Yesterday, two Fortnite players tied for the 33rd qualifying spot in today’s Summer Skirmish grand finals: The_Real_Cryohme and SSG Colton. The 33rd slot wins a minimum of $5,000 and the potential to win far more; today’s first prize winner will take home $225,000. Only 33 players could advance to the final stage, though. Epic Games had to determine the true last-place finisher with a coin flip.
Cryohme and Colton had a perfect tie in every possible category across not just one but four qualifying matches. They had the same number of Victory Royales, the same number of eliminations, and the same placement. The Summer Skirmish commentators joked that a dance-off could determine the winner, which at least would have been a contest of skill, but in the end, it was all up to the coin.
The Fortnite Summer Skirmish finals had three individual days of qualifiers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at PAX West, with 33 players from each event progressing forward into a 99-player grand finals today. Technically, the grand finals could have fit a 100th player into the mix, but that’s not how the tournament was set up. There is no exception for players who happen to tie for last place, nor could there be, because what if all three qualifying events somehow ended in a tie? Sure, it’s unlikely, but so is the tie that already happened.
Unfortunately for SSG Colton, The_Real_Cryohme won the coin flip and the $5,000, as well as the chance to compete in the grand finals this afternoon. If he wins it all, that’s gonna sting.