On Monday, ANZ Fortnite players Basil and Jace won the Australian Open Fortnite Summer Smash competition, earning $16,000 from the $100,000 prize pool. Half of their winnings went to Cancer Council Australia and World Vision Australia, their charities of choice.
AO Summer Smash results
On the same night as the AO tennis finals, Fortnite players battled it out for the AO Summer Smash Fortnite Championship title. The tournament featured a powerful line-up of Duos partners. Well-known Australian gamers Fresh, PWR Looter & PWR Sorif, PWR Jynx & PWR worthy and Muselk were among some of the teams that entered. The tournament consisted of six-games. Ultimately, NBR Jace and Basil’s victory was a nail-biting finish that all came down to the final round.
The Fortnite Summer Smash competition took place completely online with nearly 90,000 people tuning in to watch the finals. In its third year, the Summer Smash has attracted a lot of new talent. The winners, NBR Basil and Jace were both first time players in the event and very excited, they said, to play in their first Fortnite AO Summer Smash.
“Competing against all the other top pro players was the highlight of the tournament,” NBR Basil said.
Jace shared that the stakes were higher due to the prize pool being much larger than other events, as there generally aren’t major tournaments in the Australian and New Zealand regions. “It’s fun competing against top players in the Oceanic region,” he said.
Like the Fortnite ProAM events, the winners of the Fortnite AO Summer Smash donate half of the prize money to a charity of their choice. For the Duos competition, $16,000 was the top prize. NBR Basil and Jace received $8,000 and donated the other $8,000 between Cancer Council and World Vision Australia.
Tips for going pro
When asked about tips for going pro, the duos champs emphasized the importance of dedicating time.
“Watch top players and play the game a lot,” Jace said. By wracking up the gameplay hours, he said, “you’ll be able to pick up on mistakes and fix them to better your gameplay.”
NBR Basil also spoke to the importance of “surround[ing] yourself with others that want to be the best or have the same competitive goals as you.”
So grab your Duos partner and start sinking some Fortnite hours. There are lots of in-game competitions to put your skills to the test. Hype Cups and Cash Cups are constantly available. Plus you can learn how trees have become part of the new meta.
You can watch all the action of Fortnite AO Summer Smash on the Australian Open Twitch channel.
