Epic Games has announced squads as the format for the next Fortnite Champion Series.
The announcement came after the first Fortnite Champion Series finals, which saw Team SoloMid’s Mack “MackWood” Aesoph and Anthony “ZexRow” Colandro, and Jonathan “yung calculator” Weber take the top prize in the North America West region.
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Epic Games didn’t share any additional information about the tournament, but top Fortnite personalities seemed to be aware of the plan. Fortnite World Cup champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf immediately announced his squad, which also includes NRG Esports’ Williams “Zayt” Aubin, Ghost Gaming’s Rocco “Saf” Morales, and a streamer known as Stretch.
The Fortnite Champion Series was first announced after the Fortnite World Cup, with the first installment being contested as Trios. This is an open tournament with qualifiers in six regions. Moving to squads comes as a surprise after the Fortnite World Cup seemingly established solos and duos as the standard formats for Fortnite esports.
The announcement received mixed reactions from the community, with the negativity being amplified further by the standing criticisms of Epic Games’ handling of Fortnite esports. The publisher has been blasted on a number of occasions for their propensity for last-minute rule changes, as well as their refusal to allow players to bring their own peripherals to tournaments.
The Fortnite Champion Series was no better, as players experienced lag and other server-related issues. These constant problems have resulted in a growing frustration with the company among Fortnite pros, something Epic has shown no interest in addressing.
Some Fortnite fans continue to find intrigue in that, and the Fortnite Championship promises to create even more drama.
“Trios was a shitshow of snaking and drama, can’t imagine adding another ego into the mix of that powder keg will be anything but fireworks. Well, I am here for it,” wrote one fan on Reddit.
Epic Games is yet to release the dates and prize pools for the tournament.
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