Fortnite World Cup qualifiers draw to a close

The last ten weeks of the Fortnite World Cup qualifiers has seen near constant complaints about the game, lawsuits against huge Esports organisations, a lot of cheating and one teen prodigy revealed to be an actual child, however, it’s all coming to a close now. The final week of the Fortnite World Cup Qualifiers starts soon, it will decide the full line-up for the finals in New York. The Solos line-up has already been confirmed, but this last round of Duos could make all the difference for talented players yet to qualify.

The semi-finals for the last leg of qualifiers have been delayed to accommodate the Celebrity Pro-Am event. This event has been scheduled for quite a while and features many high-profile streamers and players. It’s an ongoing event that it would have been quite difficult to reschedule. Despite Epic’s recent commitment to competitive Fortnite, many of these events are still popular from before Epic started their own.

The main reason for the delay is to ensure participants in the Celebrity Pro-Am who are yet to qualifier don’t miss out on the opportunity. Specifically, Tfue and Cloakzy are yet to qualify as a Duo. Both players have qualified in the solo tournament but failed to make the grade yet in Duos.

It is a little strange of Epic to delay the entire tournament seemingly to suit the demands of two players. However, this delay also offers fans the opportunity to watch both tournaments. Not having either clash will mean no one has to miss out and ensure the widest pool of talent for the World Cup Finals.

World Cup Finals and Semi-Finals

The last leg of the Fortnite word cup will take place on Friday, June 21^st, preceded by a semi-final on Thursday, June 20^th. Since this is now happening on a weekday, the event will start an hour later than usual so it doesn’t clash with normal school or working hours.

© Epic Games

To make up for the delay Epic is also doubling the prize pool available to players. It will now carry a total of $2,000,000 for each leg. This will likely be allocated in the same way as previous prize pools, but with the totals doubled. This will definitely help to increase the stakes for the final week. While a ten-week program of qualifiers has given some consistently good games, the novelty has begun to wear off. While the prize pool is huge, week after week it can lose its appeal. Doubling it for the final week helps to bring some excitement back in, as does the finality of the qualifying process.

The tournament has largely been defined from Epic not particularly listening to players or the community. A pretty much constant commentary of anger about the state of the game, the qualifying process, and the way the tournament is being conducted have run alongside it. While the game’s content isn’t slowing down and the rules remain the same, this delay at least shows they’re willing to change plans to accommodate the wider community.