The second portion of the duo qualifiers for the $30,000,000 Fortnite World Cup wrapped up this weekend with some powerhouse duos securing their qualification along with some surprises. With another week concluded, we dive right into the biggest takeaways from week four.
Zayt and Saf Dominate
Photo Credit: ESLGoing into the second leg of the duo qualifiers, it surprised many that the star-studded duo of NRG Zayt and Ghost Saf did not qualify in the first portion. However, this was far from the case in week four. The ESL Katowice Royal champions showed their peak form throughout the weekend. From the get-go the duo were consistently in contention to qualify. With back-to-back victory royals in their opening games on Sunday, they sat atop the leaderboard for the first hour of the finals.
With another victory royal towards the back half of their matches, the duos remaining matches were shaky in terms of placements, but eliminations were not far gone for the duo. A seventeen kill eighth match further boosted the duo in the standings which ultimately secured their qualification. Zayt and Saf were never in question to qualify it was just a matter of when, and week four was their stomping ground.
Nate Hill and Funk's Redemption
Photo Credit: SoaR Gaming
The FaZe Clan duo were widely considered one of the best duos in the world towards the latter parts of 2018. However, when a Twitch clip during the Fortnite Fall Skirmish surfaced of Funk communicating to Nate Hill where Ghost Gaming player dmo was via the official Fortnite stream, the duo were hit with five and two-week bans, respectively. This controversy lingered in fans' minds and the duo quickly faded away from the top.
In the weeks leading up to the Fortnite World Cup qualifiers, the duo started to find their form with a fourth-place finish in the Luxe Cup. Things seemingly started to get back on track for Nate and Funk as week four of the qualifiers saw the duo have two opening matches where they both placed seventh with five eliminations. Their next match being a third-place showing the pair were looking strong to open Sunday's finals. The next leg of games was rocky for the duo, securing no placement points with only a few eliminations. Their ninth and tenth matches were where the duo ultimately secured their qualification, posting a thirteen kill second place finish and a seven kill victory royal in their closing match propelled them in the standings into the final qualification spot.
Funk became another player to join the exclusive list of players qualified for both solos and duos, while for Nate Hill he now has a chance to solely focus on qualifying for solos. The duo surprised many this weekend by coming full circle after being banned to being qualified for the biggest event in esports history.