On May 25th, Twitch Rivals hosted the Creator Series: Fortnite Zero Build Finale. The Twitch Rivals Creator Series: Fortnite Zero Build was introduced on April 7th with pgod’s Faceoff, followed by Alixxa’s Arena on April 13th, Sommerset’s Skirmish on April 21st, NickEh30’s Eh-mazing Showdown on April 28th, and Tfue’s Tfault Throwdown on May 12th.
Image Credit: Twitch Rivals' Twitter Account
The final Fortnite Zero Build event adopted the traditional format, featuring 32 phenomenal teams competing in six uniquely-tailored matches. Armored Battle Buses, Tanks, Helicopters, Recon Scanners, and Tents were generally banned from all games, unless noted otherwise. Each of the creators that participated in the event dictated the format for one of the games:
- Game one, Sommerset’s Format, only awarded points for elimination.
- Game two, Tfue’s Format, banned Recon Scanners, Torches, and Tents, with Armored Battle Buses, Helicopters, and Tanks left in-game.
- Game three, NickEh30’s Format, prohibited combat before the first storm surge.
- Game four, Alixxa’s Format, limited the use of SMGs and Grenade Launchers.
- Game five, Pgod’s Format, supported the usage of Arena/Competition mode loot only.
- Game six, the final game of the day, had zero restrictions, meaning that the players could go wild with bizarre and yet undiscovered tactics.
Previously, the winner of each round received 20 points, as well as bonus points for each elimination. However, the grand finale of Creator Series: Fortnite Zero Build included a comeback mechanic that doubled the gains. The round winner was awarded 40 points, a close second with 34 points, the third with 30 points, the fourth with 28 points, the fifth with 26, and each subsequently-placed trio earning two points less than the previous one.
The total prizing for Creator Series: Finale ft. Fortnite was $100,000, with the winner taking home $21,000. On top of that, the winners of the Creator Series won a fully functional microphone trophy. The second place earned $15,000, the third $9,000, the fourth $4,800, and the fifth $3,600. As is tradition, the players with the most eliminations were awarded an additional $1,300, distributed among the top 10 players.
The hosts of Creator Series: Finale ft. Fortnite were, as usual, SanchoWest and Javier “MonsterDface” Collazo, along with Caleb “WavePunk” Simmons.
Game 1: Sommerset’s Format
Since Sommerset’s Format only granted points for elimination, it entirely altered the natural order and win conditions like prime positioning and rogue map movement. This format awarded the teams three points for each elimination.
From the beginning, the match was, as expected, extremely volatile. Many teams, such as Nicholas “NickEh30” Amyoony’s team, decided to hunt down enemy players. Even though this tactic put the team of Dejsean “Deyy” Hew in the lead, their unbearable aggression was quickly punished. On the other hand, the team of Cody “Clix” Conrod, which followed their footsteps, were more calculated and positioned themselves better.
Finally, Team Clix was eliminated, leaving Team vanessuh against Team NickEh30. In a close open-fire standoff, Team vanessuh barely took out Team NickEh30, ending the round with an outstanding 10 eliminations.
Game 2: Tfue’s Format
Tfue’s Format, which banned Recon Scanners, Torches, and Tents, was the only format that didn’t limit the use of Armored Battle Buses, Helicopters, and Tanks.
Team Clix once again ran the show with excellent face-paced rotations and prime positioning. However, such extreme domination drew too much attention and led to an earlier elimination.
Other teams that popped off this round were those led by Jesus “Jelty” Navarez Espinoza and, of course, Turner “Tfue” Tenney. Unfortunately, they were eliminated due to poor positioning or rotations as the storm drew in Rocky Reels.
This left the team of Marcus “Ranger” Pereira to try and take down Emad “EmadGG” Nasif’s team from their high ground. However, NoahWPlays was sniped, and Team EmadGG won the round.
Game 3: NickEh30’s Format
NickEh30’s Format restricted the combat until the first storm surge. Storm surge, a relatively uncommon mechanic, periodically damages the players who did the least damage during the game.
Since the contestants had more than enough time at their disposal before the combat began, they focused on locating superior positions. When the action finally began, Team Zemie took the lead. They were, naturally, focused and eliminated quickly.
This left the teams led by Nicholas “Thiefs” Smorto and Kevin “Tocata” Larrinaga fighting for first place. Team Thiefs managed to stop Team Tocata’s killing streak and won the round.
Game 4: Alixxa’s Format
Alixxa’s Format, prevented players from using SMGs and Grenade Launchers in addition to the ban on Armored Battle Buses, Tanks, Helicopters, Recon Scanners, and Tents. As a result, the format favored players who were highly skilled with their shots.
The teams which put their words into action this round were Team Ranger and Team EmadGG. Although Team EmadGG had smart early rotations, they ended the round in a close second since, unlike Team Ranger, they couldn’t find any land in the area.
Game 5: pgod’s Format
Similar to Alixxa’s Format, pgod’s Format favored the most exceptional and knowledgeable players, as the format featured Arena/Competition mode loot only.
Since the rules dramatically reduced the amount of vehicles, the players needed to have fast and clever rotations. Teams Theifs, Tfue, and Jelty dictated the pace of the match with their ingenious high-ground positioning.
As they were battling, Matthew “Mero” Faitel collected an unreasonable amount of health packs and stayed back in the storm to get placement points. Surprisingly, he even managed to secure 15 points for his team, which was led by Piero “pgod” Ramirez. Although the end of the match was stacked with talent, Team Jelty won the round by staying on the outskirts.
Game 6: Zero Build Showdown Format
The final game of the day, besides the usual bans of Armored Battle Buses, Tanks, Helicopters, Recon Scanners, and Tents, had no limitations except the player’s imagination.
At the beginning of the game, Team Tfue was clearly outperforming everyone else with amazing positioning that allowed them to secure first-rate rotations. Sadly, they were caught off-guard and eliminated by Team NickEh30. The game concluded with hide-and-seek between Teams Ranger and Tkay. Although Team Tkay put an enormous effort into repelling Team Ranger’s forces, they fell short.
Overall, the winner of yet another Twitch Rivals event was Team Tfue. Team pgod came in second, after underperforming during this event, and Team Ranger rightfully took third place.
