NZ Vodafone Warriors Expand into Fortnite
Earlier this year, Blank Esports, the New Zealand-based Overwatch team partnered with the New Zealand Vodafone Warriors to expand the brand of the rugby league team into esports.
The Vodafone Warriors, a fearsome force in the world of rugby recognized that a lot of their fans happened to be esports fanatics too, which saw them acquire the Overwatch team after some of their achievements over the last few years, including a top three finish in both Season 1 and 2 of the Overwatch Pacific Championship 2017, as well as a top 8 finish at the APAC Premier.
The team, now known as Warriors Esports has now expanded into Fortnite and sees the team pick up two players ahead of the Fortnite World Cup. Sam “Twizz” Pearson and Chris “CoverH” Hunt, both of New Zealand descent will be representing the Warriors in the upcoming World Cup finals.
Pearson, previously a player for the team Mindfreak, first made his Fortnite debut in the Core OCE Pro League Season 1 in a Squad, where they placed 2nd. Following on from that, he embarked with fellow teammate, Hunt, on Duo tournaments, placing as high as 1st in the WC 2019 OCE Qualifiers – Week 2. He also had a few runs at solo WC Qualifiers, placing well, including one 9th place result.
Hunt, on the other hand, has only known Solo and Duo and hasn’t enjoyed as much success in his solo career as his partner and was previously a player for Trident Esports.
The Warriors players qualified in the second week of the Fortnite World Cup Online Open in Oceania, taking the first place spot with 111 points and netting themselves a cool $5,000. Week Nine of the Open has concluded now and the final Week 10 Online Open will take place on 20-21 June for Duos, Semi-finals and finals. With the Fortnite World Cup Finals taking place between 26 and 28 July. The finals will be held in New York City and there is a $30 million prize pool up for grabs.
Fortnite, the free to play battle royale game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017 is by far one of the most popular games in the world, constantly at the top of the most watched games on Twitch, bringing over $2.5 billion in profit for Epic Games in 2018. Players buy V-Bucks, the in-game currency to purchase cosmetic items for their characters, and when available, a Battle Pass, another option to unlock in-game rewards.
