FNCS 2025 format and schedule explained – prize pot and how to qualify for each Major

THE Fortnite Championship Series, or FNCS, is gearing up for its first Major for 2025, as the play-ins are starting today.

FNCS 2025 comes with a revamped format based on divisional cups, followed by Majors throughout the year, each consisting of four stages.

Epic Games

Each FNCS 2025 Major will have a four-stage format, including a Last Chance Qualifier[/caption]

Epic Games

The FNCS Divisional Cups are your key to qualify for each Major in your region[/caption]

Here’s everything you need to know about the FNCS 2025 format and schedule.

We look into the prize pot, format starting with the overall structure of the FNCS Majors and how to qualify for each.

FNCS 2025 prize pot

The FNCS 2025 is bringing a staggering prize pool of $8million this year, distributed across all Major events in each region and the Global Championship.

That’s up by almost half a million from last year’s edition of Fortnite’s top esports tournament.

Is FNCS Trios or Duos in 2025?

This year, the FNCS is being played in Trios, a change from last year’s Duos format.

Trios means that there are 99 players on the Battle Royale map at the start of a match, playing in 33 teams of 3 players each.

FNCS 2025 format: Major Play-Ins and Group Stage

Each FNCS Major consists of Play-In Stage, Group Stage, Last Chance Qualifier, and the Major Finals.

During the Play-In Stage, players who have reached Division 1 in the Divisional Cups of their respective region can team up in trios to compete for a spot in the Group Stage.

Play-Ins take place over two days, during which teams play 10 matches each day with a cumulative leaderboard

The top trios on the leaderboard advance to the Group Stage.

For the Europe (EU) and North America Central (NAC) regions, that’s the top 99 teams, and for all other regions – the top 66 trios.

During the Group Stage, teams are split into groups of 33 teams, that’s three groups in EU and NAC, and two groups for the other regions.

Five matches are played in each group, and the team that earns the Victory Royale in each group match qualifies instantly for the Major Finals.

Then, the best-performing teams in each group also qualify, the top 5 in EU and NAC, and the top 10 in other regions.

FNCS 2025 Last Chance Qualifiers

All players who have not qualified for the Major Finals by this stage, will get a last chance to earn a spot at the FNCS Major.

The Last Chance Qualifier is open to all players from Divisions 1, 2, and 3, and the best teams will enter the Last Chance Lobby.

The Victory Royale winners of each Last Chance Lobby match qualify for the Major Finals, and there will be three matches per region.

The Last Chance Qualifier for Major 1 will take place on February 12 and 13, 2025.

FNCS 2025 Major Finals

Each Major ends with the Major Finals over two days, with six matches played each day, with the top trio in each region crowned as the Major champions.

The Major champions win a share of the FNCS prize pool and will be able to wield the Blade of Champions pickaxe in-game during the next season.

Epic Games

The Blade of Champions is the in-game prize for Major winners[/caption]

The Major Finals or Major one are scheduled for February 15 and 16, 2025.

FNCS 2025 Majors schedule

Here’s all the dates for each of the three majors of FNCS 2025.

The majors will be followed by the Fortnite Global Championship, the exact schedule for which will be announced later this year.

FNCS 2025 Major 1

• Play-Ins: January 29-30
• Group Stage: February 2-9
• Last Chance Qualifier: February 12-13
• Major Finals: February 15-16

FNCS 2025 Major 2

• Play-Ins: April 9-10
• Group Stage: April 13-20
• Last Chance Qualifier: April 23-24
• Major Finals: April 26-27

FNCS 2025 Major 3

• Play-Ins: July 16-17
• Group Stage: July 20-27
• Last Chance Qualifier: July 30-31
• Major Finals: August 2-3

How to watch the FNCS 2025

While the Divisional Cups are not broadcast, Fortnite’s official channels will be showing FNCS 2025 matches.

Here’s where you can watch FNCS 2025:

• Fortnite Competitive English Feed
• Fortnite Twitch channel
• Fortnite Competitive YouTube channel
• Fortnite Competitive TikTok account

Fortnite Global Championship 2025

Each region is sending its top teams from each FNCS Major to the Fortnite Global Championship 2025, which will take place in the second half of this year.

After Major 1, Europe and North America Central are sending 2 trios each.

The rest of the regions, North America West, Brazil, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania, are sending one team, their Major champions.

Here’s a full breakdown of the number of teams that will qualify from each region after all three Majors conclude:

• Europe: 11 teams
• North America Central: 7 teams
• North America West: 3 teams
• Brazil: 3 teams
• Asia: 3 teams
• Middle East: 3 teams
• Oceania: 3 teams

If a trio that has already qualified finishes in a qualifying spot again, then the next team on the Major leaderboard that hasn’t already qualified will earn the spot.

How to qualify for an FNCS Major in 2025

Qualifying for the FNCS 2025 starts with the FNCS Trial, which you and your teammates can unlock by reaching Gold rank or higher in Battle Royale, Zero Build, and Reloaded Ranked modes.

The FNCS Trial is a single Trios tournament session, which took place on December 7, 2024, for Season 1.

The top 200 trios from the FNCS Trial are then placed in FNCS Division 1, the next 600 go into FNCS Division 2, and the rest of the teams – in FNCS Division 3.

The Divison 3 Cup is also open again to any trios that have reached Gold in Ranked.

Each Division Cup consists of 2 days of play, and teams have to complete 10 matches per day.

The top teams from Divisions 3 and 2 climb up in the division above, while Division 1 teams compete for a spot in the Division 1 Cup Finals which gives cash prizes.

The Divisional Cups for this season ended on January 25, 2025, and players who have reached Division 1 are eligible for the FNCS Major Play-In Stage, which starts today, January 29, 2025.

In future seasons, there will be no FNCS Trial, and players will start based on their best placement in Divisional Cups across the seasons.

New Gold or higher Ranked players will then have to start in Division 3 and win their way up.

The dates for the next Divisional Cups are yet to be announced.

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