Drama as team wins $200k Twitch Rivals Fortnite LAN event from home

Twitter can’t decide if the latest Twitch Rivals Fortnite champions should have been allowed to compete.

Gamers and content creators from around the world gathered in San Diego this past weekend for TwitchCon 2022.

The event featured meetups, fun contests, and the grand finale of the $200,000 Twitch Rivals Fortnite Zero Build tournament.

Sure, it was great to watch, but not everyone was happy with the result…

Playing from home

After five intense Zero Build matches, it was the Argentinian team of Palermo, Fakkz and Itrol that took the top spot, securing $42,000 in prize money.

Palermo and co couldn’t make it to San Diego due to visa issues. They were instead allowed to take part from home, while everyone else played live at TwitchCon.

This meant they were using their own setups, top-quality PCs, and didn’t have to worry about travelling, jetlag, or being uncomfortable. All the other players had to make do with the equipment laid on by Twitch.

The winning trio did however have the disadvantage of being on very high ping.

Was it fair?

Unsurprisingly, the reaction online was mixed. It wasn’t Palermo’s team’s fault they couldn’t be there in person, and they were allowed to play, so they did nothing wrong.

FNCS champion Queasy had their backs. “It was a content cup not a competitive event, why wouldn’t they let a big content team play from home if their visa got denied” he asked.

Others argued that any tournament with a $200k prize pool is “competitive” and therefore everyone should be on an even playing field.

At the end of the day, it’s a Twitch Rivals event so Twitch has the final say. If they don’t have a problem with a team winning a LAN from home, then it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

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