- Hugely popular streamer Ninja kicks off his weekly “Ninja Battles” Fortnite tournament series.
- 60 of the world’s best Fortnite players will compete over six weeks to get a slice of a $400,000 prize pool.
- The series began on May 28, 2020 and viewers have been resoundingly positive about the event.
Today, Ninja’s Fortnite tournament series, Ninja Battles, began. The series, which is the first event of its kind that Ninja has created since joining Mixer last summer, pits 60 of the world’s best Fortnite players against each other.
Ninja Brings the World’s Best Fortnite Players Together for a New Tournament
The contest will be fought over six weeks, running from May 28, 2020 until July. Some competitors that viewers will be able to see in action are Fortnite World Champion Bugha, Nick Eh 30, and Ship all being part of the fun.
On Ninja’s own Mixer channel, esports commentators MonsterDface and Ballatw are the casters for the event, describing what viewers are seeing on-screen and helping to add a little drama when a player makes an epic play, gets a kill, or is taken out by an opponent. However, a crucial part of Ninja Battles is that the participants are free to stream the Fortnite tourney on their own channels.
This is an incredibly savvy marketing ploy from Ninja and Mixer. While Twitch is spending big on signing more exclusive deals, Ninja Battles allows Mixer to leverage the talent on its site. It also raises the profile of Mixer and Ninja without them having to do much.
The event could have been criticized for several reasons as, despite his charitable donations, Ninja’s outburst about gaming toxicity and casual gaming have made him an unlikeable figure to some. Surprisingly though, most of those who tuned in seem to be on the same page.
Ninja’s Fans and Haters All Seem to Enjoy Ninja Battles
Just a cursory look in the #NinjaBattles hashtag on Twitter shows heaps of praise for the event. The casting work of MonsterDface and Ballatw seems to at a high level, as expected, and the production values are enough to make people forget that this entire event is being streamed and created from people’s homes.
With many more weeks to go until Ninja’s Fortnite tournament finishes, it’s difficult to say just how much money or how many new viewers this could bring to Ninja’s Mixer channel and the whole Mixer platform. After week one though it seems like this is the esports tournament that everyone wanted.
