#GamingBytes: Fortnite Winter Royale tournament ill organized, says participants
Fortnite, by Epic Games, is trying to cement its popularity in the eSports circuit by organizing the Winter Royale tournament, as we had reported. However, unlike the other seasonal Skirmish events, which are closed for general gamers, this year Epic has opened the participation pool to everyone. The tournament's prize money of a million dollars has led to unexpected problems. Read all about it.
Big money raises stakes unfairly
Considering the massive prize pool of this winter tournament, coupled with the open invitation, it is unsurprising that the qualifying rounds have been plagued by cheaters and hackers. Even top Fortnite players have been targeted, which spells bad news for relative amateurs trying to make their name in the tournament. Surprisingly, Epic, known for its strong stance against cheating has been unresponsive.
Specific instance of hacking
Talented Fortnite streamer Tfue fell victim to hacking. The 3-time winner from Fall Skirmishes, with collected winnings amounting to $465,000 was expected to qualify for Winter Royale. However, during qualifiers, he was hiding out of sight among corn stalks in Fatal Fields when he took a direct hit. Constructing a wall, being hidden from view did not help against the aimbot he was facing.
Tfue has some colorful words for the tournament
Upon realizing he was hacked, he said "This guy's cheating, bro! I knew this guy was f—ing cheating. F— this game...This is why I don't play online tournaments. It's so dumb...I've never hated playing this game so much".
Other problems plaguing the tournament
Gamers also pointed out the terrible schedule of the Winter Royale. Epic announced the qualifier dates two days before Thanksgiving, when the event was only four days away. Participants had to interrupt Thanksgiving celebrations with families, due to this. This was compounded by weird tournament rules like killing opponents restoring partial health and farming speed getting boosted, while material caps were cut in half.
What is Epic doing?
Although Winter Royale has a massive prize pool, Epic is visibly not taking the tournament as seriously as gamers, seeing it as a trial run for next year's World Championship. Hopefully, Epic will address these issues before the finals which will be held on November 30 for Europe and December 11 for North America. Notably, Epic has a small window to deliver better experience.
