Fortnite Competitive 2022 Schedule: Is There A Fortnite World Cup?
As the current year winds down, the Fortnite competitive 2022 plans have been officially announced. The past two years have been extremely difficult for Fortnite esports. Fresh off of one of the greatest esports spectacles of all time in the Fortnite World Cup 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic put a complete stop to live in-person events. With a return to normal in sight, all eyes are on the Fortnite competitive 2022 plans.
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Fortnite Competitive 2022 Plans: Return Of LAN
Fortnite in-person events came to a halt back in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What followed was nearly two years of exclusively online competition. Now with the world slowly going back to normal, local area network (LAN) events are finally set to return in 2022.
Fortnite Competitive 2022 Plans: Goodbye Trios, Hello Duos
Click to enlargeThe entire year of 2021 was dedicated to Trios in an attempt to offer consistent and stable competition to Fortnite competitors. Starting in 2022, the primary format for the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) will change from Trios to Duos. The new FNCS is scheduled to begin in February, so aspiring competitors have a couple of months to find the perfect Duo partner.
A plethora of format changes will accompany the new Duos mode. Below is a breakdown of the FNCS structure moving forward in 2022:
Qualifiers
- Two weekly FNCS Qualifiers per region
- Teams can still earn direct qualification to Finals from Qualifiers
- Series Points will still determine Semi-Finals advancement
- Weekly Qualifiers will now be three rounds (down from four rounds)
- Both Qualifiers will run during the same week
Semi-Finals
- Semi-Finals will now consist of just one single-lobby Heat
- Semi-Finals matches will occur on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Week Two
- The winning Duo of each Semi-Final match will instantly advance to the Finals, removing them from the Semi-Finals player pool
- Duos that do not achieve a Victory Royale can still advance based on “new tournament technology” that rewards consistency at the end of each daily Semi-Final session
- Each Semi-Finals session after day one will be backfilled with teams next-in-line on the Series Points leaderboard. This process repeats until all 50 seats have been filled for Finals
Fortnite Competitive 2022 Plans: New "Match Point" Format
Click to enlarge"New tournament technology" is mentioned multiple times throughout Epic Games' official announcement on competitive Fortnite in 2022. Perhaps the most exciting part of this new tournament technology is a brand-new system that applies strictly to the Finals called "Match Point".
Any team that achieves Match Point will end the Finals early and claim the title of FNCS champions. The criteria that must be met to fulfil Match Point are:
- Reach the designated points threshold
- Earn two Victory Royales
If both of these requirements are not met, the tournament will end at its normally scheduled time and the team with the most points will be crowned the FNCS Champions.
Epic Games' reasoning for introducing the Match Point system is as follows:
"Our main goal with implementing this new technology is to continue down the path where Victory Royales deliver a huge impact for any given match while balancing single match wins carefully with consistent tournament placement and eliminations. We plan to make the points threshold significant enough so that the likelihood of the Finals ending early on Day 1 is low. We want closing out an FNCS tournament early to be an uncommon and exciting occurrence, with major clout rights."
In summary, this new system will give teams a chance to end the Finals in spectacular fashion through the display of a truly dominant performance. However, if no one team stands out above the rest, the tournament will carry on until the last moment.
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Fortnite Competitive 2022 Plans: Cash Cup Changes
Click to enlargeFortnite has always been about inclusivity - even in the competitive scene. Previously, Cash Cups only existed for players in the Champions League. In 2022, Fortnite will also host Cash Cups for Contender and Open League players. This change will give Fortnite players of all skill levels the chance to compete for cash prizes against similarly skilled opponents.
Furthermore, Cash Cups will now consist of two rounds, with the second round being held on a separate day. The hope is that this change will improve the quality and integrity of these prize money tournaments.
Fortnite Competitive 2022 Plans: Overall Competitive Improvements
Along with everything listed above, Epic Games promises to introduce even more improvements to competitive Fortnite as we move through 2022. The main focus in 2022 will be on tournament features, the official broadcast, and the Arena system. The details are not quite ready to be shared, but Epic Games emphasized their commitment to competitive Fortnite in their statement on the year to come.
- Wondering how many people still play Fortnite? Take a look at the Fortnite player count in 2021.
Fortnite Competitive 2022 Plans: Fortnite World Cup 2022?
Click to enlargeTo the dismay of many, Epic Games did not officially announce a Fortnite World Cup 2022 in their recent blog post on the future of competitive Fortnite. Fortnite fans have anxiously awaited a second Fortnite World Cup following the extravaganza that was the Fortnite World Cup 2019. With COVID-19 ruining the prospects of a Fortnite World Cup in 2020 or 2021, the year 2022 seemed like a perfect opportunity to get high stakes competitive Fortnite back on track.
While there's not yet word on a Fortnite World Cup 2022, it's still great to see that Fortnite is set to slowly reintegrate the competitive scene with in-person events. While much of the world is looking to leave COVID-19 behind, there's no telling what the future holds. Perhaps Epic Games is taking a wait-and-see approach in regards to a Fortnite World Cup 2022? The lack of an announcement on this grand event is disappointing, but don't rule out a Fortnite World Cup in Fortnite Chapter 3 just yet.
As you can see, Epic Games' Fortnite competitive 2022 plans are ambitious. If everything works out as expected, 2022 could be the best year yet for competitive Fortnite.