THE FORTNITE 'esports' team has official unveiled an in-game tournament system that will host the game's main competitive Battle Royale play in the future. Unlike the Summer and Fall Skirmishes, the in-game tournaments will be "open to everyone" and "provide an opportunity for every player to compete directly alongside the pros for prizes and glory." 3 The first tournaments will be kicking off very soon The first batch are coming this month, with an Alpha Solos tournament already underway and running until Sunday. This will be followed by a Beta Duos tournament that runs from Tuesday October 23 to Thursday October 25. Epic games must have hoped that those test events, revealed after today's 6.10 patch, wouldn't throw up many bugs that need squishing, as the Salty Springs cup kicks off on two days later on Saturday October 27. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. Within hours of the launch of the Alpha tournament Epic Games had to deal with "an issue with tournament points not being updated correctly" as well as matchmaking issues across Europe. 3 Each tournament will have its own schedule, viewable in game via the Tournaments tab This solos cup runs for five days, coming to a climax on the Wednesday of Hallowe'en. It looks like players will have very limited attempts to put up their best score -- players will have "one week and three attempts" to prove they are "the saltiest that Salty Springs has to offer", according to Epic. Starting and ending day later is the Tomato Temple Cup duos competition. Other than making it clear that the tournament offers players the chance to " Become legends of the Tomato Temple Cup", Epic didn't have any more details to offer. Points will be awarded for placing "exceptionally well" and for racking up multiple eliminations, with a maximum of six points possible per match if you secure a Victory Royale with 8 or more eliminations. 20 points unlocks a "shiny pin" -- but actual prizes are promised for future events. 3 Everyone will start from scratch at the start of each tournament, no matter how badly they've done before There will also be a squad-based Friday Fortnite competition, that will only run on Fridays, but over the course of the whole month. One unexpected feature is that EVERYONE in any given region will be lumped in together, so those playing on PC will be competing against those on iPhone and consoles. Previously these pools have been kept apart as there is a perceived advantage to playing using the full control provided by a mouse and keyboard compared to the simplified interfaces for controllers or touch screens. You will be matched up against players in your region who have a similar tournament score to you -- so the better you do, the tougher your opponents are likely to get. MOST READ IN GAMING EASY FLIX Netflix 'is turning your TV into a CONSOLE' by offering games over the internet WAR GAMES Call of Duty games in order: By release date and timeline X-FACTOR Handheld Xbox created by Microsoft is firm's first portable console DIE HARDER Call of Duty Warzone: How to unlock Nakatomi Plaza Vault from Die Hard CASH SPLASH Quick game challenges you to spend Elon Musk's $166bn fortune in 30 seconds GAME TIME Call of Duty Season 4 release date – when does Warzone Season 3 end? Finally, Epic has revealed that it will be using the mode to settle qualification for the 2019 Fortnite World Cup. Anyone who wants the chance to represent their country can dive into the Showdown Royale event that will be hosted using the tournament system, with the best players getting the chance to represent their countries at some point next year. As ever, you can read the full announcement over on Epic's web site. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>Fortnite v6.10 will add in-game tournaments, Epic has announced through its official site. Tournaments will be scheduled events open to all players to get in over the course of several hours and win as many points as they can. If you achieve the score goal, you'll get a pin to celebrate. Some special tournaments will use the pins as qualifiers for the next tier of a tournament or to win prizes. [Update: The new feature is now available, as update 6.10 has been released.] Tournaments will be open to all players, but you'll need to opt in for crossplay to compete. All players participating in a tournament will be treated as equals regardless of their control input--mouse and keyboard, controller, or touch. Epic says it was carefully watching pro players during the Summer Skirmish, PAX West, and Fall Skirmish events, and have concluded that controller players can be a match for mouse-and-keyboard players. The studio will be continuing to look at the competitive landscape and may offer limited tournaments for inputs or platforms. Matchmaking during a tournament session will match you against players with similar point standing. In the coming months, Epic will be developing tournaments to take place across multiple rounds with pins acting as qualifiers. Players can even earn a spot for the 2019 Fortnite World Cup using the in-game tournament system. The first tournament kicks off this week, and the initial tests will be continuing over the next few weeks. Check the first round of scheduled tournaments below.<doc-sep>
Epic Games has always said that Fortnite players would have a way to take on the pros, and with the newly announced in-game tournament system, it looks like that’s finally here. The in-game tournaments, which were announced this afternoon, will be added to the game in patch v6.10 and open to every single Fortnite player, regardless of platform or control scheme. That means players using a mouse and keyboard or controller or even touch device will all be pit against one another during the events. Each tournament will task players with reaching a certain score threshold, which can be done either through placing high in matches or eliminations. Any player that manages to reach the point goal during the tournament will get a special pin in their profile to note their accomplishment. Later on, these pins will likely grant access to higher-level tournaments or even larger events, but for now, they are just about recognition. The majority of these tournaments will last a few days, which should give plenty of players time to earn the highest score possible. During play, the game’s matchmaking system will only match competitors with other participants, and Epic Games is even making sure that each lobby is fairly close together in their total points in order to help make each game fair. This year, the tournament is mostly going to be an experiment focused on getting everything with the system right and working out all the small issues. Later on, however, the in-game tournament system is what will be used to help qualify players for the 2019 World Cup, through an event called Showdown Royale. The first of these in-game tournaments is going to be the Alpha Tournament, a solo event that kicks off Oct. 16 and runs through Oct. 21. For a full look at the upcoming Fortnite tournaments, you can take a look at the schedule. Schedule Alpha Tournament (Solo) Dates: Oct. 16 - Oct. 21 Description: Participate in the first in-game tournament, spanning across several days of daily competition! Beta Tournament (Duo) Dates: Oct 23 - Oct. 25 Description: Grab a friend and take on the world - until you are the last two left. Friday Night Fortnite (Squad) Oct. 19 - Nov. 30 Description: Join your friends every Friday and kick off your weekend with some exciting Squad action. Salty Springs Cup (Solo) Dates: Oct. 27 - Oct. 31 Description: One week and three attempts to prove you’re the saltiest that Salty Springs has to offer. Tomato Temple Cup (Duo)