Fortnite’s World Cup Online Open has arrived but the first week of the tournament has found less than stellar results. Epic Games has announced that more than 1,200 accounts have been banned due to a discovery of cheating players.
Majority of these cheaters, 1,163 to be exact, received a two-week ban for bypassing regional restrictions and trying to play in multiple areas. Out of this number, 196 had to forfeit their winnings when caught circumventing region locks. Because of this, Epic has announced a change in prize payouts for others in the tournament. However, their improved finishes won’t be reflected on Fortnite’s in-game leaderboard.
Other numbers include 48 for account sharing with nine having to give up their prices. Then there was one account was a winner whose winnings were vacated for teaming. One other account was noted for having been caught in minutes using a cheat software during the tournament’s semifinals.
To mark the end of the first week of solo-play qualifiers, there were two players and one qualifier for the World Cup accused of cheating. In response to this, Epic Games has stated their appreciation for the community's concern over the integrity of the competition.
They said, “but questioning the results of an individual participant without direct evidence unfairly tears apart what should be a crowning moment of achievement for an individual or team who earned their way there and performed when it counted."
Epic further stated how their primary goal was to support competition that is fun, inclusive, and in line with the overall spirit of the game and any unsportsmanlike conduct would not be tolerated.
The competition will be going on for nine weeks and the winning prize includes a $1 million prize pool with the best performers being tabbed for the World Cup of Fortnite, to be held July 26 to 28 in New York.
