Fortnite FNCS Major & Global Championship LAN revealed with $10M prize pool

Epic Games has officially unveiled plans for the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) in 2023. Following the success of the FNCS Invitational, the powers that be are further legitimizing competitive Fortnite through the FNCS Major format. 

The new system includes a structured format across three Major tournaments and a Last Chance Major. This will culminate with a $4 million in-person event slated for late 2023, dubbed the Fortnite Champion Series Global Championship 2023. 

There’s a lot to digest with the new FNCS Major format and the next LAN event. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Epic Games’ blog post indicates the new FNCS Major format will replace the current Elite Cup model, and duos will remain the primary game mode through the entirety of 2023.

FNCS Major 1 features five weeks of competition, beginning with weekly sessions. For these sessions, qualified participants will compete on Wednesdays and Fridays for three consecutive weeks. Their combined scores at the end of each Friday session determine their overall leaderboard position. The top 50 duos will then secure a spot in the FNCS Major Weekly Finals. 

Each duo participating in the weekly FNCS Major tournaments will earn Series Points based on performance. The top 40 teams with the highest cumulative point total will advance to the FNCS Major 1 Grand Finals. 

Now that we’ve covered the FNCS Major structure, let’s look at Surge Week. This tournament section applies to those teams that finish between 41st and 90th on the Series Point leaderboard. Surge Week allows those teams to grab one of the final FNCS Major 1 Grand Finals spots. 

These 50 teams will compete in five matches. Teams that earn Victory Royales in those games will automatically qualify for the Major 1 Grand Finals, as will the duos who finish sixth through tenth on the leaderboard. 

In March, ten teams from Surge Week will join the 40 duos mentioned earlier to fill out the FNCS Major 1 Grand Finals. The Grand Finals will occur across two days and 12 matches. 

Teams with the highest cumulative scores across both days will take home a sizable chunk of $2 million. Furthermore, the top-performing team secures a ticket to the FNCS Global Championship. 

Here’s a quick recap of FNCS Major 1 and how it works:

After three FNCS Majors, competitors have one final chance to secure a spot in the FNCS Global Championship. The FNCS Last Chance Major is that opportunity. Beginning with round one on August 24, the top 250 duos will advance to the second and final round. 

The second round occurs across two days, August 25 and 26. The top 250 teams will compete in 12 matches, and only a few spots per region are available. 

Fortnite’s next significant LAN event goes down later this year in Copenhagen, Denmark. While an exact date is unknown, teams will be battling through three Majors and multiple tournaments to appear on the grand stage. With $4 million on the line, this is the competition where legacies are defined. However, the FNCS Global Championship offers a unique format that we’ve never seen before. 

As mentioned briefly earlier, this tournament has an upper and lower bracket. A total of 75 duos will qualify for the event, which is where this new bracket system comes into play. 

The FNCS Global Championship kicks off with 50 duos in the upper bracket. These competitors will play five matches on day one, with the top 25 automatically securing their seats in the Grand Finals on day three. The others will drop down to the lower bracket, where 25 “Last Chance” duos await their arrival. 

On day two, the bottom 25 duos from day one will compete against each other and the 25 Last Chance Qualifier duos. These 50 duos must battle through five matches. Only the top 25 duos can make it from the lower bracket to the Grand Finals. 

Fortnite will crown its first FNCS Global Championship winners on day three after six intense matches. 

Here is a breakdown of the FNCS Major qualifying spots available per region. This list totals the 75 teams that will compete at the FNCS Global Champions:

Here’s a look at the FNCS Major schedule as it stands:

Lastly, here’s a look at the prize pool distribution for the FNCS Majors and Global Championship:

Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Fortnite news and updates!