The legendary tournament “Fortnite Friday” has now returned on Friday. And it was precisely the 15-year-old, whom his mother took out of school, who won the tournament with his partner, beating professionals like Ninja or Ghost Kamo. According to the organizer, more than 10 million viewers tuned in across all channels.
What is Friday Fortnite? In the early days of Epic, “Friday Fortnite” was the major tournament from the community.
The controversial content creator “Keemstar” recognized the hype around Fortnite early on and promoted Fortnite Friday with a sponsor. Every Friday, some of the biggest Fortnite stars at the time, such as Ninja, Tfue, or Myth, competed against each other.
They earned their first laurels, made a name for themselves, and drew attention to their Twitch channels.
The tournament was popular, and millions tuned in every week.
However, the tournament series was discontinued in July 2018, when Epic Games itself started official esports tournaments on weekends and claimed Friday for itself.
Keemstar reacted quite disgruntled, claiming that Epic was stealing his players. The sponsor pulled out, and the series fell silent. Despite announcements to revive Fortnite Friday, nothing happened for months.
During that time, Keemstar frequently criticized Epic Games and declared them his personal nemesis.
The tournament is back because FaZe no longer wants Tfue’s money
That’s why Friday Fortnite is back now: The return of Fortnite Friday is related to the drama surrounding Twitch star Tfue and his clan FaZe. When Tfue sued his clan FaZe, FaZe Banks came to an interview in Keemstar’s show and said that the clan had only made $60,000 with Tfue.
To show that FaZe wasn’t about the money, they donated the $60,000 to Keemstar so he can host Friday Fortnite again for 3 evenings. $20,000 is the limit on prize money that Epic allows for the tournament.
The first tournament for $20,000 took place on Friday, 31st. From the money:
- the winning duo received $10,000
- and a randomly selected viewer received the other $10,000
How many watched the tournament? According to statements from the organizer KeemStar, “Friday Fortnite” had a total of 10.1 million viewers across various channels. Ninja alone had 1.8 million.
This reach was achieved because many well-known streamers and YouTubers participated: people like TimtheTatman, KingRichard, MrBeast, Ricegum, Gotaga, Nickmercs, Mongraal and many more.
Because Keemstar doesn’t necessarily invite the best players, but those who have already built large channels.
Kids outshine the elite streamers
How did it end? The last 3 teams in the tournament were all known players, whom we have also covered in articles on MeinMMO:
- In 3rd place ended up the world’s biggest Twitch streamer, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, with his partner Reverse2k
- In 2nd place were European Ghost Kamo (Germany) and Issa (Switzerland) – they are among the most popular players here in the German-speaking area
- The tournament was won by two kids – NRMrSavage (14) and BenjyFishy (15) – BenjyFishy was a big topic in the media just last week because his mother took the 15-year-old out of school so he could have more time for Fortnite.
We at MeinMMO have also reported on the boy.
