British teams take home more than £ 500.000 from Fortnite Global Championship 2023
18 October 2023
From Friday, October 13th, to Sunday, October 15th, the Fortnite Global Championship (FNGC) 2023 was held at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event, which marked the seventeenth season of the prestigious Fortnite Champion Series, decided the new world champions of Fortnite and got a prize pool of almost $ 4 million this time. A total of 73 teams competed in the tournament and two of the London-based participants managed to reach the top three, with their players taking home more than half a million pounds in prize money combined. Overall, not a bad result at all for the teams concerned, Tundra Esports and Guild Esports, and for overall esports in the UK.
Second place for Tundra
The first success with a UK lining was booked by Tundra Esports member Iwo “Setty” Zajac, who clinched second place with his partner Michal “Kami” Kaminski, from Gaimin Gladiators. The 20-year-old Polish pro ended with prize money worth $ 650.000 (about £ 533.000), which comes down to about $ 325.000 per player.
“I’m very happy because we were contested 6/6 by Asian players DayDus and Stain, and I wanted to say sorry that we couldn’t go back-to-back, but it is what it is”, said Setty after his final match, “I want to thank you for the support we had throughout the whole year, our families, and Kami for playing with me. That’s it – onto the next one”.
Third spot for Guild
There was also some success for London-based Guild Esports, who saw their 15-year-old player Chico finish third at the FNGC 2023, together with his partner Nikola “TruleX” Krudulj from Valiant Esports. The Bosnian-Serbian duo featured in six matches during the finals, racking up 268 points and securing two Victory Royale wins in the final two matches. Their third place brought them $ 400.000 in prize money (about £ 328.000), meaning Chico earned a very nice $ 200.000 for himself last weekend.
“Chico is a new signing for Guild Esports, expanding our Fortnite professional roster”, said Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, after the FNGC 2023, “Chico is an up-and-coming talent, which we’re so excited about helping him grow into the world-renowned player we know he’ll become. I am so proud of all three of our Guild players that competed at Sunday’s grand final, however, I am extremely proud of how well Chico played. Chico, along with his duo partner, managed to turn their luck around in the penultimate and last match on Sunday evening, after placing first in both games this rocketed them up to third spot – this is what competitive gaming is about! Chico’s outstanding showing at the FNCS final underlines the calibre of talent we can attract to Guild Esports. Finishing third in such a competitive arena is no small feat, and on behalf of the entire Guild family, I would like to congratulate him on an amazing performance”.
The Fortnite Global Championship 2023 was won by American duo Cooper “Cooper”Smith and Matthew “Mero” Faitel, who each took home half a million dollars in prize money.