Friday Fortnite $10,000 Winners Typical Gamer and SoaR Thief Discuss Their Win, Fortnite Esports and Beating Pro’s
The winners of the second of KEEMSTAR and UMG’s weekly Friday Fortnite tournament, YouTubers ‘TypicalGamer’ and SoaR member ‘Thief’, beat out top opposition to take the $10,000 prize.
The Friday Fortnite tournament is one of the first competitive Fortnite tournaments featuring a big cash prize, and features some of the biggest names in the community including Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, TSM’s Ali “Myth” Kabbani and many, many more.
The first week boasted a $5,000 prize, and was won by Luminosity player Sypher and 100 Thieves member Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff.
For the second running, the prize pool was doubled – indicative of the instant success which the first managed – and despite not being many people’s favorites, Typical Gamer and SoaR Thief took the top spot.
Not only did they beat out Ninja and his teammate, Team Envy player King Richard, but also took down TSM Pro players Daequan and Hamlinz in the grand final.
We caught up with the duo to discuss their big win, plans for the future and all things Fortnite esports.
So you’ve won the second of KEEMSTAR and UMG’s Friday Fortnite tournament, did you expect to do so well going into the tournament?
Typical Gamer: We went into both tournaments with a winners mentally but knew we were up against some really tough competition. Thief and I have great synergy and knew we were gonna do well but to win the whole thing was taking it to the next level and I’m proud of us. We played very consistently throughout both tournaments.
Thief: Honestly, going into it, Typical Gamer and myself were confident we could rack up the kills and we both knew we had a good chance to take it all home. All we had to do was beat Ninja and King Richard and we knew the victory was possible.
Who would you say was your toughest opponent in the tournament?
Typical Gamer: In this tournament it was definitely Daequan and Hamlinz. We beat them in the winners bracket by only a few kills and they were absolutely slaying. When they came up again into the finals we knew it was gonna be a tough fight the whole way through. Mad respect out to both of them – they’re really great players.
Thief: Daequan and Hamlinz put up a crazy fight and were definitely the biggest slayers we played against. I knew going into those matches it was going to be very tough, but we pulled through.
Have you noticed any extra attention from the fortnite community since your win, and how are you handling that?
Typical Gamer: There was a ton of eyes on the tournament with such huge influencers involved (and with such a popular game) so to win it all definitely got some attention. Just thanking everyone for their support was my main priority. Shoutout to KEEMSTAR and UMG for setting it all up.
Thief: The amount of support I’ve gotten across all of my social medias has been amazing and very exciting. Never seen anything like it. Thanks to KEEM and UMG for hosting and making it possible.
Where do you see the future of Fortnite esports as it develops, and do you intend to pursue competitive Fortnite further?
Typical Gamer: The future for Fortnite eSports is a bright one especially with Epic Games announcement of an $100 million prize pool for the 2018-2019 competitive season. In terms of pursuing competitive Fortnite further; I enjoy streaming too much to put in the hours that these pros will have to in order to compete in the competitions. Wouldn’t mind winning a few more tournaments though!
Thief: I see it going very smoothly considering Epic Games intends to approach esports for Fortnite already, and there’s already a Fortnite competitive community. If I got the right offer, I definitely would pursue it, but streaming Fortnite is what I love and have been enjoying.
What are your personal aspirations in your careers as content creators and personalities in the community?
Typical Gamer: I want to continue doing what I’m doing and spread positivity through my content. I’m having a lot of fun with Fortnite and those watching seem to really enjoy it as well. If I can make those watching a bit more happy or even laugh a bit I feel like I’ve succeeded – that’s my goal everyday.
Thief: Seeing the growth over the years from watching Ninja has been a huge part of inspiration to grind and pursue straming as a job. Since Fortnite has released I’ve taken a lot of tips and enjoy watching Tfue and Hamlinz. They’re both some of my favorite players and have learned a lot with my gameplay by watching them.
KEEMSTAR has already revealed that the third iteration of the Friday Fortnite Tournament will feature another increased prize pool – now a whopping $20,000, and will take place on May 25th.
You can keep up to date with both Thief and Typical Gamer via their social media links below, and be sure to tune in on Friday to see if they can take the 2peat.
Typical Gamer: Twitter / YouTube / Instagram
Thiefs: Twitter / Twitch / YouTube / Instagram
And if you missed it, you can watch their entire tournament run from start to finish via Typical Gamer’s YouTube stream.