FNCS 2025 Pro-Am: Epic Games revives the format and scores big with viewers

Loading

After several years away, Epic Games brought back the Pro-Am tournament format for Fortnite, where pro players compete alongside popular streamers on the same teams. This time, they competed for a $500,000 prize pool at the Fortnite Champion Series 2025 Pro-Am, held in Los Angeles. According to Esports Charts, the event reached a peak of 660,713 concurrent viewers.

The last Pro-Am tournaments took place during Fortnite’s early boom in 2018–2019. At the time, the events featured not only players and streamers, but also pro athletes, actors, and other celebrities. After years of being shelved, Epic Games has now revived the format, making it a part of the Fortnite Champion Series.

AussieAntics and Peterbot / Photo: Epic Games

The FNCS 2025 Pro-Am featured 20 duo teams, with fan-favorite streamers like Nicholas ‘’NickEh30’’ Amyoony, Rani ‘’StableRonaldo’’ Netz, Lachlan ‘’Lachlan’’ Power, Ali ‘’SypherPK’’ Hassan, and Jack ‘’CouRage’’ Dunlop among the participants. Nearly all of them streamed the event live on their personal Twitch and YouTube channels.

Shaun ‘’AussieAntics’’ Cochrane and Peter ‘’Peterbot’’ Kata took home the win at the FNCS 2025 Pro-Am. AussieAntics is an official streamer for Dignitas, while Peterbot is the reigning FNCS 2024 Global Champion and now a pro player for Team Falcons. Interestingly, AussieAntics is nearly twice Peterbot’s age, but Peterbot has earned almost 40 times more in prize money than his Australian teammate.

FNCS 2025 Pro-Am Viewership Statistics

The FNCS 2025 Pro-Am lasted just under five hours but still racked up almost 2.4 million hours of watch time. For comparison, some major tournaments this year took 22 to 24 hours of airtime to reach similar numbers. That puts Pro-Am fifth overall in total watch time among all Fortnite tournaments in 2025.

Its average viewership is also worth highlighting. With 496,551 average viewers, the FNCS 2025 Pro-Am posted the highest average audience of any Fortnite event this year. Because of its shorter runtime, many viewers watched the FNCS 2025 Pro-Am from beginning to end — a key reason behind its exceptionally high average viewership.

When it comes to peak viewership, the FNCS 2025 Pro-Am drew an impressive 660,713 concurrent viewers. That’s the highest number for any Fortnite tournament this year, the fourth-highest in FNCS history, and the seven-highest across all Fortnite events. Interestingly, the viewership peak came during the second round, which was won by Nick ‘’Lacy’’ Fosco and Cody ‘’Clix’’ Conrod. Clix, in particular, is currently one of the most popular Fortnite streamers and community casters worldwide.

The FNCS 2025 Pro-Am attracted viewers not just with its unique format, but also with bonus activities. Many fans tuned in specifically for Twitch Drops, which offered exclusive cosmetics (including a special graffiti and backpack) simply for watching the event.

FNCS 2025 Pro-Am matches were shown in select AMC theaters across the United States, thanks to a collaboration between Epic Games, Fandango, and IMAX. Moviegoers received a special card with a code, which could be redeemed within 30 days to unlock an exclusive in-game item — the Axe of Champions 2.0 Pickaxe.

Most popular Fortnite tournaments by Peak Viewers

The most-watched Pro-Am event to date is still the inaugural Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am in 2018, which peaked at 1,970,982 viewers. For more in-depth stats on Fortnite tournaments across various series and timeframes, you’ll need an Esports Charts PRO subscription.