Fortnite: FNCS Season 7 Week 1 Recap & Results

ESTNN recaps the first FNCS Qualifier of Chapter 2 - Season 7.

Fortnite’s tenth Champion Series tournament is off and running. Teams across the game’s seven competitive regions are once again competing for a shot at the $3M USD prize pool and the elusive Axe of Champions in-game reward—given only to the winners. Since Chapter 2 - Season 4, players have perfected each season’s entirely different meta and the consistent trios format. Dominant teams have emerged in the form of two-time champions Malachi “ENDL8SS Reverse2k” Greiner, Dejsean “ENDL8SS Deyy” Hew and ENDL8SS Mero and perhaps the world’s best team — Chapix, Jannis “GUILD JannisZ” Matwin and Henrik “GUILD Hen” Mclean.

However, Fortnite is an ever-changing game, and no team is genuinely ever safe in this unpredictable scene. Enter Chapter 2 - Season 7, which boasts an extraterrestrial theme and yet another meta for teams to master. This past weekend marked the first of three qualifiers, and 21 teams secured themselves a spot in the Season 7 Finals. With one week down, let’s see who’s moving to the next stage and which team’s earned crucial Series Points.

Europe

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Qualifier 1 in Europe marked a return to form of sorts for one of Fortnite’s household names. Benjy “NRG benjyfishy” Fish finally accomplished a long-desired goal of placing highly in a trio FNCS. After the MMB reunion failed and Benjy’s team with Matsoe and Umplify fizzled out, the double World Cup Qualifier turned to lesser-known players Wave Joe and LootBoy Shadow.

The result speaks for itself. The relatively new true executed a consistent strategy, managing five top-ten finishes out of six games and 38 eliminations. Benjy, Joe and Shadow have secured their spot in the Season 7 Finals.

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After back-to-back disappointments in the FNCS and a season off, Fortnite World Cup Champion David “aqua” Wang also revitalized his career. The Austrian sat out the last three Trio FNCS Finals with two disqualifications and a hand injury that’s plagued him for some time. He hasn’t missed a step, and adding two of Europe’s best players—Noah “BL Noahreyli” Rey and Alexander “Wave Vadeal” Schlik—undoubtedly helps. These three combined for two Victory Royales, 37 eliminations and 184 points. Look out for aqua, Noahreyli and Vadeal in the finals.

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The Chapter 2 - Season 5 Champions added themselves to the teams that pushed through to the Season 7 Finals. We’ve come to expect dominance out of Jannis “GUILD JannisZ” Matwin, Hen “GUILD Hen” Mclean and Chapix, and they did fall too far below that bar. Their six-match effort resulted in a win, 37 eliminations and 182 points. They’re always a threat to claim another Axe of Champions, and they are now one step closer.

NA East

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Trends are often a measuring stick in Fortnite, and no team ran hotter than 33 nut, TNG Eomzo and TNG chukky over the last few weeks. A fourth in the previous Cash Cup Extra and a win in the Bugha Late Game Tournament set this trio up for another solid showing. Eomzo, nut and chukky channeled their run of success into one Victory Royale, 36 eliminations and 190 points overall. They swept in late, ultimately claiming first over the Fortnite World Cup Champ, and are through to the finals.

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Fortnite Solo World Cup Champion Kyle “SEN Bugha” Giersdorf went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions over the last few weeks. His season began with a flurry of roster changes before settling with Cloud9 players Avery and nosh. Despite his teammates waking up late for round two of the first FNCS Qualifiers, everything worked according to plan. Bugha, Avery and nosh lept out to an early lead and finished second by just one point. After last season’s disappointing end, Bugha is back with a familiar teammate and will compete in yet another FNCS Season Final.

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Rounding out the top three was the always impressive trio of FS Degen, FS Ajerss and Skqttles. These three players split briefly to start the season but rejoined not too long after. It was perhaps a wise choice, considering their steady performance in the week one finals. Degen, Ajerss and Skqttles managed 161 points, including one Victory Royale and 25 eliminations. They will bypass the next four FNCS weekends and head straight to the Season 7 Finals.

NA West

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The NA West region rounded out the first qualifier as it always does, and the action stayed hot. The final leaderboard rolled with XTRA Quinn, Kewl and Wave on top after a 183-point performance. Their six games produced one Victory Royale and 30 eliminations. Quinn, a mainstay in the NA West region, is back in the mix after a disappointing result in Chapter 2 - Season 6.

Here is the remainder of the NA West leaderboard:

Here are the results for all remaining regions:

Brazil

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Asia

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Middle East

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OCE

The FNCS is on hiatus this weekend but returns after the Rift Tour Ariana Grande concert. We’ll pick right back up where we left off with the second qualifier.