FaZe duo Tfue and Cloak pull out of ESL Fortnite Katowice Royale due to low prize money
Fortnite Royale tournament set to kick off in Katowice, Poland on Friday, March 1.
The pair were among the biggest names set to compete at the $500,000 tournament, but it appears that two of the biggest names in competitive Fortnite will be absent when the tournament kicks off.
First stated by Lepore, the pair appear to have turned down the opportunity to travel to Poland, citing the prize money as a factor in their decision not to go.
The pair have seen great success in competitive Fortnite.While streaming on Monday, February 18 with Jack ‘CouRageJD’ Dunlop, Tim ‘Timthetatman’ Betar and Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff, Cloak revealed the news while the squad discussed the possibility of giving up competing in favor of streaming where players could earn more money.
While NICKMERCS said that he loved competing, and spoke about the prize money for the event, Cloak simply said: “Me and Turner aren’t going to Poland because of it.”
This was seemingly confirmed on Wednesday, February 20 when viewers of Tenney’s stream claimed that the Fortnite star had said they wouldn’t be there, stating he had “shit to do,” and again referenced the prize money, saying: “Not to be a dick, but what’s $30,000 to me?”
For competitive players who also stream, the decision to attend events is becoming more difficult, especially if you are a star on Twitch. Taking time away from your channel to fly off to competitions can often mean you lose subscribers to your channel, costing players money, especially if you don’t place highly at the event.
While it seems that Turner and Lepore won’t be there, some of Fortnite’s biggest stars will still be at the ESL Katowice Royale, which is split into two events, with a Polish-only event on February 23 and 24, while the international event starts on March 1. You can make sure you don’t miss any of the action using our handy ESL Katowice Royale Fortnite tournament viewing hub.
Epic Games are yet to comment on the news that Tfue and Cloak don’t intend on attending Katowice, but it will be interesting if the pair do fail to show up, and whether Epic decide to find replacements for them.