The new season in Fortnite eSports brings several changes. Among other things, there are better prize pools – but the competition will also become tougher.
This is what the new season of the FNCS brings in terms of money: As described by the “Fortnite Competitive Team” in a blog post, more money will be invested in the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) in 2021. This series is the most important Fortnite competition, held over a total of 4 seasons.
In the new year, there is expected to be a prize pool of 20 million dollars, which means three million more than in 2020 – when it was still 17. This prize money will be distributed as follows: Each season a total of 3 million will be distributed across different regions and awarded in the finals. As of now, it is expected to look like this:
(via Epic Games)
So already with 4 seasons, one can reach 12 million dollars. In addition, there will be competitions in the middle and end of the year where the best FNCS players can compete for the remaining 8 million. Further information on this will be provided at a later date.
Recently, there was criticism of Fortnite eSports, also regarding the prize pools. Epic will likely have to address this a bit – however, there are also further changes that may not all be received positively.
A player pool for all platforms
This is changing: The new FNCS season will be held in trios – and these can be formed across platforms. This means that PC players can team up with console or mobile competitors. However, all platforms will now also compete against each other: There will only be one common, cross-platform group.
Thus, competition is increasing, and the technical difference is also likely to become noticeable. While console and PC were previously separate, one must now prove oneself against each other in the battle for the prize money – which is not well received everywhere. On Twitter, for example, some players react angrily to the announcement, criticizing that console players, especially on older models, might be at a disadvantage compared to PC.
However, the blog post also emphasizes that there will still be some console-exclusive tournaments: “We will also hold more console tournaments in 2021 that will have their own prize pool.” However, the extent to which these will take place has not yet been described in detail. In addition, there are other overarching competitions such as the “Solo Saturdays”.
What changes in the game itself? There are also a few changes in the competitive game modes. For example, the new lever shotgun is involved, while the Rift Fish and Shockwave Grenades will be removed. This will likely make it more difficult to move quickly across the map. Another point regarding mobility: Quick movement in sand is available as long as it is active in the main modes – but even there this feature is sometimes inactive. Additionally, the IO guards will be removed in competition.
By the way, the new update just went online in the main game. And the update brings a special hunter: The Predator.
