Fortnite: The Current Cash Cup Tournament Format is a Huge Problem

Fortnite players and community members have taken issue with the current state of Cash Cup tournaments.

Despite Epic Games’ recent successes within the competitive Fortnite community, the current Cash Cup format is the center of attention. One week ago, the Fortnite developers seemingly switched up the Cash Cup format. The change devalued elimination points from four down to two. Players asked for this adjustment to demotivate a w-key mentality. In theory, fewer elimination points would make the open format more competitive.

Unfortunately, mere hours before the Monday, May 11th Platform Cash Cup, the scoring system reverted to four points. Professional players across all regions have taken issue with the change and are begging Epic Games to reshape the Cash Cup format.

Eliminations Over Placemeent

Elimination points are the most significant discrepancy amongst the collective community. The format lends itself to players to aggressive players. Aggression comes into play when players push their opponents and rack up multiple eliminations. In general, the belief is that playing for placement points is not the optimal strategy in Cash Cup tournaments.

Although Victory Royales are still undoubtedly valuable, the May 11th Platform Cash Cup leaderboard displays a flaw in the system.

Upon looking at the leaderboard, we scroll down to a professional player named Jamper. He managed 35 eliminations over six matches. Jamper took seventh place in round one of the Cash Cup, which qualified him for the second round. Another professional player and former Ghost Gaming member innocents achieved won 50% of his round one matches. He finished 11 points behind Jamper. The format leans too far in favor of eliminations when, in reality, victories are much more challenging to come by.

Reddit user yt_MadMan205 acted out a social experiment of sorts. On the left side of the screenshot above, he utilized a placement-heavy approach. MadMan205 ultimately ended with 97 points over six matches. On a second account, the Reddit user w-keyed one game and racked up 85 points. The ELO system exploits may very well play into this experiment’s favor, but the leaderboard exists as unquestionable proof. Players who earn multiple Victory Royales are losing out to players who focus primarily on eliminations.

Six Games in Round One

Another issue players have addressed with the Cash Cup format is the six-match and two-hour limit in round one. The six-match, two-hour structure elevates the first concern of w-keying even more. Players have to act quickly to complete all six games and hope that they have done enough. The top-100 players from round one move onto the second round. The two elimination points and six-game format breeds discontent overall. Many professional players have to sit on the sidelines as a result.

How Can Epic Games Fix This?

Fortnite has always worked best with more games and a higher amount of time for players to complete their matches. We look at the previous Solo Cash Cup format reluctantly, because ten games over four hours worked well. Epic’s answer is right in front of them. Decreasing elimination points from four to two will make players think twice about w-keying. Placement points should always trump all else in competitive Fortnite. The entire goal of a Battle Royale is to be the last player or team standing. We need to see Epic Games revert the scoring system to two points per elimination.

The two-hour six-game limit is a bit more difficult to rectify. As it stands, the Solo Cash Cup lasts six excruciating hours for all regions from the beginning of round one to the end of round two. It’s truthfully too much time for a tournament with a relatively small prize pool. This notion applies mainly to smaller regions like Oceania, where only the top three players receive prize money.

Perhaps Epic could make both opens and finals three hours each. Six total hours would not solve the time issue, but it may be a bit more palatable from a player perspective. Eight matches per round might offer a better alternative instead of six games in round one and ten in round two. Whatever the answer is, the current format is difficult to stand behind.

guess i need to win NA instead such a shit format

— benjyfishy (@benjyfishy) May 11, 2020

Until the format changes, players will suffer similar fates as Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish of NRG. He is unquestionably one of the world’s best Fortnite players, and even benjyfishy is experiencing the same woes as many others. An emphasis on w-keying takes many top players out of their element. Hopefully, Epic will continue its recent string of wins within the competitive Fortnite community and adjust the Cash Cup format for the better.

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Featured Image: Fortnite Tracker