All Fortnite Tournament Formats

What are the Fortnite tournament formats that are in use right now? There are quite a few different events which Epic hosts each season. We’ve got the biggest Fortnite events, where only the best pros compete to join the players with the highest earnings. But there are loads more than just the highest level. There are smaller events for Fortnite players to join too.

Fortnite tournament formats aren’t that complicated. Between Cosmetics, Cash Cups, Victory Cups, and increasingly modes with their own tournaments, there’s a lot. These are all of the Fortnite tournament formats and how they work!

Current Fortnite Tournament Formats

FNCS

The main event, the Fortnite Champion Series. This is the biggest of the Fortnite tournament formats. It’s where the very best Fortnite players go to prove their worth.

This has been the biggest Fortnite tournament since Chapter 1’s last season. It’s a regional event for most of the year. Players can enter in open events, over the course of a season they try and rise up the divisions. At the end, the top-ranking players enter into a play in and group stage. Once this is done, we get a single lobby of the top players out there.

This lobby plays over a single weekend. At the end, the top placing players take home a huge FNCS prize pool. But typically, also qualification to a LAN.

FNCS Prize Money History – How Much Money Can Be Won in the FNCS?

The FNCS varies a bit from year-to-year. The format is shifted around. Most recently we had a year of Trios. However, next year it’s going to be heading back to Duos. It’ll still be regional before the finals at the end of the year. However, an extra mid-season LAN is being added. We aren’t sure how this will affect the format for the tournament just yet. We’re also still waiting to see what is going to happen with the Storm Surge rules. Most of the tournament format will be the same though.

FNCS LAN

The FNCS Majors and qualifiers happen throughout the year. However, the LAN is a bigger deal. This is a tournament which concludes a whole season of the FNCS. It’s played in-person, in a single arena. The Fortnite tournament formats is the same as the Major finals. Two days of competition. But qualification is very different.

The FNCS LAN is only played by those who have won or came very high in FNCS Majors. For the biggest Fortnite regions, that’s a good few teams per Major. However, the smaller Fortnite regions get to play to. Oceania and other regions still a few slots, so the winners of their Majors end up going. Or in the case of the last LAN, the top ranking OCE players who weren’t found to be cheating. Since a lot cheated in 2025.

The LAN is otherwise quite a simple format. The best players win.

Cash Cups

The FNCS is the premier Fortnite tournament series but there are events most weeks. Sometimes multiple ones a day. Cash Cups are the biggest side tournaments. The Cash Cups are smaller events, usually played over one or two sessions. Players who in the top places get cash at the end.

These are less common since Epic has cracked down on tournaments that cheaters took advantage of. But there are still a decent number of Cash Cups a month to keep Fortnite esports busy outside of the FNCS.

Victory Cups

One change to the Cash Cup format that pops up from time to time are Victory Cups. These are two session Cash Cups. The first is a qualifier. Then, the lower number of players who made it through play in Session 2. They get three games in the second session. There’s no ongoing leaderboard. Plus, no points for anything other than Victory Royales. It’s all or nothing.

Cosmetic Cups

Cosmetic Cups are a frequent event on the calendar too. These are just like Cash Cups, but the biggest difference is the prize. Cosmetic Cups don’t have any Cash up for grabs. Instead, players compete to win a skin. The top thousand or so players in the bigger Fortnite regions get a new skin set for free. The exact Fortnite tournament formats can vary from Cup to Cup, but they’re typically played the same as current Cash Cups.

Reload Cups

Battle Royale is the main mode for Fortnite tournaments but we do get events in other modes too. Fortnite Reload Cups are the most common for Reload. These events work roughly the same as the Cash Cups. However, they’re played in Reload instead of Battle Royale.

This mode has some unique quirks. Players respawn, so kills aren’t as important. Generally, players won’t get big points in Reload Cups without coming in the Top 10. These tournaments are a fun alternative to Battle Royale. The Fortnite tournament formats for Reload also mean some differences to the storm. Storm Sickness essentially kills players off after a few seconds in Reload, since camping was such a problem.

Pro-Am

This is a more irregular Fortnite tournament format. One was held last year, after a bit of a gap. But we’re expecting another in 2026 too! In this format, teams compete as one pro and one amateur. Or as Fortnite often hosts them, one pro and one Fortnite streamer instead. Last year it was played in Reload too.