Fortnite is no longer just the game taking up hours of your child’s time — it’s an official competitive sport for high schools and colleges around the country. Esports organizer PlayVS is teaming up with Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, to introduce a competitive circuit for high school and college Fortnite players.
PlayVS allows students to organize esports tournaments, giving them the ability to manage teams, access schedules, and stats on one platform. By partnering with Epic Games, they have an edge over other esports leagues that lack direct partnerships with game publishers.
Last year, PlayVS partnered up with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which is the primary leadership organization for high school sports, as they set on bringing esports to education. However, NFHS is remaining firm on not engaging with shooting games in their organization.
Mark Koski, CEO of NFHS Network, tells Parentology, “We are disappointed that our esports partner has chosen to offer Fortnite as a game option to high school students. There are plenty of game options, including what is currently offered, to give students the opportunity to competitively participate in esports without adding violent shooter games. We firmly believe it is our responsibility to stand behind this.”
PlayVS will operate its Fortnite competitions outside of its existing partnership with NFHS and state associations, which support League of Legends and Rocket League competitive play.
How Does It Work?
Both high school and college circuits follow the same rules: players are to compete in duos and against players in their own conference. A maximum of seven games get played in two hours, giving players points for the week based on their performance:
- Victory Royale/First: 10 points
- Second to Third: 7 points
- Fourth to Seventh: 5 points
- Eighth to Twelfth: 3 points
- Each elimination: 1 Point
Every week, the top three teams will earn a spot in the playoffs, adding to a max total of 24 teams. Prizes have yet to be announced, nor have any plans for advancing to a possible World Cup.
How to Play
For high school, there are six conferences based on time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, and Hawaii. Each conference will host a championship to crown a winner. Registration begins February 17 and its season begins February 26, running for a total of eight weeks.
For college, however, there is one conference nationwide to crown a national winner. Registration begins February 24 and its eight-week season begins March 4.
High School Fortnite — Sources
Mark Koski, CEO of NFHS Network
Forbes
International Business Times
Nerd Street Gamers?
Esports Observer