eSports
BLAST to operate the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) in expanded multi-year deal
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Deepened collaboration with Epic Games will see BLAST operate the FNCS and RLCS, starting in 2024
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Esports entertainment company to oversee event production, broadcast, marketing and commercial rights for both games’ competitive scenes
BLAST has announced a multi-year deal and collaboration with Epic Games to run their prestigious competitive tournaments, the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), starting in 2024.
BLAST will run all operations of competitions, event production, and marketing of the RLCS and FNCS. BLAST will also be responsible for the commercial rights of both games’ competitive broadcasts and events, a first for the FNCS.
The announcement is an expansion of BLAST’s previous partnership with Competitive Fortnite, where the esports entertainment company delivered a number of FNCS events across the last three years, including October’s successful FNCS Global Championship in Copenhagen’s packed out Royal Arena where $4 million USD in total prize pool was up for grabs. The FNCS Global Championship is the fourth most-watched Competitive Fortnite event of all time with over 725,000 peak viewers.
Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer for BLAST, said: “We are immensely proud to announce this momentous multi-year deal with Epic Games. We believe this partnership represents the future of competitive gaming, where organisations like BLAST are able to work in tandem with world-leading publishers to create incredible experiences for players and teams to compete at the top level in front of fans all over the world.
“Pioneering positive change in esports has always been part of the BLAST DNA and this announcement is an amazing continuation of that journey. Working together with the world’s biggest game publishers to elevate and grow their competitive properties has been a huge area of focus for BLAST in recent years. This collaboration is testament to that hard work and we are delighted to expand our relationship with Epic Games by operating the Rocket League Championship Series in addition to the Fortnite Championship Series.”
BLAST first teamed up with Competitive Fortnite in 2021, when delivering the FNCS All-Star Showdown and FNCS Grand Royale events.
This was followed by the partnership deepening further, where BLAST operated the entire 2022 and 2023 FNCS schedules and November 2022’s FNCS Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina.