Epic Games have unveiled figures that show the Fortnite World Cup peaked at over 2.3 million viewers across YouTube and Twitch during the solo finals.
In a blog post, Epic Games detailed that the statistics don’t take into account that the World Cup was also available to watch via Twitter, Facebook, and within the game itself. However, from what was documented, the developer has confirmed that the figures make the Fortnite World Cup the most-watched competitive gaming event, excluding China.
The three-day event saw 19,000 fans head to a sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City to see the best Fortnite players from around the world go head-to-head for a $30 million (£24 million) prize pool. The event was split into four different tournaments: the Celebrity Pro-AM, Creative finals, solo finals, and duos finals. Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf picked up $3 million (£2.5 million) for his first-place finish in the solo finals, with Emil “Nyhrox” Bergquist Pedersen and David “Aqua” Wang splitting $3 million (£2.5 million) for their win in the duos finals.
During the Fortnite World Cup, Epic Games announced that the Fortnite Champions Series is set to be introduced in the Season X update, which launched on August 1st. The announcement described the series as “a chance to compete against the best of the best where every single result matters” with “millions of dollars at stake.”
Esports Insider says: There was no doubt that with a $30 million prize pool on the line, the Fortnite World Cup was going to attract big viewership. While the figures look impressive, it would have been great to get a better overview with all viewing platforms included. With so much attention on the Battle Royale title and the announcement of the Fortnite Champions Series, we look forward to seeing how the competitive side of the game now moves forward under the leadership of Nate Nanzer.
ESI London 2019 – Find out more
