Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) Grand Royale Offers A $5 Million Prize Pool

The Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) Grand Royale is the year's biggest Fortnite competitive event and it's kicking off in November with a prize pool of $5 million up for grabs. This trios-focused tournament begins in just a few weeks. If you're interested in competing or watching, here's what you need to know about the event.

FNCS Grand Royale

The rules and format for the Grand Royale will be familiar to anyone who has competed in Fortnite's esports scene before, though it comes with a few new twists too. The Grand Royale will be played as a trios tournament, so you'll want to find two teammates to have by your side. Once you form your team of three, you'll be unable to switch teams at any point for the remainder of the event.

The Grand Royale will unfold across two weekends in November, with the first running from November 11-14. This first weekend acts as the qualifying round called the Load Session. As usual, teams will have three hours to complete up to 10 rounds and earn as many points as they can based on the usual system of gaining points for victories, eliminations, and higher-placing rounds. The top 33 teams per region will earn automatic entry to the second weekend of rounds via the Victory Path, while the 67 other teams will be moved to the Reload Path.

In the Reload Path, teams can fight to get back into the tournament with a stronger effort, but they must be one of the top eight teams in their region based on a similar scoring system as the first round. Three separate three-hour blocks will be available for Reload-eligible players to choose from.

Once all qualifiers have been determined, the second weekend (November 20-21) will be for the FNCS Grand Royale Finals. Each day will play host to six individual rounds, though the second and final day comes with the added twist of double points, so Victory Royales will be worth 60 points and every elimination is worth four points.

Epic added that players who do not qualify--or even wish to participate--can still get in on some related action, which we'll hear more about in November. You can find the full scoring breakdown and rule set on Fortnite's website. Will you be competing in the FNCS Grand Royale?