A Brief Look At The Fortnite Competitive Scene In 2021
The Fortnite Competitive scene is set to go ahead a little differently this year as Epic Games are unable to host a local event due to COVID-19. This year, players will be competing from their home setups, arguably easing the nerves of some players.
Prize Pools and Events
Another change to the Fortnite Competitive scene this year, has left many competitors displeased: the prize pool. The prize pools of the recent tournaments have been significantly lower than they have been in previous years, causing a mixed response of emotions. However, since, Epic Games have announced the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) in which a total of $20,000,000 is up for grabs.
The dates for the FNCS are as follows:
- Qualifiers: 4-7 February
- Qualifiers 2: 11-14 February
- Qualifiers 3: 18-21 February
- Bye Week: 25-28 February
- Semi-Finals: 5-7 March
- Reboot Round: 12-13 March
- Finals: 12-14 March
Currently, the Dreamhack event online open heats are coming to an end with Lnuef and Gamma Merijn on top for EU (online qualifiers). The finals are set to take place on January 31st with Fortnite likely to stream the event, as usual.
The Duo To Keep An Eye On
The duo who are looking most likely to win the EU Dreamhack Finals is Benjyfishy and Zayt. These expectations stem from Benjyfishy’s hugely successful 2020 after raking in over $100,000 in competitive earnings alone. His partnert, Zayt, did briefly decide to quit competitive Fortnite after this year’s prize pools were revelaed, however, he swiftly changed his mind after the anouncement of FNCS. Zayt has dominated every competitive format that he has competed in, particularly the Fortnite World Cup Duos where he placed 4th.
In order to be able to compete in Fortnite tournaments, you need to be over the age of 13 and have 2FA enabled on your account. To compete in the FNCS tournament, you need to be ranked in the Champion Division which requires a minimum of 6,000 Hype.
In-Game Changes & Metas
Since the addition of the customisable superhero skins, both casual and competitive players have been labelling the game as “pay to win”. This is due to the players being able to create an all-black outfit making it virtually impossible to see them in certain areas of the map. Furthermore, console players have complained that they are suffering more from the issue as shadows can be disabled on PC but not on console. Epic Games have released a statement that they are working on fixing the issue, however, so far no changes have been made.
Recently, two major mobility items, Shockwave Grenades and Rift Fish, have been vaulted and removed from competitive modes. These changes have re-shaped part of the meta and play style in the competitive scene as players can’t escape threats as easily. Consequently, it is likely that there will be less players that make it to the end-game, resulting in slower plays and less combat.
