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The Independent UK

Technology

Anthony Cuthbertson

Fortnite World Cup LIVE: Ninja competes in Creative and Celebrity Pro-Am finals on day one

Fortnite is already proclaiming it "the greatest tournament of all time", and with the World Cup finals already underway in New York, it can at least claim to be one of the biggest.

Around 40 million Fortnite players competed to qualify for the three-day event, making it the most participated-in tournament of all time.

But the Fortnite World Cup is not just set to be the biggest eSports tournament of all time, the $3 million prize for the solos winner makes it one of the most lucrative tournaments in any sport.

You can read our full guide to the Fortnite World Cup here, complete with key players, the schedules for the finals, and how to watch the live stream from wherever you are.

2019-07-26T15:47:58.970Z

The Fortnite World Cup finals are finally here.

Over the next three days we will see the world's best and bravest Fortnite players compete to be the champion solos, duos and celebrity players – with the winners set to take home a floss-inducing $3 million grand prize.

It is set to be the world's biggest eSports tournament for the world's most popular video game, and it is sure to not disappoint.

2019-07-26T16:03:04.070Z

As players converge on the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, here's a reminder of the schedule for the next three days:

Friday, 26 July

Creative Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET (5.30pm BST)

Creative Finals – 1 pm ET

Celebrity Pro-Am - 4 pm ET

Saturday, 27 July

Duos Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET

Duos Finals - 1 pm ET

Duos Finals Winners Ceremony - 4.45 pm ET

Sunday, 28 July

Solo Finals Preshow - 12.30 pm ET

Solo Finals - 1 pm ET

Solo Finals Winners Ceremony – 4.45 pm ET

2019-07-26T16:22:52.210Z

Arguably the biggest shock of the World Cup qualifying was that Fortnite megastar Ninja failed to make it to the finals in either the solo or duo tournament.

Fortunately for Ninja fans they will still be able to cheer him on in the Celebrity Pro-Am event later today, where he will reignite his partnership with Marshmello.

2019-07-26T16:31:18.240Z

We are officially underway with the Creative Finals pre-show.

Fortnite has launched a live stream of the proceedings across pretty much every platform, from YouTube to Caffeine.

2019-07-26T16:41:50.136Z

The Creative Finals will see eight teams of four compete in various Creative game modes.

We have the Funky Fighters, the Chicken Champions, the Fish Fam, the Lil Whip Warriors, Raven's Revenge, the Llama Record Co. the Sunshine Soldiers, and the Cuddle Crew.

Pretty much all teams are multi-national, which is nice.

2019-07-26T16:50:03.286Z

Wow, some of these players look really pumped.

Perhaps no surprise when you consider the prize money on offer.

Someone keeping it cool is a player who has been here before: Ninja, His team Lil Whip Warriors will definitely be one to watch out for here.

He gives a quick one-armed floss to the camera, maybe in reference to the pink megabot who lost its arm earlier this week.

2019-07-26T16:58:31.806Z

The Creative Finals are officially underway and Ninja's Lil Whip Warriors are straight into the lead!

2019-07-26T17:02:26.386Z

The general idea of this first game is to capture and hold a circular platform.

It's pretty evenly matched, with Fish Fam and Funky Fighters currently tied for the top spot.

2019-07-26T17:12:02.603Z

This is chaos. The lead is see-saws between Fish Fam and Llama Record Co. but we have a winner!

The Llama Record Co. managed to win it in the final 30 seconds to become the first winner of the Fortnite World Cup finals.

2019-07-26T17:15:28.543Z

A post match interview asks the winning team how it feels to play in front of "such a massive audience", but the 23,000-capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium looks barely half full.

Fortnite says tickets are sold out, so hopefully it will fill up soon.

2019-07-26T17:17:19.270Z

The second match is already underway and Ninja immediately takes out two players coming at him from in front and behind.

His team Lil Whip Warriors open up a slight lead.

2019-07-26T17:20:59.200Z

Here's how the leaderboard currently looks.

2019-07-26T17:28:28.500Z

Drama here, as Funky Fighters are just one point away from the win but lose the platform. Just one more second and they would have won it.

2019-07-26T17:29:29.100Z

But they make it! Funky Fighters have won the second match of the Creative Finals.

2019-07-26T17:33:26.453Z

That's a first place and a second place for the Funky Fighters now. Looking strong.

2019-07-26T17:45:49.730Z

As the third match gets underway, it seems the other teams are trying to keep on top of Funky Fighters.

The previous winners have fallen right down to last place and any unassailable lead they might have hoped to take from a win here seems to be evaporating.

2019-07-26T17:56:47.916Z

Funky Fighters were not able to make it out of that pummelling in the third match but it doesn't matter.

They have won the first set in the Creative Finals with a win and a second place in the first two matches to earn the first Silver Llama.

2019-07-26T18:04:37.506Z

There's a break now until the next set, but Fortnite fans are busy discussing the action across social media. One talking point is the lack of success from Ninja's team.

Others are getting side-tracked with speculation about what Fortnite Season 10 will look like. A lot of talk about aliens.