Fortnite is just wrapping up the second season of Chapter 3, but we’ve gotten news of something much bigger on the horizon. This week Epic have showed off plans for their Fortnite 2022 Invitational. Similar to the FNCS Grand Royale from last year, this will be one of the few in-person Fortnite tournaments that brings together the best Fortnite players.
On top of this, some recent leaks point towards a new direction for Fortnite competitive as a whole.
Fortnite Zero Build Competitive Leaks
A Fortnite dataminer recently find that a playlist had been added into the game for Fortnite No Build Competitive. Once activated, this will allow No Build players to advance up the Leagues and earn prestige for their abilities. Typically, the rank in this mode gatekeeps who can play in tournaments. Adding in a No Build playlist would imply that more open No Build tournaments are on their way.
At the moment, we’ve seen community events like the recent Dr Disrespect tournament held on No Builds. However, there’s not been a dedicated tournament playlist or many official events.
If Epic is planning on launching full tournaments for zero builds, it has the potential to massively expand their esports offerings for the game. Players won’t need to rely purely on edits and building speed to actually compete. It’s unlikely to replace the sweaty version of Fortnite we’ve grown to love in esports, but it could widen the horizons for the game considerably.
With a new invitational coming up and the potential launch of a whole second stream of Fortnite esports, things look bright for the Battle Royale genre right now.
Fortnite 2022 Invitational by produced by BLAST
The FNCS Invitational 2022 is going to be the first in-person LAN event for the game since 2019. This isn’t quite the World Cup, but it does seem to be a replacement in the same way the Grand Royale was for 2021. This event is going to be bringing the top players of each FNCS together. It has a prize pool to match that talent too, with $1 million at stake over the tournament.
BLAST Esports have been producing FNCS through 2022 and an invitational last year. Most recently, they’ve got a whole new set-up for live broadcasts for Fortnite. As an in-person event, this is going to pay off when you want to see more than just a streamers’ personal view.
This is going to be a tournament with Duos competing. This is the current format for the FNCS so it makes sense to be replicated here. It will bring together the top teams from this year’s FNCS and have them all compete in a single lobby. It’s rare for Fortnite tournaments to be international like this. This tournament will be a rare chance to see how the top teams from each region compare against each other, playing in-person without lag. Hopefully, this is just the start of a bigger return to LAN tournaments.
The invitational is going to be played as part of the Fortnite Championship Series, but outside of the main circuit of end of season events. It’s best to think of this as an extra event. As an in-person tournaments it’ll serve as this year’s replacement for the World Cup.
The 2022 Fortnite Invitational is set to be the biggest event for the year. We fully expect a showcase for Zero Build Competitive to be present on the schedule as well.
