Fortnite Champion Series kicks off in early February; Epic Games announces $20 million prize pool

Epic Games unveiled the details about this year’s Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS), with the first round starting next month. The video game company also confirmed a higher prize pool for 2021 set at $20 million.

Fortnite Champion Series schedule, prize pool, where to watch

Four FNCS seasons are planned for 2021, with Trios set as the standard competition. The $20 million prize pool is $3 million more than what Epic Games provided last year. It will be awarded to winners of various competitions throughout the year.

The main events are obviously going to be the four seasons of competitions. From the total prize pool, $3 million is allotted to each region where a “Fortnite” server is located. The distribution of that amount is based on each region’s participation in competitive events and player population, Epic Games explained.

Following that metrics, Europe is allotted the highest prize pool with $1.35 million. North America-East gets $690,000, North America-West and Brazil each get $300,000, Asia’s prize is at $150,000, the Middle East has $120,000, and Oceania will receive $90,000. This distribution appears to apply to the first season of FNCS 2021, Chapter 2 Season 5. However, the “Fortnite” developer said these figures could change as they “evaluate data” through the year and apply adjustments as they see fit.

The first season begins next month. There will be three sets of four-day qualifiers starting on Feb. 4, 11, and 18. A Bye Week will then take place on Feb. 25-28, followed by the semi-finals on March 5-7. A two-day Reboot Round begins on March 12, while the Finals are scheduled on March 12-14.

Epic Games expands FNCS broadcast following 2021 Fortnite World Cup cancellation

A higher prize pool of $8 million is set aside for bigger FNCS events happening in the middle of the year and the toward the end of 2021. Details for these contests will be released in the coming months. For now, Epic Games confirmed top-performing “Fortnite” players from each region would be gathered to compete in these lucrative competitions.

Epic Games previously announced that the Fortnite World Cup is not happening this year due to the pandemic. According to an earlier blog post, the video game company is not planning any esports event with in-person attendance throughout the year.

Featured photo by Vlad Gorshkov on Unsplash