Currently, some of the best Fortnite players in the world are competing for $500,000 at the ESL tournament in Katowice, Poland. However, a bug raises doubts about whether Fortnite is ready for e-sports in its current version.
This was the bug: The player Marki was taken down during a firefight in Frosty Flight.
If a player has 0 health points in Fortnite and is playing in a team, they are not dead yet, but only “downed.” They can still crawl.
The opponent wanted to finally take Marki out in this situation and thus earn a kill and the boost for his shield, which has been available since an update for every kill.
But Marki simply could not drop below 0 health points in this situation. The opponent then retreated. Marki seemingly could not believe his luck, as seen in his reaction on stream.
The player Marki was then revived by his partner and was able to continue playing normally.
That’s why it’s so sensitive: The glitch was discovered live during an official ESL e-sports tournament, where $500,000 is at stake.
Professionals had previously heavily criticized Epic for letting them play with a “practically new version of Fortnite”, as Season 8, with numerous changes, had only been released on Thursday:
- Now it is noticeable that only the gameplay and especially the map of Fortnite have changed and the professionals need a new strategy
- But there are apparently still bugs and glitches in the game.
In general, this raises the question of whether Fortnite can function as a “serious e-sports title” here.
Fans of titles that have long been considered e-sports view it critically when such errors occur.
Normally, a stable and as glitch-free environment should be guaranteed in e-sports. But stability apparently does not go well with the turbulent patch policy of Fortnite.
Glitches appeared during a tournament for the competing title PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, leading to discussions about whether the early access title is really ready for e-sports.
