This week in Inglewood, California hundreds of Fortnite players gathered to compete in the second Pro-Am Celebrity tournament.
Hosted by Epic Games some of the biggest celebrities and content creators in the world mingled with streamers and pro-Fortnite players, participating in four battle royale style games. All the matches were livestremed on various Twitch channels and the winner was determined on a points-based system.
Huge congrats to this year’s champions, Airwaks and RL Grime.
This Pro-Am tournament acts as a prelude to the developer’s $30 million World Cup event, scheduled for the 26th – 28th of July this year, to establish the qualifiers.
The tournament certainly demonstrated Epic Games’ ability to produce and host a large-scale competitive event.
The developers constructed a customized structure to support the 100 players and allow for live updates of the matches to be displayed in split-screen.
According to The Verge “…multiple large displays were switching between player viewpoints and cameras floating in the virtual sky, catching fights from multiple angles to give the audience a unique look at the action”.
Excited to finally show off our stage for Fortnite! We’ve been working on this design for the last 9 months. So many screens, lights and lasers. #summerblockparty #fortnite pic.twitter.com/V3di7GLSx9
— Hoff @ The Forum (@hofftv) June 17, 2019
This in combination with the recognizable Fortnite mascots on site emphasizes the effort Epic Games is willing to put into its young fans.
For many players, their dreams came true by having the opportunity to meet their favourite Fortnite stars. The game provides the platform for many to shine as well, for example 13-year old deaf gamer “Ewok”.
She competed using Fortnite’s visual synthesizer, and her partner learned American Sign Language to communicate with her.
While I didn’t get a chance to fight you in the Pro-Am I got to meet you IRL! What an absolute legend, @TTfue. pic.twitter.com/pSzJUlYmPI
— EWOK (@EwokIts) June 17, 2019
Her success in the tournament and her social media presence afterwards have provided a source of inspiration for many young players, especially with disabilities, and presents an opportunity for Fortnite’s popularity to grow.
Already at such a young age, even elementary school children are invested in the game and this influence could grow into their long-lasting support of e-sports.
Epic Games has been successful in bringing together so many eager fans, famous streamers and competitive players under the branch of Fortnite.
We can’t wait to see how the World Cup in New York goes!
Who are you rooting for in the World Cup? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by Anushé Samee. Photo credit: Shutterstock and Polygon.