Fortnite: Epic Games Increases Prize Pools and Extend Cash Cups to Mid-December
| Tags: Fortnite
| Author Matt Pryor
The Fortnite Cash Cups have received prize increases and will extend past the end of the Fortnite Champion Series.
Fortnite Battle Royale developer, Epic Games, took to Twitter earlier today to announce that the Platform Cash Cups and Contender’s Cash Cups will continue. According to the Tweet, the Cash Cup tournaments will continue until December 19th. In addition to the extension of these tournaments, Epic Games is also increasing the prize pools to compensate players accordingly. Changes will go into effect beginning on November 13th.
We are extending both the weekly Platform Cash Cups and the weekly Contender Cash Cups until December 19th. With this, we'll also be adjusting prize pools for these events starting tomorrow, November 13th.
You can view these updates by navigating to the compete tab in-game.
— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) November 12, 2019
What Are Cash Cups?
Cash Cups are online tournaments open to any player who can reach the Contenders Division in the solo arena playlist. After reaching the proper division, players gain access to the Cash Cup tournaments through the in-game ‘Compete’ tab. Each competition grants players the opportunity to play out a maximum of ten matches.
The end goal of each player is to accumulate as many points as possible in hopes of placing inside the top-100 to earn some cash. Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 1 introduced platform-specific Cash Cup tournaments. This allows players on Xbox and PlayStation to compete for cash prizes, as well as PC, Nintendo Switch and Mobile. In total, Epic Games created three Platform Cash Cup tournaments to open competitive Fortnite up to a broader audience.
https://twitter.com/tetchrafn/status/1194341724744638465?s=21
The Professional Player Reception
It’s no secret that professional Fortnite players do not enjoy the Solo Cash Cup tournaments. Howard “Tetchra” Lebright of Rogue NA is just one of many pros who openly dislikes participating in the weekly Cash Cups. Popular streamer, Turner “Tfue” Tenney, has also spoken out against Solo Cash Cups due to the increase in griefers and stream snipers. Many of the top tier professional Fortnite players generally feel that one-day solo tournaments incite ‘w-keying’ over a strategic approach to the game. For casual players, Cash Cups provide a competitive atmosphere to test their skills.
Prizing Update
One example of the increased prize pool is the NA East Cash Cup, which will dish out $6K USD to first place. It’s not a bad payday for willing participants of the weekly tournaments. In past competitions, we’ve seen players like Fortnite World Cup Champion, Kyle “SEN Bugha” Giersdorf, take first place. We can safely expect to see an increase in Cash Cup participants with even more money up for grabs. With all seven participating regions receiving prizing bumps, the popularity will undoubtedly reach unforeseen heights. We will have to wait and see whether professional players and recognizable live streamers will take the competition more seriously.
Matt is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University. He appreciates all esports titles but primarily focuses on Fortnite and Call of Duty. Matt continuously analyzes gameplay and plays the games himself to better understand in-game decisions by the best players in the world.