Epic Games continues to push Fortnite as an esport, and the company recently announced a partnership with the Electronic Sports League (ESL). This will result in a Fortnite tournament series, known as the ESL Katowice Royale, being featured at this year’s Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice event in Poland.

We have teamed up with @EpicGames to bring the game that took the world by storm to our flagship event. ESL Katowice Royale – Featuring @FortniteGame will take the #IEM Katowice Expo 2019 to unimagined new heights!

? https://t.co/ycV0hVanDs pic.twitter.com/SfoAvibfyq

— ESL Fortnite (@ESL_Fortnite) January 24, 2019

The ESL Katowice Royale will consist of two different competitions on separate weekends. First, a Polish edition Fortnite tournament (only Polish players will compete in this) will take place on February 23-24. Then the Fortnite festivities come to an end with the International version of the tournament (featuring players from all over the world) that runs from March 1-3.

Both the Polish and International competitions will have 100 players competing in teams of two, but the Polish prize pool consists of $100,000 US dollars, while the International one will be made up of $500,000 US dollars — this is expected to be the more competitive Fortnite tournament because it features professional players and top-tier global talent.

Fans attending the event will have a chance to bring home some rewards as well. Fans can enter various Fortnite competitions (no entry fee) at the IEM Katowice Expo to win prizes worth more than $50,000 US dollars.

Here are some of the confirmed duos that will be attending the event:

• 72hrs – Chap
• 7ssk7 – Jamside
• Bizzle – Dmo
• Boyerxd – Crippa
• Domentos – Fwexy
• Hoopek – Sk1x
• Issa – Kamo
• Kinstaar – Hunter
• Magin – Juganza
• Mirwana – Inclyde
• Mitr0 – Khuna
• Motor – ErycTriceps
• Nate Hill – FunkBomb
• RazZzero0o – x8
• Saf – Zayt
• Sak0ner – Skram
• Skite – Vato
• Taiovsky – Nero
• Teeqzy – Mushway
• Tfue – Cloak
• TheVic – Blaxou
• Vivid – Poach
• ZexRow – Vinny1x

Epic Games has already made some significant strides in establishing a Fortnite esports scene. For example, the popular Fortnite streamer, Ninja, was the first-ever esports player to be placed on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.

Also, Ninja’s Las Vegas Fortnite tournament, which took place in April 2018, was considered a massive success that proved there are many fans craving intense Fortnite competitive action — it brought in over 667,000 viewers on Twitch.

But now Epic Games plans to do more than just capitalizing on the publicity they get from Ninja. The upcoming Fortnite tournament series at IEM Katowice 2019 will bring a great deal of attention to the game’s esports scene. Rob Hodson, the Esports manager with Epic Games, had this to say about their recent partnership with ESL:

The Chief Product officer at ESL, Sebastian Weishaar, is also really happy about the addition of Fortnite to their brand, “Fans from all over the world know our Katowice event and bringing Fortnite as one of the world’s largest games to them feels like a great fit!”

This will be the first-ever large scale, international Fortnite tournament and it will tell us a lot about the future of Fortnite as an esport.

*More details about the ESL Katowice Royale will be released via the official ESL Fortnite twitter soon