Fortnite World Cup LIVE: Ninja competes in Creative and Celebrity Pro-Am finals on day one

Marshmello hosts world's largest concert through Fortnite as 10m gamers tune in

Fortnite is already proclaiming it "the greatest tournament of all time", and with the World Cup finals already underway in New York, it can at least claim to be one of the biggest.

Around 40 million Fortnite players competed to qualify for the three-day event, making it the most participated-in tournament of all time.

But the Fortnite World Cup is not just set to be the biggest eSports tournament of all time, the $3 million prize for the solos winner makes it one of the most lucrative tournaments in any sport.

You can read our full guide to the Fortnite World Cup here, complete with key players, the schedules for the finals, and how to watch the live stream from wherever you are.

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[26 July 2019 16:47 · anthony.cuthbertson]

The Fortnite World Cup finals are finally here.

Over the next three days we will see the world's best and bravest Fortnite players compete to be the champion solos, duos and celebrity players – with the winners set to take home a floss-inducing $3 million grand prize.

It is set to be the world's biggest eSports tournament for the world's most popular video game, and it is sure to not disappoint.

[26 July 2019 17:03 · anthony.cuthbertson]

As players converge on the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, here's a reminder of the schedule for the next three days:

Friday, 26 July

Creative Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET (5.30pm BST)

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

[26 July 2019 17:22 · anthony.cuthbertson]

Arguably the biggest shock of the World Cup qualifying was that Fortnite megastar Ninja failed to make it to the finals in either the solo or duo tournament.

Fortunately for Ninja fans they will still be able to cheer him on in the Celebrity Pro-Am event later today, where he will reignite his partnership with Marshmello.

[26 July 2019 17:31 · anthony.cuthbertson]

We are officially underway with the Creative Finals pre-show.

Fortnite has launched a live stream of the proceedings across pretty much every platform, from YouTube to Caffeine.

[26 July 2019 17:41 · anthony.cuthbertson]

The Creative Finals will see eight teams of four compete in various Creative game modes.

We have the Funky Fighters, the Chicken Champions, the Fish Fam, the Lil Whip Warriors, Raven's Revenge, the Llama Record Co. the Sunshine Soldiers, and the Cuddle Crew.

Pretty much all teams are multi-national, which is nice.

[26 July 2019 17:50 · anthony.cuthbertson]

Wow, some of these players look really pumped.

Perhaps no surprise when you consider the prize money on offer.

Someone keeping it cool is a player who has been here before: Ninja, His team Lil Whip Warriors will definitely be one to watch out for here.

He gives a quick one-armed floss to the camera, maybe in reference to the pink megabot who lost its arm earlier this week.

[26 July 2019 17:58 · anthony.cuthbertson]

The Creative Finals are officially underway and Ninja's Lil Whip Warriors are straight into the lead!

[26 July 2019 18:02 · anthony.cuthbertson]

The general idea of this first game is to capture and hold a circular platform.

It's pretty evenly matched, with Fish Fam and Funky Fighters currently tied for the top spot.

[26 July 2019 18:12 · anthony.cuthbertson]

This is chaos. The lead is see-saws between Fish Fam and Llama Record Co. but we have a winner!

The Llama Record Co. managed to win it in the final 30 seconds to become the first winner of the Fortnite World Cup finals.

[26 July 2019 18:15 · anthony.cuthbertson]

A post match interview asks the winning team how it feels to play in front of "such a massive audience", but the 23,000-capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium looks barely half full.

Fortnite says tickets are sold out, so hopefully it will fill up soon.