Fortnite stopped hosting LAN events before it was cool.
Back in the day, Fortnite esports had some huge momentum behind it, culminating in the $30 million World Cup in 2019.
The event was a massive success, and helped bring lesser-known Fortnite players to the forefront of the community.
Unlike in other games, players didn’t need to be a part of an established esports team to take part.
Most of the players were able to grind through the ranks on their own. A lot of those who were signed didn’t ink a contract until they already had their World Cup ticket.
Epic Games
So, what happened to Fortnite LAN events and the – supposedly annual – World Cup?
Nobody knows for sure, but it seems like Fortnite reached its peak without high-level esports on its side. The Seasonal FNCS gave Fortnite enough exposure without the need for costly LAN events.
To put it simply, Epic seemed to learn that LAN events weren’t worth it – long before COVID happened.
Regular Fortnite LAN events – things like VALORANT Masters – probably won’t ever happen again.
The World Cup was iconic, though, and I’d be stunned if we didn’t see it reemerge sooner rather than later.
If it weren’t for COVID, we may have even seen one in 2021 – as rumors suggested.
I’d imagine that the World Cup could be an end-of-year culmination of the FNCS series, that invites all of the winning trios.
Solos are probably done in this format. They’re clearly the least interesting Fortnite format and Epic have largely ditched solo tournaments.
Epic Games
With COVID restrictions easing and esports returning to LAN, I can only imagine that Epic are planning a World Cup for 2022 or – at the very latest 2023.
At least, we can only hope.
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