Last year we told you all about the Fortnite Summer Smash taking place at the Australian Open – an interesting concept to blend the world of eSports with that of traditional sports. Well, it was such a hit it’s back again this year! They’re bringing in some of the biggest names in Australian Fortnite, including the likes of LazarBeam, Loserfruit and Lachlan.
This year they’re running two separate tournaments, a $100,000 Charity Pro-Am and the $400,000 Solos Championship.
The Charity Pro-Am is structured as a trios event and will include a media personality, professional gamer and a content creator per team – with a total of 30 teams battling it out for a slice of the $100,000 prize pool to donate to a charity of their choosing. The tournament will take place on Saturday, February 1st in Margaret Court Arena.
The following day will be home to the Solos Championship, hosting 90 professional Fortnite players from across the globe to compete for their share of the staggering $400,000 prize money. It breaks down into;
1st place: $100,000
2nd place: $40,000
3rd place: $25,000
4th place: $18,000
5th place: $11,000
6th place: $10,000
7th place: $8,000
8th place: $6,000
9th place: $5,000
10th-24th place: $3,000
25th-90th place: $2,000
Australian Open Summer Smash organiser Mark Riedy has said that “Competitive gaming is the fastest growing sport in the world, and to be able to tap into that audience and bring to life an event of this scale at one of the biggest sporting events in the Australian Open is something we are incredibly proud of…In our first year the Summer Smash generated more than 11 million views on YouTube alone, and hundreds of thousands of fans tuned into live broadcasts via digital platforms.”
If this is the type of event you or your family would like to attend, please be sure to purchase a Fortnite specific ticket from Ticketek.
