The face of Twitch was involved in a unique Fortnite: Battle Royale tournament that took place Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Popular streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins teamed up with Red Bull for the Rise Till Dawn Fortnite tournament on the 99th floor of the Willis Tower in Chicago. The event began at 8:21pm CT on July 21, which is when the sun set in Chicago, and went until 5:35am CT today when the sun rose.
Related: Ninja’s Esports Arena Fortnite charity stream reaches over 660,000 concurrent viewers
The duos tournament also featured around a $5,000 prize pool—but competitors were eager to try to eliminate Ninja, one of the best Fortnite players in the world. Points were awarded based on where competitors placed in-game, and players could earn additional points for killing Ninja and his partner, Ben “DrLupo” Lupo. The duo with the most points by sunrise was crowned the champion and earned $2,250.
The Red Bull Rise Till Dawn tournament wasn’t Ninja’s first Fortnite LAN, though. The popular streamer was a part of the Esports Arena charity event in Las Vegas in April, which is when he had over 660,000 concurrent viewers tune in to watch the tournament.
This event didn’t have nearly as many viewers as the Vegas tournament (likely because it took place in the early hours of the morning for potential U.S. viewers), but it was a success for many other reasons.
When Ninja wasn’t sniping opponents or chasing Victory Royales in-game, he was often seen on-stream interacting with all of the fans who attended the event. He devoted a good chunk of time toward the beginning of the stream to signing autographs and meeting and taking pictures with fans.
So in addition to watching or competing against a high-caliber Fortnite player like Ninja, many attendees got the opportunity to meet and talk with one of their idols in person—which is likely an unforgettable experience for many fans. Even for those not in attendance and just watching the stream at home, it’s easy to tell how sincere Ninja is for such an immensely-popular streamer.
Related: Fortnite’s first Summer Skirmish event showed that the game isn’t quite ready for primetime esports
This tournament could have potential implications on the Fortnite esports scene, too. Following a lackluster start to the recently-announced Summer Skirmish series, Epic Games seems willing to try a bunch of different formats to figure out what works best. And the points system used at the Red Bull Rise Till Dawn tournament is a good example of a format that provides exciting and intense gameplay.
This point system is somewhat similar to what Epic used in this week’s Summer Skirmish events—except for the bonus points awarded for eliminating well-known players like Ninja and DrLupo. A bounty system in which players earn extra points for eliminating top-tier players or previous winners could complicate Fortnite esports, but with Epic trying multiple formats, it might be worth a shot. Viewers want to see kills, and giving competitors an extra incentive to chase eliminations shouldn’t really hurt, in theory.
The Red Bull Rise Till Dawn tournament definitely was an enjoyable event to watch—and attendees likely even had more fun than those watching from home. Many fans will be anxious to learn if another Ninja LAN event is coming in the near future.
