Dreamhack Open: how to register for the Fortnite online open tournament series being streamed on Twitch - and full event schedule

A new tournament series, DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite will allow fans of the popular battle royale game to participate in tournaments for real prize money, all from the comfort and safety of their own home.

Made up of monthly online tournaments for the EU, NA West, and NA East Fortnite servers throughout 2020, DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite is a community-focused event designed for the coronavirus age.

Michael Van Driel, Chief Product Officer at DreamHack, said: “While we aren’t currently hosting any mass gatherings, we’re very excited to produce what will assuredly be some amazing online events and we look forward to the future.”

Here's everything you need to know:

What is the DreamHack Open feat. Fortnite?

DreamHack Open feat. Fortnite is a series of open participation Fortnite competition for players in Europe and North America.

The next tournament kicks off with its opening event on Friday 17 July in Europe, and runs through the weekend until its grand finale on Sunday 19 July.

There is a total prize pool of $250,000 (£200,416) to be split across all participating regions, though unlike other high-profile Fortnite tournaments – which can take part in front of huge crowds under blinding arena lights – the DreamHack competitions will all be played from home in light of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

But despite the home-based nature of the events, there will still be professional sheen to proceedings with matches live broadcast on Twitch featuring commentary and in-game analysis.

How can I sign up for the tournaments?

Sign ups for the latest competition are unfortunately not available at the time of writing, although with the kick-off just a couple of weeks away, one imagines they will be open soon.

There will be a sign up button on DreamHack’s website when registrations do go live. You can also follow @DreamHackFN on Twitter for the latest updates.

How does the tournament work?

The next tournament’s kick off event will begin with two open qualifying heats on 17 July.

Each player can complete up to 10 matches during each heat’s three-hour window, and they’ll rack up points through eliminations and their final standing in each game (stats will be tracked automatically by Epic Games in Fortnite).

Players can sign up for both heats in their region, though once you have advanced you may not play any additional heats during the first stage of the tournament.

The top 250 players from each heat will advance to the semifinals.

The semifinals take place on Saturday 18 July, and work in much the same way as the heats, except this time, only the top 100 players will advance.

Those players will then have only 24 hours to get prepared for the grand finals, which will consist of eight consecutive games at scheduled times., with a new game starting every 40 minutes.

Players are to free to choose which region they participate in, and can play in multiple regions, though it’s recommend you pick the closest region so you get the best playing experience.

Who can play in the tournaments?

Tournaments are played in Solos, and are completely online. Players in Europe and North America will be eligible to enter, but must be aged 13 or older.

There are no invites to the tournaments, and participation is only through open sign ups.

If you qualify, you will be able to play your matches on both PC and console.

For more information on DreamHack Open Featuring Fortnite, head to the competitions official website