MrSavage picks right back up where he left off and wins DreamHack Winter LAN in Sweden.
It’s not every day that a Fortnite tournament with a 25.000 SEK ($2.7K USD) prize pool draws interest from the community. However, when you consider the importance of in-person competitions, this weekend’s DreamHack Winter event meant the world. More than 600 days have passed since the last LAN due to a global pandemic, and DreamHack Winter represented a return to what many hope will be a resurgence for Fortnite’s tournament scene in 2022.
Like many other competitive games and traditional sports, Fortnite suffered due to COVID-19. The deadly coronavirus strain has wreaked havoc on the lives of many and claimed more than 5 million lives over the last two years. For competitive Fortnite players and tournament organizers, the pandemic meant offline events were not possible. Since DreamHack Anaheim 2020, all Fortnite tournaments have occurred online, albeit with millions of dollars up for grabs.
While online competitions became necessary for the game’s ecosystem, most agree that LAN events are different on multiple levels. DreamHack Winter concluded this evening, and despite the tournament not filling, some of Europe’s top players made the journey and a DreamHack master returned to the winner’s circle.
MrSavage Does it Again
1st place DreamHack Winter. Back to back champ 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uY8J53q6FQ
— 100T MrSavage (@MrSavage) November 27, 2021
DreamHack Anaheim winner Martin “MrSavage” Foss Andersen was one of 82 players to register for the Winter event. It seemed fitting for the reigning LAN Champion to be in attendance. All players that entered instantly qualified for the Grand Finals on day one, but all eyes were on the former DreamHack winner to collect another tournament victory.
What transpired on day two is what most Fortnite fans expected. The Norwegian player set a pace that few could match. MrSavage burst out the gate, finishing tenth in his opening match before earning back-to-back Victory Royales with 12 total eliminations. MrSavage’s final three games resulted in a 25th, sixth and 11th with an additional 12 eliminations.
The now two-time DreamHack LAN Champion finished with 422 points on the leaderboard, including 30 eliminations and an average placement of ninth. MrSavage’s triumph yielded him 10.000 SEK, or $1,000.92 USD, and his second consecutive LAN victory—perhaps a taste of things to come in 2022.
NA East Player Threats Finishes Third
3rd in @dreamhack sweden
eu test region lmao pic.twitter.com/upcHkc80tF— ManCity Threats (@ThreatsFN) November 27, 2021
Newly signed Manchester City Esports player Aidan “Threats” Mong journeyed to Sweden as one of the only competitors to represent North American. He delivered on day two of his first LAN competition. Threats hung around the top of the leaderboard all day but ultimately finished with 348 points, finishing behind only MrSavage and bofink.
A collection of other professional players finished inside the money, including Norweigian players Endre “00 Endretta” Byre and Miran “Apeks IDrop” Tavakolzadeh, who finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Another notable name — Fortnite World Cup Duo Champion Emil “00 nyhrox” Bergquist Pedersen — finished 14th.
Final Leaderboard
- 1st: 100T MrSavage — 422 points — 10.000 SEK ($1,091.92 USD)
- 2nd: bofink — 351 points — 7.000 SEK ($764.34 USD)
- 3rd: ManCity Threats — 348 points — 3.000 SEK ($327.58 USD)
- 4th: 00 Endretta — 332 points — 1.000 SEK ($109.19 USD)
- 5th: LootBoy Bob — 284 points — 1.000 SEK ($109.19 USD)
- 6th: Apeks IDrop — 271 points — 1.000 SEK ($109.19 USD)
- 7th: Archie — 269 points — 1.000 SEK ($109.19 USD)
- 8th: lowiqcozy — 262 points — 1.000 SEK ($109.19 USD)
The Start of Something Great … Hopefully
Fortnite represent!! 💪#DHW21 ❄️ pic.twitter.com/bg9fgwe4Ai
— DreamHack (@DreamHack) November 27, 2021
DreamHack Winter may not have been the return to LAN Fortnite fans were hoping to see. The tournament had no dedicated stream and not enough entrants to fill a single lobby. Nonetheless, it was refreshing to see Fortnite return to offline competitions after nearly two years of online tournaments. Hopefully, the world continues returning to some semblance of normalcy so players like MrSavage can showcase their talents in a truly competitive environment.
Feature Image: MrSavage