Unlock Your Chance to Compete: How to Get Into Fncs in Fortnite?
Are you a Fortnite enthusiast looking to take your skills to the next level?
If so, you may have heard of FNCS, or Fortnite Champion Series.
We explore what FNCS is, how to qualify, the requirements you need to meet, how to prepare for the tournament, tips for success, and the exciting prizes that await the winners.
If you’re eager to compete in FNCS and showcase your skills, keep reading to learn more!
Contents
Key Takeaways:
What Is FNCS in Fortnite?
FNCS (Fortnite Championship Series) is the premier competitive series in Fortnite Battle Royale, featuring a $20 million dollar prize pool. It provides a platform for professional, semi-professional, and amateur players to showcase their skill, win cash prizes, and potentially earn a salary as an e-sports athlete. The competition is run by Fortnite developer Epic Games and lasts for nearly 3 months. At the start of each season, players from all regions have the opportunity to compete in open qualification heats. The top players proceed to semi-finals, with the top players from this phase advancing to the FNCS tournament grand finals.
Additionally, the best performers from each calendar year have the opportunity to compete in the FNCS All-Star Showdown that takes place mid-year.
How to Qualify for FNCS?
To qualify for FNCS, players must pass through one or more of Epic Games’ seasonal preliminary rounds, with the parameters for qualifying for these rounds determined by Epic. The qualifying requirements for regional finals and the Grand Finals of FNCS typically begin with Solo Cash Cups and Trio Cash Cups. These are usually held the weekend before FNCS and offer successful, high-ranking players the opportunity to gain an invitation for the competition based on their performance.
FNCS-I (Chapter 2, Season 1) Europe Grand Finals features a good example of how and where to qualify to FNCS for Solo players. Roughly 300 players participated in the Eureka European Solos five-round event on December 5, 2019. Placings and points earned by the top qualifiers for the second round of FNCS are shown above. Solos Cash Cup maps are eligible only for two of the 25 regional FNCS-I, with the weekend of November 22, 2019, showing FNCS-I Europe Week 1. As shown, qualifying for the FNCS Grand Finals after performing well in several earlier stages requires one of the top 1000 earning solosentries.
Participate in Arena Mode
To get into FNCS in Fortnite, the first thing to do is participate in arena mode. This will allow you to increase your honed skills, your scurity clearance as part of the points system, and most importantly your practice in fighting. The more players you are able to fight in the early-to-mid portions of the game in arenas, the stronger your chances of surviving greater lengths and performing better in FNCS.
Reach Champion League in Arena Mode
To get into FNCS in Fortnite, participants have to first achieve Champion League status in Arena. Аrena is the evolution of ranked competitive play in Fortnite. Players must be in Champion Division to qualify for the Fortnite Champion Series and play on weekends.
To play Arena make sure you have two-step verification enabled on your account. Next, make sure you have reached Contender Division in fortnite. You will get the following item if you reach that level.
This non-tradeable Players League item will be added to your items unless you are at maximum capacity, in which case it will be held for you to claim once you have freed up some space. You can simply store it in your hangar if you wish. As part of the item, you’ll also receive a discount on two additional item slots should you not have any available.
You will then see an invitation for the Fortnite Champion Series in fortnite. When you click on it, you will then be taken to the arena game option. Once you go into Arena, you’re going to follow the same steps that you normally do. Per every three days, there are matches that you play that help you to rank and eventually (if you have what it takes) you’ll be able to reach the Champion Division in Arena and take part in the FNCS.
Place Well in Cash Cups
Cash Cups are shorter competitive events (sometimes only a single day) that are generally run by epic five times a month with varying prize pools. These tournaments are more casual than FNCS qualifiers as they require no leaderboard progress or prequalification, but their prizes are proportional to performance and so allow players of all skill levels to have a shot at competitive earnings.
Places well in cash cups will introduce you to added tournament pressure, clear winners and losers, and an increased pace in high-level play. Competing in Cash Cups teaches valuable extracurricular skills and will infuse daily play with more excitement paying out weekly to the top 1250 players in each region. You can check rules, start times, and prize pools in your continental region by following the in-game competitive tab or looking on the Fortnite website.
Participate in Open Qualifiers
Open qualifiers are the most inclusive way of participating in the Fortnite Champion Series. They are online tournaments open to everyone in each FNCS region. Since the Fornite Champion Series (FNCS) is the best path to being a professional player, playing and performing well in open qualifiers can get you there. The process by which epic invites specific players or “scouts” them during the Season Qualifier stages is not public, but most likely the process of progression through the semis and finals to the FNCS league can be seen as a way of being noticed by the eyes of Epic.
There are three weeks of open qualifiers before each FNCS. Each open qualifier weekend has one daily cash cup on Thursday, and then two separate FNCS warm-up tournaments for the Saturday and Sunday corresponding to the next weekends FNCS.
What Are the Requirements for FNCS?
The requirements for FNCS include 1) eligibility requirements, 2) scheduling requirements, and, 3) soon, will include age requirements.
The eligibility requirements for FNCS Chapter 2 Season 5 and previous seasons were as follows. The scheduling requirements for FNCS Season 6 involved qualifying just once from last season, but FNCS Chapter 2 Season 5. The age requirements for FNCS vary by season. FNCS Chapter 2 Season 4 was the last season with no age restrictions.
The current requirements are eligibility standbys. In other words, they are to be determined (TBD), but most likely a program that was started in the past will be repeated.
Age
Since the launch of the FNCS, there was no mention of a minimum age requirement to participate. Unfortunately, this led to a lot of players exploiting the system, including pre-teens who lied about their age to play in the tournament and for a time.
The lack of age guidelines ultimately led to the sub-region of Oceania having multiple accounts from pre-teens entering with fake ages and qualifying for the finals using this workaround. Max Woods, the Competitive & Live Services Manager at EpicGames tweeted in June 2020 that there is no forced verification for age. His tweet read: ‘We have no way to compel any player, anywhere, to enter their real age. If a region has age-based tournament restrictions, we recommend reaching out to Player Support where they can investigate and assess the reported player’s eligibility based on existing tournament rules.’
The age group of 13-17 years old is the most prominent in Fortnite due to the age of the majority of players. A recent Ston associates survey that Fortnite players in 2021 are split almost evenly between the 13-17 group (47.8%) and the 18-24 group (45.9%).
Region
The next requirement to get into FNCS in Fortnite is to have chosen the right region. FNCS is played simultaneously around the world in each of the regions which determine tournament seedings, matchmaking, prize pools, game versions, and schedules. Players must use geographical restrictions set by their respective geographical origins. They are not open to switch between regions after registration, not allowed to move regions, or give friends accounts from other regions.
Fnatic’s player agent Ravi Kumar told Redbull that the state of the game biodiversity has also been affected by the limited number of regions in Fortnite. There is a one-to-one ratio of registered players over the past three years, per-week, of EU and NA East and West regions. Therefore smaller regions see fewer registrations. Top players in a region will be more likely to beat the top players in another region than they were last year. Do not play Fortnite at the highest level from a remote area either in terms of distance or size.
The regions that are available for entry to FNCS will vary from chapter to chapter. In Chapter 2 Season 8, for the European region (EU), duos are eligible from countries such as England, Germany, Spain, France, Finland, Portugal, Sweden, Poland, and others across the continent. However, for Asia it is only inclusive of China, South Korea, and Japan in this chapter. India is excluded from Asia but included with the Middle East (ME).
Platform
PlayStation and Xbox top the list of platforms according to the Console FNCS leaderboard, thus favor players of console matches who want to enter Fortnite Champions Series. Switch, Android mobile and IOS mobile are less competitive. PC has the most participation in FNCS, giving the highest prize pool, but also the toughest out of the four competition levels. If you want to improve your chances of making it pro out of FNCS, you can start on consoles and then translate your experience.
How to Prepare for FNCS?
To prepare for FNCS in Fortnite, you should spend weeks to months playing the game at a high level, produce content on all important competitive weapon physics, looting strategies, mapping strategies, and material farming. Have knowledge of current teams and organizations and begin practicing for tournament play in the weeks and few days prior using platforms and custom matchmaking.
Finding success in FNCS comes down to a player’s ability to out-climb teammates and opponents. To do so, Fortnite advises every player to start by assessing their playstyle first, and then they need to spend energy getting better at what they are worse at. This can involve adjusting mechanics or tactics in order for individual weaknesses to either be non-existent or at the very least improved. Beyond this, be wary of jumping into FNCS without a solid ranking on their new Competitive Play system.
Effort in preparation for FNCS is also seen by Brian Wohlers of the Fortnite Community Competitor team as getting a team together who includes players you want by your side throughout tournaments. Benjyfishy recommended deep VOD review and having a coach, saying I think coaching is a big part of that.
Content creation is a big part of entering FNCS, according to Aspects, an NA East Advanced League Winner who mentions it in his YouTube video. Having some content either on YouTube or Twitch is huge for growing, through that’s the best way to get your name out there. EMADgg recommended spending as much time as possible scrimming saying, Scrim, Scrim, Scrim… Scrimming is the key to any tournament success in the upcoming FNCS finals at any level.
Finally, have a plan for preparing for the tournament. In the days prior, games should only be done with endgames. Every zone and time of the day if players have the time instead of rushing. Practice together as much as possible and look for any mistakes that can be addressed when they happen. Bizzle recommended finding a third game to play to get rid of frustration away towards the flippancy.
Practice with a Team
To get into the Fornite Champion Series (FNCS), the first step is to be good at the game. Practice with a team to gain the skills and knowledge required to consistently place high in competitions. Having supportive teammates can make the grind to breaking into competitive Fortnite easier, as they will most likely share tips, contacts, and ways of thinking that would be beneficial to your skill and mental development.
Top Fortnite player Benjyfishy started playing competitively with his friend Sceptic in duo events where synergy and consistent placements are essential components to racking up high-point victories. Red Beaulo, a Rainbow Six Siege pro player and YouTuber, made a video interview with Benjyfishy about their start in Fortnite. If you qualify for FNCS, you’re just a couple of weekends away from a potential life-changing $120,000 payday. Solid team practice is key to making this dream a reality.
Further evidence of the importance of playing together comes from Scram, LT.A select content creator who feels that solo work is not enough to make the competitive push that competitors are looking for. Since he doesn’t have teammates to work out strategies and plays with, he think(s) he is really missing out right now. So, choose the right teammates around you, and be consistent in playing and practicing with them. Do not fall into the trap of playing “fortnite with my homies” all the time, as it will not prepare you well for competing with the best of the best. This is the ultimate secret, as qualifying for FNCS is tough no matter how good you are by virtue of the high skill and IQ competition.
Study Strategies and Techniques
The basic tip to study strategies and techniques to get into FNCS in Fortnite is observe streams of professional Fortnite players. This is the best source of information on strategies and techniques for player as they use new ones as they are developed. One such player to watch is Bougie, who is a professional Fortnite player for team FleepTriip.
Within the FNCS in Fortnite – as well as in other competitive circles – his style is one of the more enjoyable and impressive to watch as artful movement and frags are at the center of his approach to the game. Alongside stream-watching, there is a cornucopia of youtube videos and specific strategy guides that cover everything from basic building techniques to specific strategies for various tournaments, FNCS included.
One of the widely recognized and even strictly followed resources to study strategies and techniques is Fortnite Intel, which not only covers the latest Fortnite news, leaks, skins, maps and patch notes but provides comprehensive strategy discussions including shop rotation coverage, challenges, and Not sure how to start? Find Fortnite map codes to focus on and advance key skills such as aiming, building, editing, and more.
Familiarize with the Tournament Format
The Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) is a bi-annual Ascending Open and Grand Finals Circuit. Each season has two rounds, followed by a grand final that only 33 trios can participate in. Points are accrued during the open round to qualify for the final.
Different FNCS National Leagues all have distinct formatting, prize pools, and qualification methodologies. The main qualifying aspect is normally a Regional Qualifier. For example, FNCS All-Star Showdown final is open to multiple global and regional tournaments.
It is a good idea to figure out which specific tournament format for which specific league you plan to enter to get a deep understanding of the whole picture. As a more practical example, after signing up to participate in FNCS Trios, a player needs to schedule two additional sessions. One session allows participants to schedule across multiple rounds while the other is a special champions day spanning multiple championships.
Qualification and scheduling align closely with different codes and formats under FNCS National Leagues.
What Are the Tips for Success in FNCS?
The tips for success in FNCS include focusing on mindset, mechanics, teamwork, and developing a specialized strategy for the unique challenges of FNCS. As JamperToe’s 4Zn Pro League case study illustrated, players need to have a highly strategic approach in order to earn significant prize money. While not everyone can achieve a win as impressive as Jamper did, every player can improve their FNCS rankings by focusing on the following.
- Specialized practice in all of the Fortnite game modes but especially squads.
- Understanding ice storm zombies and false werewolf anti-rotation strategies.
- Completing cash cups regularly. Whether in solo, trio, or squad, cash cups can provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of different parts of one’s game.
- Awareness of individual and team limitations. Work on improving individual weaknesses. Be willing to change/adjust teams for better results.
Focus on Consistency
In a Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) format known as Season X Chapter 2, two teams consisting of four players and their organization from each region (NA East, NA West, Brazil, Asia, Oceania, Middle East, Europe) are granted direct qualification as finalists in each of the three regions.
For every 4-player team slot available in each weekly region (EU, NAE, NAW, Brazilian, Asia/Oceania, Middle East), the following progression takes place. Open-eligible teams progress to the semis. In semis, 3rd to 6th qualified from the heats, progresses to the FNCS Qualifiers. In the FNCS Qualifiers, 2nd to 17th qualified from the heats, progress to FNCS Finals.
This is how you get into FNCS in Fortnite. The most consistent approach to making a Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) tournament is a multi-week approach that aims to consistently place crews in tournaments to score the most easily available qualifying points in each round and stay in shape by weekly play. Keep a routine of gaming, make sure to play the entire FNCS tournament schedule, review every game after you are done playing, and keep running scrims with training partners. Consistency and adequate practice are essential to enter FNCS.
For more consistency tips on how to get into the FNCS in Fortnite, see the advice of professional Fortnite player TSM’s #ZexRow and Twitch streamer #chap.
Communicate Effectively with Teammates
Effective communication with teammates is essential to do well in Fortnite Competitive Play (FNCS). Clear communication can prevent mistakes and can prevent team members from being caught unaware. Your entire team must work smoothly and cohesively. The cloak offered by the bushes and surrounding trees made this motel a favorite spot of so many players, but it has vanished. Here, Goblins removed height from his opponents to secure a victory for them in the first fight. The GSG Mania player demonstrated how his teammates can throw launchpads to offer assistance during toe situations. Communication can help in positive scenarios plaguing them out of difficult situations, as they appear to eliminate Shakedown.
Your entire team must work smoothly and cohesively. Every member of the team needs to be equally dedicated, with each member doing their best to enable their peers to do the best. If your team can’t effectively communicate with one another, you’ll be eliminated sooner than you think.
Stay Calm under Pressure
Staying calm under pressure is essential to achieving success on the most important days in a player’s Fortnite career. FNCs is a tense time, and maintaining calmness is pivotal to success. This can be further exercised in cash cups and daily trios. Playing in high-tension environments helps to build your coolness, but you will need to exhibit this trait during crunch time to perform at your best in FNCs. Solo and duo FNCs tend to be played with a bit more ease.
Analyze and Learn from Mistakes
Ask yourself several questions regarding decisions you made during matches, including but not limited to the following:
- Why did I make this decision? Examine the thought process that others may have had in the same scenario and evaluate which pieces of information altered the overall course of the game favorably or adversely from that point on.
- What are other feasible decisions in this context?
- What do experienced Fortnite players do in such circumstances? Replay watching of your engagements allows you to see how top professionals execute or handle situations analogous to ones you found yourself in. Then, with mimicked elements of their decisions changed in varying ways, you can see the unique outcomes that correspond to different calculations you may have made.
- What was the outcome of my decision?
If done seriously and analytically, this introspective approach to your Fortnite gameplay can help reveal common mistakes or patterns that may have otherwise been misunderstood. Whether these errors stem from pure mechanics, tactics, or strategy, acknowledging mistakes and analyzing them diligently is fundamental to competitive improvement.
What Are the Prizes for FNCS?
The following prizes were given out in FNCS Chapter 2 Season 6 in 2021 and approximate the prizes given out in subsequent events. $160,000 are reserved for NA-EAST champions, with separate pots of $9 million + given out in weekly tournaments for different regions.
There is also the 2022 FNCS All-Star Showdown where champions will receive $525,000 cash and $125,000 in in-game bonuses.
Cash Prizes
Cash prizes are the primary benefit of competing in Fortnite Community Tournaments. Together, recent prize pools across Europe, North America, and Asia are over $160,000. Monthly FNCS tournaments have the largest prize pools reaching up to $3 million.
Each week of the 3-week tournament has $482,541 in prize money. The Fortnite Asia Championship has $100,000 in total prize money and the Fortnite Champion Series has $250,000 in total prize money. To get a portion of these earnings you must first qualify for the finals. Each region is competing for its own pot of prize money, with the largest portions going to Europe and North America East.
EU FNCS | PRIZE DISTRIBUTION
NA EAST FNCS | PRIZE DISTRIBUTION
In-game Items
In-game items or loot in Fortnite include all the items you can collect, steal, or discard during a match. These items range from weapons, shields, and building materials, to tools and weapons of different classes. Understanding and mastering the various item functionalities is core to improving your skills and moving into the Fncs Fortnight arena. Depending on the season and version of Fortnite, there are hundreds of items to choose from and wield in your favor.
Recognition and Exposure
Recognition and exposure have grown with the size and success of the FNCS. The event has brought attention to various eSports organizations and the players who represent them, such as Sen, Deyy, and Andilex. They came from mostly unknown teams in 2019 to starting for BBG and Grizi eSports in 2020 during the famous EU DreamHack Trio. These players were then recruited by BFC, 100 Thieves, and the Las Vegas Incident which was the temporary conglomerate of Faze H1ghsky1, H1ghSky1, Dubs. Recognized partnerships bring increased sponsorships and endorsements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is FNCS in Fortnite and why should I care?
FNCS stands for Fortnite Champion Series and it is one of the biggest competitive events in Fortnite. It offers players a chance to prove their skills and potentially win cash prizes.
How do I qualify for FNCS tournaments?
To qualify for FNCS tournaments, players need to perform well in weekly qualifying events and earn enough points to advance to the next round. These events are typically announced on Fortnite’s official social media channels.
What are the best strategies for performing well in FNCS?
To perform well in FNCS, it’s important to have a well-rounded understanding of the game and its mechanics. This includes having a strong understanding of the current meta, as well as practicing and honing your skills in various game modes.
Are there any requirements to participate in FNCS?
Yes, players must have an active Fortnite account and be at least 13 years old to participate in FNCS events. They must also have an eligible platform (PC, console, or mobile) and have two-factor authentication enabled on their account.
How can I improve my chances of winning in FNCS?
Aside from practicing and staying up to date with the game’s meta, it’s also important to have good communication and teamwork with your FNCS squad. Communication, coordination, and strategy can greatly improve your chances of winning.
What rewards can I earn by participating in FNCS?
Aside from the chance to win cash prizes, players can also earn in-game cosmetic rewards by participating in FNCS. These rewards can include exclusive skins, sprays, and banners.
