Fortnite World Cup: Live stream date, finals schedule, prize money and key players

Everything you need to know to watch and follow the biggest battle royale tournament in the history of eSports

After 10 weeks of qualifying tournaments among 40 million competitors, the Fortnite World Cup has come down to just three days of intense competition in New York city.

Fortnite developer Epic Games says it is the “most participated-in tournament of all time”, and with $30 million on the line it is also the largest prize pool in eSports history.

As the top solos, duos and celebrity Fortnite players converge on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, The Independent takes a look at everything Fortnite fans need to know to watch and follow along.

Fortnite World Cup schedule

The World Cup Finals will officially begin at 12.30pm ET (5.30pm in the UK) on Friday, 26 July, with the Creative finals – bringing eight teams of four together in various Creative game modes.

This will be followed by a Celebrity Pro-Am duos tournament at 4pm ET (9pm BST), where 50 pro players will join forces with 50 celebrity players.

The Fortnite World Cup spans three days in late July (Getty Images)

Pairings for the Pro-Am include Ninja and Marshmello, as well as Airwaks and RL Grime.

The tournament will properly get going on Saturday, with the duos competition at 1pm ET (6pm BST), before Sunday sees the world’s best individual Fortnite players face off in the solos tournament at the same time.

The winners’ ceremony for both the duos finals and the solos finals will be staged at 4.45pm ET (9.45pm BST) on each day.

Friday, 26 July

Creative Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET

Creative Finals – 1 pm ET

Celebrity Pro-Am - 4 pm ET

Saturday, 27 July

Duos Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET

Duos Finals - 1 pm ET

Duos Finals Winners Ceremony - 4.45 pm ET

Sunday, 28 July

Solo Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET

Solo Finals - 1 pm ET

Solo Finals Winners Ceremony – 4.45 pm ET

How to watch Fortnite World Cup

Tickets for the Fortnite World Cup Finals sold out weeks ago, meaning the only way to watch it is to stream it online.

Luckily, Epic Games is making it incredibly easy for fans to watch the finals from the comfort of their own homes, with links on just about every major streaming platform.

An attendee dressed as a Fortnite character poses for a picture in a costume at Comic Con International in San Diego (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Live streams will be available of YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Mixer and Caffeine, as well as Fortnite’s own website.

Fortnite fans will even be able to watch the World Cup Finals while simultaneously playing their own battle royale games, thanks to a new feature that pops up a small window in the corner of their screen.

Key players

A number of high-profile players have qualified for the Fortnite World Cup finals, including Turner 'Tfue' Tenney, Rocco 'Saf' Morales, Williams 'Zayt' Aubin, and Noah 'Vivid' Wright.

It is Tfue who is arguably the most fancied in the solos tournament, having achieved a number of first-place finishes during the Fall Skirmish.

Players to watch out for from the UK include 14-year-old Kyle 'Mongraal' Jackson, who qualified for both the Solo and Duo events.

Having signed for Team Secret at the age of just 13, Mongraal has already achieved considerable success within Fortnite and is among the favourites to take home the top prize.

A giant pink robot and a countdown recently appeared on Fortnite Island, resulting in a major battle across the island (Epic Games)

The most notable absentee in the main competition is without doubt Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. With over 22 million YouTube subscribers and 14 million Twitch followers, Ninja is one of the gamers responsible for making Fortnite the phenomenon it has become.

Unfortunately for Ninja, he was knocked out of both the solo and doubles competition back in June. But fortunately for Ninja fans, he has since confirmed that he will still be attending the finals as part of the Celebrity Pro Am tournament on Friday.

What is the prize money?

Players will be competing for a prize pool of $30 million (£24 million), which will be split between a duo and solos competitions.

The winner of the solos tournament will receive $3 million in prize money, while each player on the winning duos side will receive $1.5 million.

Fortnite players will get a chance to win actual cash, not just the in-game currency V-Bucks (Fortnite)

Every player that qualified for the finals will receive a share of the prize fund, with the minimum amount received for the lowest placed finishers standing at $50,000.

In the Celebrity Pro-Am event, a host of pro players, celebrities and internet stars will compete for a share of $3 million in prize money that will be donated to a charity of their choice.