Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS Schedule, Format Announced

"It’s time to kick off the first Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) in 2022 with a bang!"
"It’s time to kick off the first Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) in 2022 with a bang!" / Image courtesy of Epic Games

With a fresh coat of paint to boot, the competitive Fortnite scene is set to return to action next week with the Chapter 3 Season 1 Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS).

For those looking to check out the first Fortnite esports event of the new year, here's a breakdown of the Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS' schedule and format.

As promised back in late November, the Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS will be the first iteration of Epic Games' new FNCS format for 2022.

Not only has the competition switched from Trios to Duos for the primary Competitive game mode in Fortnite, but the event will also have just two Qualifiers, followed by two weeks of competition including Semi-Finals and Finals.

Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS format
Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS format / Image courtesy of Epic Games

The quest for a share of the $3,008,500 USD prize pool begins on Feb. 17 with the Qualifiers stage.

There will be two opportunities for the top eight Duos in each Qualifier to advance directly to the FNCS Finals, with the first running from Feb. 17 to Feb. 18, and the second from Feb. 19 to Feb. 20.

The Semi-Finals will then kick off from Feb. 24 to Feb. 27 with a slight twist — Duos will either need to win a game, or be one of the top six most consistent teams during any of the three Sessions to advance to the Finals.

Lastly, the Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS Finals will take place next month from March 5 to March 6.

The FNCS Finals will be a similar format as previous seasons, but with the new Match Point variable. A team can end the competition early by earning 500 total points and three Victory Royales. Once a team has met both of these thresholds, it will be declared the FNCS Champions.

If no team meets both of these thresholds by the end of 12 games, the Finals will play out exactly how it has the past few seasons.

The English coverage of the NAE, NAW and EU Region Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS will almost assuredly be broadcasted at twitch.tv/fortnite and youtube.com/fortnite.

For more information on the Chapter 3 Season 1 FNCS prize pool payouts per region, as well as the FNCS Community Cup, feel free to check out Epic Games' full blog post.