan, who quickly became a fan-favorite during the weekend’s festivities, proved to be more than Nickmercs could handle.
Both players landed at Tilted Towers for each match today and ended up battling each other on four separate occasions. Interestingly, both also play using PS4 controllers rather than mouse and keyboard. The similarities in their playstyles, controller input, and tournament-borne rivalry led to a brief interview with the players before Game Five. Zeke, a caster during the majority of the previous Summer Skirmish events, brought both players on-camera to discuss their performances and tactics. Both Nickmercs and Aydan expressed respect for the competition and vowed to continue landing at Tilted Towers. At this point, Aydan had eliminated Nickmercs each time they battled.
The following match, though Nickmercs did not eliminate Aydan, he managed to display an impressive comeback. Amidst a roar of applause from the crowd, Nickmercs secured eight eliminations and earned four points in the process, propelling him up the rankings.
That’s it! The Fortnite Summer Skirmish is over, marking the end of the game’s first competitive season. We’ve shared a few of our highlights from today’s Grand Finals, but we’d love to hear your thoughts. Sound off in the comments below and let us know your favorite players and moments from today’s Grand Finals.
