XSET become EWC Fortnite champs after defeating NA rivals

The EWC Ft. Fortnite Grand Finals went down on Sunday, and it was ultimately XSET who installed their key into the trophy by defeating their North America rival Exceed in the Grand Finals! Here is how they fought their way to the top.

The Fortnite event at the Esports World Cup had a very unique format and it was definitely a new experience for a lot of Fortnite fans. But no matter the format, top players always give it their all and put on a hype show.

How XSET became The EWC ft. Fortnite champs

While typically Fortnite is played in a battle royale format, the EWC Ft. Fortnite tournament series was played with a unique 4v4 bracket play format. Teams competed in structured map-by-map competition across staple game modes like Capture The Flag, Hardpoint, and Keeper. The first team to win four games won the match.

The road to the EWC Ft. Fortnite Championship

Heading into single-elimination Bracket Play, Team Falcons and Karmine Corp were two favorites alongside XSET. However, in a surprising twist of events, Exceed met the moment and crushed the keys of both Falcons and KC in back-to-back matches to reach the Grand Finals.

Exceed players are all cracked, especially Kwanti who has popped off this tournament. But where they have really stepped up was in their team work.

During their match against KC, for example, they were able to find numerous opportunities to combo their dynamite and EMP to instantly eliminate KC players. This tactic allowed them to take two Keeper maps against KC, who had not dropped any Keeper maps up to that point.

On the other side of the bracket, American contender XSET and Norway’s Heroic found themselves in a high-stakes battle for the Grand Finals. XSET was a perfect 10-0 on Map wins heading into the match, so Heroic had a lot of work to do. Although Heroic did take one map, XSET won the series in convincing fashion on the back of a pivotal performance from Cold.

XSET defeat their rival Exceed in the Grand Finals

The Grand Finals was an all-NA affair, featuring American orgs Exceed and XSET.

These two rosters have history too, consistently finding themselves facing off in finals this past year. Most recently, Exceed’s roster, under the banner of Agent Gaming, sent XSET to the lower bracket at Dreamhack Dallas. So for XSET, the Grand Finals was a chance to exact their revenge. For Exceed, it was a chance to reassert their dominance.

The two teams went blow for blow in the first four maps, heading into Map 5 tied with 2 maps each. Map 5 Hardpoint was close through the first rotation, but in the second rotation Ritual went beast mode with the sniper, pulling off a series of multi-kills to run away with the map.

With momentum on their side, XSET played the basement location perfectly on the Map 6 Keeper to secure the series, their vengeance, and the first ever EWC Ft. Fortnite title. XSET only dropped 3 maps the entire tournament.

TFT Tournament winnings and MVP

XSET heads home with the top prize of $400,000 USD, Exceed earns a very respectable $160,000 for coming in second, and Karmine Corp and Heroic each earn the tidy sum of $80,000 for finishing top four.

There were multiple compelling candidates for MVP from this tournament. But in the end, it was Ritual who edged out his teammates for the tournament MVP and $50,000 MVP prize! And in an incredible act of fraternity, Ritual said in the post-game interview that he is going to split that $50,000 prize with his teammates!