Top 20 best Fortnite players of 2021 ranked

Competitive Fortnite in 2021 has been offering some of the highest levels of gameplay we have seen out of the esport. Now, with another FNCS coming to a close in just a few weeks, there is no better time to take a look at the best players of 2021 thus far. 

While competitive Fortnite has been undergoing an adjustment period with the cancellation of the 2021 Fortnite World Cup earlier in the year, this has not dwindled down the level of competition. FNCS Trios has been at the forefront of gameplay in the first half of 2021, and players worldwide have been showcasing their skills.

Fortnite’s skill gap has been evolving every season, and some players have managed to withhold their place at the top of the Fortnite ladder, while some players have fallen off. We are going to run over the top 20 players in competitive Fortnite right now and why they are performing so well!

Best Fortnite players criteria

When taking a look at the best players in any esport, there is an ample amount of data that has to be taken into consideration. Some of the deciding factors for our top Fortnite player’s list include:

• FNCS results
• Solo performance
• Consistency
• Role

All of these factors affect how you as a player are perceived by the fans, and it has become notable that certain pros worldwide have been at the top of their game in recent months. Since the top ones in the game are so close in terms of skill, we will be spotlighting five of the best and simply ranking the rest.

Jannis “JannisZ” Matwin

The battle to be the best Fortnite player in Europe is one of the highly contested regions right now, there are multiple names that deserve to be placed on this list, but JannisZ has emerged into the forefront as of late. The 16-year-old player from Germany recently won the Chapter 2 Season 5 FNCS along with his teammates Henrik “Hen” Mclean and Moussa “chapix” Fh.

JannisZ also has multiple Cash Cup victories under his belt and is one of the few players to win multiple FNCS’s. As back during the Chapter 2 Season Invitational, he proved his worth, taking home the solo crown for this event.

• Read More: How to get Catwoman Zero skin in Fortnite Season 6

Towards the tail-end of 2020, JannisZ also placed second in the Chapter 2 Season 4 FNCS, establishing himself as one of the most consistent players in the world. Below is a closer look at some of his achievements as of late:

• Trios Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 3 – NA East
  • 3rd
• Trios Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 2 – Europe
  • 1st
• Grefg’s 7.000.000 Cup
  • 4th
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 5 Grand Finals – Europe
  • 1st
• Champion Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 5 Week 6 – Europe
  • 1st
• Champion Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 5 Week 5 – Europe
  • 1st

Shane “EpikWhale” Cotton

Placing third back in the Fortnite World Cup Solo event, EpikWhale has never slowed down since this event. Switching back and forth between keyboard/mouse and controller, he has been making the entire North-America West region look helpless when facing him.

• Read More: Best weapons in Fortnite Season 6

EpikWhale bolsters multiple Cash Cup victories, Dreamhack Open victories and is one of the only players in the world to go back to back in FNCS events. Which his trio accomplished this past FNCS, as they won the event by a staggering 50 points.

It is clear Epikwhale is one of the best players in the world, and questions remain into whether or not he will bring his dominance to North-America East anytime soon. In the meantime, below are some of his most notable achievements as of late.

• Trios Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 2 – NA West
  • 1st
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 5 Grand Finals – NA West
  • 1st
• EpikWhale Cup
  • 1st
• DreamHack Open January – NA West
  • 3rd
• DreamHack Open November – NA-West
  • 1st
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 4 Grand Finals – NA-West
  • 1st

Jack “Jahq” Downs

Our first player hailing from the North-America East region, Jahq has emerged as one of the best players as of late. He gets the edge over his trio partners, Slackes and Acron, due to some notable solo performances.

• Read More: When does Fortnite Season 7 begin?

They have been winning nearly every trio event since the onset of 2021, and their consistency as a trio has proven they are all among the best players within the world. While it is unfortunate that Jahq and his trio are automatically qualified for this season’s FNCS Finals, we can expect them to pull out another top-three finish in a few weeks.

Once again, below is a list of some of his most notable placings in 2021:

• Solo Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 5 – NA East
  • 5th
• Solo Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 4 – NA East
  • 3rd
• FaZe Clan Elite Cup
  • 1st
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 5 Grand Finals – NA East
  • 1st
• EpikWhale Cup
  • 2nd

Moussa “chapix” Fh

Chapix has risen from the ashes in 2021, and while he may have experienced some down placements in the later stages of 2020, he has come back stronger than ever.

• Read More: How to get Beast Boy Fortnite skin & compete in Teen Titans Cup

The recent FNCS Trios winner, Chapix has been playing exceptionally well in solo events as of late. Claiming some notable top ten finishes in Solo Cash Cups, and this trio is certainly one to look out for heading into another wave of FNCS Grand Finals. As always, below are some placements from him recently:

• Solo Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 5 – Europe
  • 4th
• Solo Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 4 – Europe
  • 4th
• Solo Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 2 – Europe
  • 5th
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 5 Grand Finals – Europe
  • 1st

Josef “Stretch” Liepshutz

Rounding out our top five players is Team Liquid’s very own Stretch, the 18-year-old from Michigan emerged onto the scene during the months following the 2019 Fortnite World Cup and has never looked back.

Stretch is known for having some of the best mechanics in the game, and his quick thinking has allowed his old trio of Williams “Zayt” Aubin and Rocco “Saf” Morales to bolster some pretty impressive results. Now, with a new trio due to Zayt’s retirement, Stretch looks to catapult his team game mode results even further this year, as he has already established himself as one of the best solo players in the world.

His notable placements including the following:

• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 6 Qualifier 2 – NA East
  • 2nd
• Trios Cash Cup: Chapter 2 Season 6 Week 4 – NA East
  • 2nd
• FaZe Clan Elite Cup
  • 4th
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 5 Grand Finals – NA East
  • 8th
• JBL Quantum Cup NA East
  • 1st
• Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 4 Grand Finals – NA-East
  • 4th

Other top Fortnite players

While the above five are worth highlighting, the rest on this list have achieved an ample amount of success thus far, and they are among the best players in the world. Some are trio teammates of the previously mentioned top players, and others have been dominating their respected region.

Here are the remaining 15 players that deserve a spot on our top list of 2021!

• Evan “Cented” Barron
• Benjy “Benjyfishy” David Fish
• Tai “TaySon” Starčič
• Henrik “Hen” Mclean
• Malachi “Reverse2k” Greiner
• Rocco “Saf” Morales
• Josh “Commandment” Roach
• Slackes
• looter
• Diego “Arkhram” Lima
• Brodie “rehx” Franks
• Mero
• Martin “MrSavage” Foss Andersen
• Thiago “K1nG” Lapp
• Cody “Clix” Concord

There are countless others that rightfully deserve a spot on our list, and we think there is an ample amount of amazing players in Fortnite right now. Names such as Avery, Deyy, KuKi, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, and Alexandre “Andilex” Christophe are names that barely missed our cut. But, with a lot of Fortnite to still be played this year, we can assume these players will make the jump soon!