.fue is reminded of how many people watched him play Fortnite tournaments.
It’s no secret that competitive Fortnite Battle Royale once sat atop the world as the most-watched spectacle in its heyday. The early seasonal Skirmish tournaments offered millions in prize money, and then the Fortnite World Cup came along with a historical $30M USD prize pool—the second-highest in esports history. General interest in Fortnite has declined over time, but it still remains relatively popular, with tens of thousands tuning in to watch the seasonal Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) tournament.
However, viewership likely won’t ever reach the levels of Fortnite’s inaugural World Cup Qualifiers and early FNCS competitions. Two players—Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Turner “Tfue” Tenney—were the faces of Fortnite for quite some time. The latter took to Twitter in response to an impressive data graphic, showing how high his viewership was during Fortnite’s peak competitive days, and reacted in shock.
Tfue’s Competitive Fortnite Viewership
Most watched Fortnite tournament POV's of all time by Peak Viewers 📺📈 pic.twitter.com/wOG6qPH96t
— Fortnite Competitive Data (@FNCompData) July 23, 2021
Tfue is perhaps one of the most influential Fortnite players of all time. While he has since moved on to other games, he, without question, belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Fortnite Battle Royale. The always insightful Twitter account @FNCompData published a graphic, showing the top 40 most-watched Fortnite tournament POVs. Not only does Tfue occupy the top four spots, but he also possesses an astounding 26 of the 40 positions. The statistic is astronomical, considering how hot Fortnite was back in 2018 and 2019. Everyone involved themselves in the craze, but Tfue broke out as a streaming superstar at the height of its popularity.
Fortnite World Cup Qualifiers
THIS IS WILD 🤯🤯🤯 https://t.co/E5YfWLSYn4
— Tfue (@TTfue) July 23, 2021
The top five results aren’t particularly surprising. Tfue’s viewership boomed to unfathomable levels during the Fortnite World Cup Qualifiers, where he attempted to join the exclusive list of players to reach both the Solo and Duo Finals. Tfue peaked at over 289K viewers in Week 8 of the Qualifiers. He and long-time duo partner Dennis “Cloakzy” Lepore came close to securing their spot, but ultimately fell short of that goal, finishing in 22nd.
That same storyline played out two weeks before in Week 6 as Tfue and Cloakzy hoped to punch their ticket. Tfue enjoyed more than 235K viewers at the stream’s peak, but the former FaZe Clan duo fell short in their third qualification attempt. Number three on the list is under the same category of Tfue and Cloakzy journey to the World Cup. Their second try resulted in a sixth-place finish, which, unfortunately, left them four points short. Still, fans tuned into this intriguing story as it played out over the course of several weeks and it was some of the most exciting footage competitive Fortnite has to offer.
Ninja at Number Five, Solary, Mongraal and Benjyfishy All Present in Top 40
While Tfue dominates the list without question, some other significant names are present as well. Tfue’s sworn rival, Ninja, came in at the number five spot with around 215K viewers during the 2018 Summer Skirmish—an event he finished 14th. Ninja was on top of the world at that time as the most recognizable streamer and had immense talent in his own right. He appears a few additional times on the list, but Tfue’s consistent competitive career gave him the edge.
European streamers Solary, Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson and Benjy “Benjyfishy” Fish also found themselves in the top 40. French esports organization Solary housed some elite talents back in the day. And Mongraal and Benjy are two European icons in Fortnite. It’s interesting to note that none of these events occurred beyond Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 5; which fell at the bottom of the list. The vast majority includes the Fortnite World Cup and before, with some Season X, Chapter 2 – Season 2 and Chapter 2 – Season 4 mixed in for good measure.
If nothing else, this graphic shows just how insanely popular Fornite was back from launch to around Season X. Tfue, Ninja, Mongraal and many others were putting hours upon hours into the game, and it was a brilliant time to witness. Fortnite’s landscape is vastly different nowadays. While it remains a top game on Twitch, the well-known creators have shifted focus elsewhere. Still, it was a historic time in gaming and streaming, and the data graphic provided by FNCompData displays the impact Fortnite had on casual and competitive gaming.
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Feature Image: Epic Games
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