Fortnite Blitz Showdown is an extra-fast competitive mode with tons of V-Buck prizes

A Fortnite astronaut fires at an unseen opponent.

Fortnite has returned with a new limited-time and extra-fast competitive event. Blitz Showdown is playable now, and it's exactly what it sounds like: a dedicated competitive mode that tracks your performance across multiple matches of the Blitz rules variant. You need to play 25 rounds to qualify for the final rankings, and you have until Monday, June 4 at 7 am PDT / 10 am EDT / 3 pm BST to complete them. 

Epic has reworked the scoring system to account for both match placement and eliminations (in the previous Solo Showdown, eliminations were used solely as a tiebreaker), and only your first 25 matches will count toward your score. Though the grand prize for ranking first overall is smaller, the pot is actually bigger; each Fortnite server region will have its own set of winners and awards (except North America East and West, which count as one). Here are the prizes for placing in Blitz Showdown. 

  • 1st place: 20,000 V-Bucks
  • 2nd through 5th place: 13,500 V-Bucks
  • 6th through 100th place: 7,500 V-Bucks

Aside from dropping solo rather than in squads, Blitz Showdown uses the same modified rules as the Blitz v2 limited-time mode (which is also playable now). I'd recommend you get a few warm-up games done in before you start playing for keeps; Blitz is very fast moving and the rapidly closing circles encourage an aggressive, mobile playstyle. You know what that means - time to ride your shopping cart to V-Buck riches.

Epic says to expect more Showdown modes ahead, with further adjustments based on results and feedback. That doesn't mean a more formal, lasting competitive mode isn't on the way, but it looks like this is the way forward for the near future.

Still aren't sure about this whole Fortnite thing? Neither was I, but then I started having fun sucking at Fortnite. 

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.