Australian Open 2019 Announces Fortnite Tournament During Slam

Australian Open 2019 will host the largest competitive gaming tournament in the Australian history, which will be played at the same time as the tennis matches during the grand slam. It will feature a gathering of 500 competitive gamers, who will battle it out in the game of Fortnite over the two weeks with the finals being played right before the men’s singles finals.

The winner will take the prize money, with everyone placed within the top 100 getting a minimum of £560 (AU$1,000). There is an initiative for charity in the ProAm Fortnite tournament, wherein 100 personalities from sports, entertainment and the gaming world, will compete to direct a total of £45,000 (AU$80,000) to different charities .

The players will compete in five two-match match-ups at the Margaret Court Arena, with the top 20 players from each qualifying round moving in for the grand final.

All the gaming matches will take place during the last weekend of the Australian Open 2019, with the final being scheduled just before the men’s singles finals in the main event.

Well-known Aussie gamer, You-Tuber and streamer, Kathleen “Loserfruit” Belsten, has also been signed up for helping them promote the massive event.“I played heaps of tennis growing up and the fact we get to play my favorite game now, Fortnite, at the home of my childhood favorite game is ridiculous but I’m going with it,” said Loserfruit, who will be showcasing her gaming talents at the Australian Open later this month.

Other major gaming names will include professionals like- Lachlan, Muselk, Lazarbeam and MrFreshAsian. However, the registrations are open for anyone everyone, who are ready for a shot at the prize money.

The tournament is an open one, where in sign-ups are open on a first-come, first-served basis. The online registrations will open at noon local time on Wednesday. However, the tournament is unfortunately only open to the local residents of Australia and New Zealand.